ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles
580 CE
to 632 CE
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, (reigned from c. 624, assassinated c. 627 or 632), succeeds his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles.
Eorpwald is a member of the East Anglian dynasty known as the Wuffingas, named after the semi-historical king Wuffa.
Little is known of Eorpwald's life or of his short reign, as little documentary evidence about the East Anglian kingdom has survived.
The primary source for Eorpwald is the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by Bede in the 8th century.
Soon after becoming king, Eorpwald receives Christian teaching and is baptized in 627 or 632.
Soon after his conversion he is killed by Ricberht, a pagan noble, who may have succeeded him and ruled for three years.
The motive for Eorpwald's assassination is probably political as well as religious.
He is the first early English king to suffer death as a consequence of his Christian faith and is subsequently venerated by the Church as a saint and martyr.
In 1939, a magnificent ship-burial was discovered under a large mound at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk.
Although Rædwald is usually considered to have been buried with the ship (or commemorated by it), another possibility is Eorpwald.
Alternatively, he might also have had his own ship-burial nearby.
