were married; some of them officiated in the temples as
priestesses, and some led the people to victories. Widowed queens
ruled in place of their husbands; women were consulted about all
matters requiring wisdom, insight, and forethought; and, indeed, they
seem to have been placed on an equality with men.

Northumberland suffered, with other portions of the land, from the
invasions of the Romans, and succumbed with the rest; and, indeed, when
Agricola passed through, on his way to Scotland, they offered little
opposition. He proved himself their friend; for he built them a wall,
which stretched a distance of seventy-four miles, from beyond Newcastle
to twelve miles west of Carlisle, to protect them from the warlike
Picts and Scots.

When the Romans had left, and the Saxons taken possession, the first
king of Northumbria was Ida, who, it is said, landed at Flamborough,
and who first built the grand Castle of Bamborough, part of the
original of which remains to this day. The first Christian king of
Northumbria was Edwin. His life is a striking illustration of the
assertion, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth,"
for he was but three years old when his parent died, and all his early
years were passed in exile, having been kept from the throne of which
he was the lawful heir. After the battle, however, fought on the banks
of the Idle, in Nottinghamshire, he was placed on the throne of
Northumbria, a courageous and noble king. He, having heard that there
had come to the land a missionary from Rome, who taught the people the
principles of religion, sent for him to come to Northumberland, that he
might judge for himself. The king loved Edilburga, the daughter of
Ethelbert of Kent, who was a devoted Christian; but she declined to
marry him, unless he became a Christian also. He replied that he was
willing to embrace the religion, if, on examination, he found it worthy
of his fealty. Paulinus, therefore, accompanied the queen. But the
king could not hastily decide; and it was not until he had been saved
from assassination, by a faithful servant rushing in between him and
the knife that was to slay him, that he was brought to a decision.
Even then, however, he would not forsake the old ways, nor lightly take
upon himself new vows, until he had called a council of priests and
nobles, to examine the merits of Paganism and Christianity. Coifi, the
high-priest, declared that he was tired of serving the