East Anglians, who succeeded to much of AEthelberht's
authority, so far accepted Christianity as to worship Christ amongst
his other gods.

8. =The Three Kingdoms opposed to the Welsh.=--Augustine's Church
was weak, because it depended on the kings, and had not had time to
root itself in the affections of the people. AEthelberht's supremacy
was also weak. The greater part of the small states which still
existed--Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, and most of the small
kingdoms of central England--were no longer bordered by a Celtic
population. For them the war of conquest and defence was at an end.
If any one of the kingdoms was to rise to permanent supremacy it
must be one of those engaged in strenuous warfare, and as yet
strenuous warfare was only carried on with the Welsh. The kingdoms
which had the Welsh on their borders were three--Wessex, Mercia, and
North-humberland, and neither Wessex nor Mercia was as yet very
strong. Wessex was too distracted by conflicts amongst members of
the kingly family, and Mercia was as yet too small to be of much
account. North-humberland was therefore the first of the three to
rise to the foremost place. Till the death of AElla, the king of
Deira, from whose land had been carried off the slave-boys whose
faces had charmed Gregory at Rome, Deira and Bernicia had been as
separate as Kent and Essex. Then in =588= AEthelric of Bernicia drove
out AElla's son and seized his kingdom of Deira, thus joining the two
kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia (see p. 36) into one, under the new
name of North-humberland.[2]

[Footnote 2: Genealogy of the principal Northumbrian
kings:--[_Note._--The names of kings are in capitals. The figures
denote the order of succession of those who ruled over the whole of
North-humberland. Those whose names are followed by a B. or D. ruled
only over Bernicia or Deira respectively.]

_House of Bernicia_ _House of Deira_

IDA B. Iffa D.
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1. AETHELRIC AELLA D. AElfric
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2. AETHELFRITH = Acha