King Arwald (died 686 AD) was the last King of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

and last

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

king in Anglo-Saxon England. Saint Arwald is the name collectively given to King Arwald's sons or brothers who, being baptised before their execution, were later canonised and are considered in some Christian traditions to be martyr saints.

King Arwald

Nearly all that is known of him is from Bede's ''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict b ...

'', which describes the invasion of the Isle of Wight by Cædwalla, King of

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

. A Jutish King of the Isle of Wight and the

Wihtwara The Wihtwara were one of the tribes of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Their territory was a tribal kingdom located on the Isle of Wight before it was conquered by the Kingdom of Wessex in the late seventh century. The tribe's name is preserved in the nam ...

tribe, he claimed descent from the legendary founders of the island, Stuf and Whitgar. He was killed in battle during the invasion.

Saint Arwald

Though King Arwald was killed in battle, his two sons (or in some versions his brothers) escaped to the Great Ytene Forest (now called the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

). They were betrayed to Cædwalla, and in some versions were then taken to a place where he "was in hiding with his wounds" at Stoneham, near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Shortly before they were put to the sword they allegedly converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

by the intervention of Abbot Cynibert of Hreutford,Stanton, Richard (1892)
''A Menology of England and Wales''
Burns & Oates. being described by Bede as "the first fruits" of the massacre because of this conversion. Cædwalla later died of wounds sustained during his invasion. Though venerated as saints, their names are unknown, but they are called collectively "St. Arwald" after their father (or brother). Their feast day is 22 April.

Folklore

A version of the story of Arwald survives in the folklore of the nearby

, a neighbouring area with similarly Jutish heritage to the Isle of Wight. In this tradition the two brothers escape to the Ytene, where they encounter various mysterious figures (which have been theorised by some as representing gods of

Anglo-Saxon paganism Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centurie ...

), before finally being betrayed by a wealthy

Ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

. They are then forced to convert to Christianity, before being killed in the forest by Cædwalla, but the elder brother is able to impale himself on a tree before being murdered, dedicating his death to

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victor ...

and thus redeeming himself to the old gods. The ghost of the younger brother is said to walk the forest still, and on April 22nd has been seen with the ghosts of his brother, King Arwald and Woden himself, feasting on the site of their deaths.

Legacy

Arwald's unnamed sister survived, as the wife of the king of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, who went on to become a direct ancestor of Alfred the Great. ''Caedwalla'' by Frank Cowper (1888) portrays Arwald as the pagan antagonist to the Christian Caedwalla. The Quay Arts Centre in Newport exhibited an Isle of Wight Hidden Heroes exhibition which included a sculpture of a mask of Arwald by Nigel George. This is now on permanent display at Newport Roman Villa, and local celebrations of Arwald recur on the Isle of Wight annually on his Saints Day. ''Arwald's Kingdom; Tales from the Isle of Wight'' (2018) by Mark Francis is a book of poetry, stories and hiking around the Isle of Wight.

Notes

References

Sources

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...

, '' History of the English Church and People'' 4, 16 *

Eddius Stephanus Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century hagiographic text '' Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these names are no longer ...

, ''Vita Wilfridi'' *

Kings of the Isle of Wight The Wihtwara were one of the tribes of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Their territory was a tribal kingdom located on the Isle of Wight before it was conquered by the Kingdom of Wessex in the late seventh century. The tribe's name is preserved in the nam ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arwald 686 deaths Jutish people Year of birth unknown Germanic warriors New Forest folklore People from the Isle of Wight Anglo-Saxon pagans 7th-century English monarchs Anglo-Saxons killed in battle Monarchs killed in action History of the Isle of Wight