太田述正コラム#15288（2025.11.2）
＜Morris, Marc『The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England』を読む（その10）＞（2026.1.27公開）

　「・・・The emerging kingdom of Kent was clearly heavily influenced by its powerful neighbour across the Channel. King Æthelberht’s father, Eormenric＜（注14）＞, had a Frankish name, and the likeliest explanation for that would be him having a Frankish mother.

　（注14）エオメンリッチ＝Eormenric of Kent（c.534/540～564/580）。His father may have been Octa of Kent, whom Eormenric succeeded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eormenric_of_Kent

　A long-standing dynastic relationship would also explain how, probably in the late 570s, Æthelberht himself came to be married to a Frankish princess called Bertha. An important condition of this marriage was that the bride be allowed to practise her own religion. In the course of conquering Gaul the Franks had adopted much of its Roman culture, learning to speak a version of low Latin that eventually became French, and abandoning their pagan gods for Christianity. In order to meet Bertha’s spiritual needs, Æthelberht provided her with an ancient church that stood outside the ruined Roman city at the centre of his kingdom. Originally known as Durovernum, it was now referred to as Canterbury (Cantwara-burh – ‘the stronghold of the Kentish people’). After two centuries of neglect, most of its original street plan was lost under a thick layer of loam＜（壌土）＞ and rubble, but new routes had subsequently been cut through the debris to converge on the site of its old theatre, a towering stone structure capable of seating up to 7,000 people. ・・・
　Æthelberht had a Christian queen and a renovated Roman city as his capital. Soon after his conversion he also issued a written law-code, aided by the literate churchmen who now formed part of his entourage, and founded a brand new church (St Augustine’s Abbey＜（注15）＞, outside the walls of Canterbury) where he and Bertha were eventually buried.

　（注15）St Augustine’s Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury’s death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey’s dissolution, it underwent dismantlement until 1848.
　Since 1848, part of the site has been used for educational purposes (used as boarding houses and a library by The King’s School, Canterbury) and the abbey ruins have been preserved for their historical value.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Augustine%27s_Abbey

　Æthelberht also stood above other Anglo-Saxon kings on account of his immense wealth. Gold had been in short supply in Europe since the fall of the western empire, but in the last decades of the sixth century large quantities flowed into Francia from Byzantium (the later name for the eastern empire, which existed for another millennium). Some clearly found its way across the Channel, enabling the king of Kent to become a ring-giver extraordinaire.・・・

⇒どうして、ケントがかくも富んでいたのかをMorrisが説明してくれないのは困ったことです。（太田）

　If you wanted to meet a king who was really expanding his authority at the start of the seventh century, it was necessary to venture north of the Humber. ‘At this time,’ explains Bede, ‘Æthelfrith＜（注16）＞, a very brave king and most eager for glory・・・」（57、59、61）

　（注16）エセルフリス（？～c.616。Bernicia（バーニシア/ベルニシア王：c.593～c.616）。He became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira＜（デイラ）＞, giving him an important place in the development and the unification of the later kingdom of Northumbria. Reigning from the late 6th century until his death, he was known for his military campaigns against the Britons and his victory over the Gaels of Dál Riata. His most famous victory came at the Battle of Chester, where he decisively defeated a coalition of British forces, significantly weakening the influence of the native Britons in northern England. Æthelfrith’s rule marked a turning point in the consolidation of Northumbria as a dominant force in early medieval Britain. He was killed in battle against a coalition led by Rædwald of East Anglia, who placed Edwin, the exiled heir of Deira, on the throne. His line was eventually restored to power in the 630s.・・・
　the conversion of Northumbria did not begin until a decade after his death＜.＞
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelfrith
　Chester（チェスター）は、現在のウェールズに近い、イギリス北西部のアイリッシュ海近くの地名。
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester

⇒According to Bede, a large number of・・・British monks・・・from the monastery at Bangor on Dee who had come to witness the fight were killed on the orders of Æthelfrith before the battle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chester
というのですから、エセルフリスは、エセルベルトとは大違いで、キリスト教など歯牙にもかけていなかったということですね。（太田）

（続く）