640

RECHIMIR

REGINUS

phonsi and Historia Wambanis ; Isidoms Pacen-sis; Dahn, Die Konige der Germanen , v. 200 ;Gams, Kirckeng . von Sp. ii. (2), 126, 143 ; Helf-ferich, Entstehung und Geschichte des West -gothen-RechtSy ubi supra. [F. D.]

RECHIMIR (Ricimer), bishop of Dumium,signs seventh among the suffragans, precedingnineteen others, at the seventh council of Toledo,in October a.d. 646, so that he had then beensome time bishop. Florez conjectures thatGermanus (22) his predecessor died, c. 637 or 8,as no bishop of Dumium appears at the sixthcouncil of Toledo, held in January A.D. 638. Hewas alive at the eighth council, in NovemberA.D. 653, but apparently in bad health, as abbatOsdulg signs as his deputy. He died soon after-wards, as before the tenth council of Toledo, heldin December, A.D. 656, Fructuosus (2) hadsucceeded. He was liberal to a fault, givingaway in alms the whole revenues of the church,and leaving nothing for its support. He alsomanumitted a large number of the slaves of thechurch, and shortly before his death ordered allthe furniture and utensils of his official residenceto be given to the poor, to whom, by his will, hebequeathed his whole private property. Afterhis death, the church of Dumium complained toking Rekesvinth, who referred the matter to thetenth council, laying before them the wills ofRechimir and of St. Martin (2), the founder.The council decided that the losses of the churchfurniture and utensils should be made good outof Rechimir’s private property, subject to whichhis will was to be valid. The case of the manu-mitted slaves was left to the discretion ofFructuosus. For the whole story compare thatof Gaudencius. (Esp. Sag. xviii. 41; Tejada yRamiro, Col. de Can. de la Igl. Esp. ii. 358, 386,420; Gams, Kircliengesohichte von Spanien y 2 (2),132.) [F. D.]

REDEMPTUS, a disciple of St. Isidore ofSeville, mentioned as a cleric {Fat. Lot. Ixxxi.17, 30, 33, 34, 139) and addressed as an arch-deacon (lxxxiii. 905). From Redemptus clericuswe have the testimony as that of an eyewitness,of the death of St. Isidore, a.d. 636 : and toRedemptus archidiaconus a letter ( Ep. 7) isaddressed by St. Isidore in favour of the Euchar-istic use of unleavened bread in the Westernchurch. But it is questioned whether they areone person or two, and the letter is probably notgenuine. (Vossius, Hist. Lat. lib. ii. 252, ed.Lugd. 1627 ; De Castro, Escrit. Espan. ii. 345,ed. Madrid, 1786; Fabricius, Bibl. Lat . ed.Mansi, vi. 60; Boll. Acta SS. Apr. iv. 327, 349;Fat. Lat . Ixxxi. 500; Ceillier, Aui. Sacr. xi.722.) [J. G.]

KEDUX, bishop of Naples, A.D. 581. WhenNaples was attacked by the Lombards in thatyear he caused a copy of the excerpta ex operibusS. Augustini by St. Eugippius to be made andpreserved in the cathedral of Naples, adding hisown subscription as a guarantee of its fidelity,cf. Corp. Scriptt. Ecclesiast. Latinorum, vol. ix. fEugippii Opp. praef. p. xxiv. ed. P. Knoell,Vindobon. 1885. [G. T. S.]

REDWALD (Reduald, Raedwald, Reod-WALD), king of the East Angles. He was theson of Tytla, son of Wuffa, the first East Anglianking, and so eleventh in descent from Woden

(M. H. B. p. 628). Nothing is known of thedate of his accession to his throne, hut he wascertainly a powerful prince very early in the7th century, and before the death of Ethel-bert of Kent had attained such fame as toeclipse that king and obtain the hegemony ofall the states south of the Humber exceptKent. He is thus the fourth of those rulersto whom later writers gave the name of Bret-walda (Bede, H. E. ii. 5). He was on friendlyterms, as it would seem, with Ethelbert, andat his court in all probability he was persuadedto receive baptism (ih. ii. 15), but on bis returnhome, under the influence of his wife, he re-lapsed into semi-heathenism, revering Christas one of his gods, and having a temple dedi-cated to him in conjunction with the pagandeities (ib.). Redwald’s great achievement wasthe defeat and slaughter of Ethelfrith, king ofNorthumbria, in 617 (Chr. S. M. H. B. 308). Hehad before this received at his court Edwin, sonof Ella, the head of the rival family in North-umbria, and whilst in East Anglia Edwin hadreceived the first impressions which inclinedhim towards Christianity. [Edwin.] Thevision which Edwin saw at Redwald’s courthas been rationalised in a way that leads tothe belief, that Christianity was at least tole-rated there (Bede, H. E. ii. 12). Ethelfrithtried to induce Redwald to betray or kill Edwin.The East Anglian king long resisted the tempta-tion, hut, under a threat of invasion, agreed tothe treacherous act. Before it was executed,however, he repented, and turned his armsagainst Ethelfrith, who perished in a greatbattle on the east of the river Idle, in Notting-hamshire. Raegenher, a son of Redwald, fell inthe battle (Bede, H. E. ii. 12). Redwald issupposed to have died about 627 ; the missionof Felix the apostle of East Anglia, beingmost probably dated about 631, and theconversion of Earpwald, the first Christian kingof the East Angles, some four years earlier.Nothing certain, however, can be affirmed as tothis. Earpwald was the son and successor of1 Redwald, and Sigebert, the successor of Earp-wald, is described by Bede (H. E. ii. 15, iii. 18),as his brother. It has been doubted whetherhe was a son or stepson of Redwald, who was atenmity with him. [Sigebert.] (See Haddanand Stubbs, iii. 88, 89; Liber Eliensis , ed.Stewart, i. 12, 13; Flor. Wig. M. H . B. p.527 ; W. Malmesb. i. § 97.) [S.]

REDWULF, bishop, among the spurious sig-natures to the council Clovesho in 742 (Kemble,C. D. 87). Haddan and Stubbs (iii. 342) con-sider him the same as Eardulf, bishop ofDunwich. [Eardulf (3).] [C. H.]

REGINUS, count, probably in Africa,about the close of the 5th century, hadwritten some letters, now lost, to Fulgentius ofRuspe [Fulgentius (3)] upon two points, (1)as to whether the body of Christ was corruptibleor incorruptible, and (2) as to the life a man inarms should lead. Death prevented Fulgentiusreplying to the second query, which was doneby his pupil Ferrandus, but to the first he givesa long reply (Fulgentius Rusp. Ep. 18 in Migne,Pair. Lat. lxv. 493 : Ceillier, Ant. Sacr. xi. 50).

[J. G.]