Individual
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OF PARIS Bertha
Birth: ABT 565
Death: BEF 616
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_of_Kent
Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (b. Estimated around c. 565 [1] – d. in or after 601)
was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon
England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that
period of English history.
Life[edit]
Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga,
granddaughter of the reigning King Chlothar I and great-granddaughter of Clovis I and
Saint Clotilde .[2] Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised
near Tours.[3] Her marriage to pagan King Æthelberht of Kent was conditioned on her
being allowed to practice her religion.[4] She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her
to England.[5] Bertha restored a Christian church in Canterbury, which dated from
Roman times, dedicating it to Saint Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of
Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome. The present St Martin's at
Canterbury continues in the same building as the oldest church in the English-
speaking world and is part of the Canterbury World Heritage site.[6]
Augustine of Canterbury, whose Gregorian mission was sent by Pope Gregory I to
preach the Gospel in England in 596, owed much of his favorable reception to the
influence of Bertha.[7] Without her support, monastic settlements and the cathedral
would likely have developed elsewhere.[8] In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to
Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters.[4]
Anglo-Saxon records indicate that Saint Bertha had two children: Eadbald of Kent,
and Æthelburg of Kent. She is named in the genealogies of various of the medieval
accounts of the 'Kentish Royal Legend'.[9]
The date of her death is disputed.[4]
Legacy[edit]
The city of Canterbury celebrates Queen Bertha in many ways.
The Bertha trail, consisting of 14 bronze plaques set in pavements, runs from the
Buttermarket to St Martin's church via Lady Wootton's Green.
In 2006 bronze statues of Bertha and Ethelbert were installed on Lady Wootton's
Green as part of the Canterbury Commemoration Society's "Ethelbert and Bertha"
project.[10]
There is a wooden statue of Bertha inside St Martin's church.[8]
Parents
____ Charibert (ABT 517 - Dec 567)
____ Ingoberga (ABT 520 - )
Siblings
OF HESBAYE Charibert (ABT 550 - AFT 636)
OF PARIS Bertha (ABT 565 - BEF 616)
Marriage To ____ Ethelbert I ( 560 - 24 Feb 616)
m. 586
Notes
date of 566 is too early. Try 586
Parents
____ Eormenric (ABT 535 - )
----- ----- ()
Children by ____ Ethelbert I 560 - 24 Feb 616
____ Eadbald (ABT 590 - 640)
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