Eorcenberht of Kent

Eorcenberht of Kent

Eorcenberht of Kent (also Ærconberht, Earconberht, or Earconbert) (died 14 July 664) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent from 640 until his death, succeeding his father Eadbald. The Kentish Royal Legend (also known as the Mildrith legend) suggests that he was the younger son of Eadbald and Emma of Austrasia, and that his older brother Eormenred was deliberately passed over, although another possibility is that they ruled jointly. According to Bede (HE III.8), Eorcenberht was the first king in Britain to command that pagan "idols" (cult images) be destroyed and that Lent be observed, marking a key point in the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Eorcenberht of Kent has received more than 73,613 page views. Her biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 17 in 2019). Eorcenberht of Kent is the 14,252nd most popular politician (down from 12,357th in 2019).