King Sebert
Sæberht of Essex
7th century king of the East Saxons
Sæberht, Saberht or Sæbert (d. c. 616) was an Anglo-Saxon King of Essex (r. c. 604 – c. 616), in succession of his father King Sledd. He is known as the first East Saxon king to have been converted to Christianity.
Quick Facts King of the East Saxons, Reign ...
The principal source for his reign is the early 8th-century Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum by Bede (d. 735), who claims to have derived his information about the missionary work of Mellitus among the East Saxons from Abbot Albinus of Canterbury through the London priest Nothhelm, later Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 739). Other sources include the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an East Saxon genealogy possibly of the late 9th century (British Library Add MS 23211), and a handful of genealogies and regnal lists written down by Anglo-Norman historians.
Family
The genealogies and regnal lists are unanimous in describing Sæberht as the son of Sledd, who may have been regarded as the founder of the East Saxon dynasty. According to Bede, Sæberht's mother was Ricula, a sister of King Æthelberht of Kent. Bede omits the names of Sæberht's three sons, who succeeded him but two, Sexred and Sæward, are named in the genealogy of Add MS 23211.

