Eadberht showed considerable independence in his dealings with the church, and his brother Ecgberht, to whom the well-known letter of Bede is addressed, was from 734 to 766 archbishop of York.
Bede gives no information about its origin except that its earliest settlers were Angles.
This kingdom first appears in Bede's narrative early in the 7th century, when its power was at its height.
Reedwald had been converted to Christianity in Kent, but after his return home he relapsed, according to Bede, owing to the influence of his wife, and there were to be seen in the same building a Christian and a pagan altar.
Bede states that Radwald was the son of Tytili, the son of Wuffa, from whom the East Anglian royal family derived their name Wuffingas.