Augustine of Canterbury

d.604?. First archbishop of Canterbury. Previously the prior of a monastery at Rome, he was sent by Gregory the Great* in 596 on a mission to convert the pagan English. He was somewhat reluctant and asked permission to turn back before finally crossing the Channel in 597 and landing in Thanet. Gregory knew, however, that the time was ripe. Ethelbert, king of Kent, whose territory lay closest to the Continent, had married a Christian princess of the Franks named Bertha, and she had brought to England with her Bishop Liuthard as her chaplain. Moreover, Ethelbert at this time was the dominant ruler among the Anglo-Saxon tribes south of the Humber. Within four years, and perhaps much sooner, Ethelbert received baptism. Augustine was then made archbishop, and Bede says the consecration took place at Arles, although the authority for this statement is unknown.