This post concludes our analysis of King Edwin’s conversion, as discussed by Bede, which we began in a previous post. In this article, we will be looking at the role of Edwin’s advisors and in particular. We will explore the role of Coifi in Bede’s account of the conversion of King Edwin and discuss who he could have been.
Edwin Seeks Counsel
The king, hearing these words, answered, that he was both willing and bound to receive the faith which Paulinus taught; but that he would confer about it with his chief friends and counsellors, to the end that if they also were of his opinion, they might all together be consecrated to Christ in the font of life. Paulinus consenting, the king did as he said; for, holding a council with the wise men, he asked of every one in particular what he thought of this doctrine hitherto unknown to them, and the new worship of God that was preached?
Bede, Saint the Venerable. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, (2016), Chapter XIII.
Paulinus has now brought Edwin to the point of conversion. But Edwin asks Paulinus if he may first confer with his chief men. Here, Bede portrays Edwin as a wise king. Good kings seek counsel from their chief men and followers. Edwin’s decision to convert will not only impact him on a spiritual level, but it will also have huge social and political ramifications which will impact the entire kingdom. Thus, Edwin needs to ensure he has the backing of his chief men. Without this backing, Edwin would not be able to rule.
As noted in my previous post on Bede and the Conversion of King Edwin, Edwin was in a precarious position. Most of the kings in England at this time were pagan. Although alliances were not necessarily made along religious lines, almost all of the other kings in England at the time were pagan. Edwin would have been concerned that conversion would perhaps at least single him out amongst his fellow rulers.
Why Did Edwin Seek Counsel?
Conversion was not something to be done lightly. Indeed, Bede not only tells us that Edwin took a long time to convert, but in fact he stresses this point. As Edwin took a long time to convert, Bede used this to demonstrate that Edwin was a wise king. But it could also be used by Bede to illustrate that conversion was the correct course of action. It was a decision reached by a wise king who took years of convincing, having received visions and various ‘proofs’ of Christianity, through success in warfare, the safe birth of his daughter, his survival of an assassination attempt and his escape from a potential murder plot. All these steps helped Edwin to reach a well-considered and, most importantly, correct conclusion. Edwin’s consultation with his advisors is but one of these steps Edwin takes to ensure he is making the correct decision for his soul, the souls of his people and the safety of his kingdom.
It was assumed that once Edwin converted, his followers and the entire kingdom would follow. As other historians have argued, conversion was a top-down process. Indeed, the reason that Pope Gregory I tasked Paulinus with targeting kings for conversion was this assumption, that the king led and his people would follow. Thus, this decision was not Edwin’s alone.
Coifi
The chief of his own priests, Coifi, immediately answered him, “O king, consider what this is which is now preached to us; for I verily declare to you what I have learnt beyond doubt, that the religion which we have hitherto professed has no virtue in it and no profit. For none of your people has applied himself more diligently to the worship of our gods than I; and yet there are many who receive greater favours from you, and are more preferred than I, and are more prosperous in all that they undertake to do or to get. Now if the gods were good for anything, they would rather forward me, who have been careful to serve them with greater zeal. It remains, therefore, that if upon examination you find those new doctrines, which are now preached to us, better and more efficacious, we hasten to receive them without any delay.”
Bede, Saint the Venerable. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, (2016), Chapter XIII.
In this passage, we are introduced to the figure of Coifi, described as Edwin’s chief priest.
As a pagan chief priest, we would expect Coifi to vehemently uphold the old religion. Yet in a departure from what we would expect, Coifi is open to conversion. He makes the point that, as the chief pagan priest, with all his religious zeal, he would expect to have attained the greatest rewards from the pagan faith. Yet he seems disappointed with the benefits of his faith. Coifi claims that if the pagan faith had any merit, then he would attain the greatest secular rewards from Edwin, yet he does not. Thus, we find Coifi questioning his own faith and open to conversion.
We must always remember that this account of Coifi is written by Bede, who has his own agenda. An important question remains – was Coifi a real historical figure? Barrow suggests Coifi may indeed have been a real historical figure. She suggests Coifi might perhaps have been a known follower of Edwin, a name passed on through oral tradition.1 As Barrow points out, the name Coifi is rare in Anglo-Saxon literature. She argues that Bede might have picked up on this name as one of Edwin’s named followers and used it to further his agenda.
The alliteration between Coifi and Caiaphas is interesting. Caiaphas was a high priest of the Jewish faith in Judaea during the time of Christ. The gospels suggest he was responsible for the plot to kill Christ. Barrow notes that Bede may have used the name Coifi to make the reader think of Caiaphas or to make the connection between these two figures.2
Perhaps Coifi was a literary creation of Bede created to demonstrate the limitations of paganism. Through the power of Christ, Edwin had gained his kingdom, escaped an assassination attempt, and ensured the safe arrival of his newborn daughter. This is juxtaposed with paganism, a faith that can offer nothing, not even to the most devout follower of the faith. Coifi is used to emphasise Bede’s point that Christianity offers rewards, whereas paganism is fruitless.
The Temple
Then immediately, in contempt of his former superstitions, he desired the king to furnish him with arms and a stallion; and mounting the same, he set out to destroy the idols; for it was not lawful before for the high priest either to carry arms, or to ride on any but a mare. Having, therefore, girt a sword about him, with a spear in his hand, he mounted the king’s stallion and proceeded to the idols. The multitude, beholding it, concluded he was distracted; but he lost no time, for as soon as he drew near the temple he profaned the same, casting into it the spear which he held; and rejoicing in the knowledge of the worship of the true God, he commanded his companions to destroy the temple, with all its enclosures, by fire.
Bede, Saint the Venerable. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, (2016), Chapter XIII.
To demonstrate his transition from paganism to Christianity, Coifi acts with the religious zeal of an enthusiastic new convert and destroys the old pagan shrines. As Barrow has pointed out, Bede’s vivid description of Coifi throwing his spear into the temple was intended to conjure images of the Roman soldier who witnessed the crucifixion and thrust his spear into Christ’s side. Thus, Coifi’s piercing of the pagan shrine was intended to represent the piercing of Christ’s body as a temple.3
The destruction of the temple represented Edwin’s conversion itself. The king’s conversion to Christianity led to the destruction of the pagan religion in England.
Bede’s emphasis on Edwin seeking counsel is highly significant. It is used to illustrate to the reader that Edwin was a good king. The figure of Coifi was then used to push Bede’s agenda – to demonstrate to all readers, those of the Christian and the pagan faith, that Christianity is the only option, for there is no merit in the old pagan faith. Bede was not above creating literary characters, for they served a higher purpose; they served to further Christianity. Coifi was a literary device used by Bede to discredit the pagan faith and to illustrate the utter destruction of paganism in England as Christianity spread.
J. Barrow ‘How Coifi Pierced Christ’s Side: A Re-Examination of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, II, Chapter 13’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 64., No. 4, (2011), pp. 704-706. ↩︎J. Barrow, ‘How Coifi Pierced Christ’s Side: A Re-Examination of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, II, Chapter 13’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 64., No. 4, (2011), pp. 704-705. ↩︎J. Barrow ‘How Coifi Pierced Christ’s Side: A Re-Examination of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, II, Chapter 13’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 64., No. 4, (2011), p . 703. ↩︎
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