Not much is known with certainty about Raedwald, but what we do know is tantalising enough. He became bretwalda (overlord) of all the British kingdoms – in other words, a king who had executive power over other tribal kings. These would have had to attend his court and defer to him in matters such as the disposal of land, as well as fight under his standard in times of war.

Raedwald became king of East Anglia in AD 599, and is known to have been converted to Christianity by the Kentish king Aethelbert, receiving baptism in around 605, although like many other pagan kings of the era, he hedged his bets, maintaining altars to both religions in his temple at Rendlesham in Suffolk.

He was hailed as bretwalda after defeating the murderous Northumbrian king Aethelfrith, on his own territory, at Bawtry on the River Idle in 617. During the hostilities that had led up to this final showdown, Aethelfrith’s rival, Prince Edwin of Deira, had sought refuge at Raedwald’s court.

Offered a bribe by the Northumbrian monarch to kill Edwin while he was under his roof, Raedwald appears to have thought better of the idea after his queen (whose name history has not so far recorded) counselled him to respect the ancient obligation of hospitality. Following his victory at the River Idle, Raedwald set Edwin on the throne of Northumbria, where he was eventually to rule as a Christian monarch.

Raedwald was the only high king to be entirely of East Anglian extraction, and the last of the pagan (or semi-pagan) kings. We don’t know precisely when he died. Some believe he may have been killed during the battle of 617, but the prevailing opinion is that he lived on until 624 or 625. If he is indeed the man who was buried in the Sutton Hoo ship, the opulence of the artefacts interred with him gives us a clear indication of his wealth and importance.