Ceadwalla (Caedwalla), King of Wessex

CEADWALLA (CAEDWALLA), king of WESSEX. - A warrior of British stock, leader of the Britons of Wales, whose life represents one phase of the struggle between the ancient possessors of British soil and the Anglo-Saxon usurpers organized in the heptarchy. He wished to reconquer the dominions that his great-grandfather had lost in 519 as a result of the Anglo-Saxon invasion. He began by occupying the neighbouring kingdom of Essex, whose king he killed; his valour brought it about that, upon the death of Centvino, king of Wessex, he too was recognized as sovereign of this region (686). A friend of St. Vilfrido, although still a pagan, he bestowed benefits upon the churches and monasteries of the country, until, in fulfilment of a vow, he renounced the kingdom and came to Rome to venerate the Chair of St. Peter. Having received Baptism on the night of Easter in 688, he died a few days later, still wearing the white garment of the neophyte, and was buried in the portico of the old basilica of St. Peter, as St. Beda attests, having read the inscription composed by Pope Sergio I. Its text may be found in G. B. De Rossi, Inscriptiones chr. urbis Romae, II, 1, Roma 1888, pp. 288-89.