Cedd (Latin: Cedda, Ceddus; c. 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria.

Cedd was born in the kingdom of Northumbria and brought up on the island of Lindisfarne by Aidan of the Irish Church.

He had three brothers: Chad of Mercia (transcribed into Bede's Latin text as Ceadda), Cynibil and Cælin.

In 653, Cedd was sent by Oswiu of Northumberland with three other priests to evangelise the Middle Angles,[4] who were one of the core ethnic groups of Mercia, based on the mid-Trent Valley.

Cedd, together with the priests, Adda, Betti and Diuma, accompanied Peada back to Middle Anglia, where they won numerous converts of all classes.

To make progress among the general population, Christianity appeared to need positive royal backing, including grants of land for monasteries, rather than a benign attitude from leaders.

The religious destiny of the kingdom was constantly in the balance, with the royal family itself divided among Christians, pagans, and some wanting to tolerate both.

Certainly his prospects were helped by the continuing military and political success of Northumbria, especially the final defeat of Penda in 655.

As a result, he is generally listed among the bishops of London, a part of the East Saxon kingdom.

Bede, however, generally uses ethnic descriptions for episcopal responsibilities when dealing with the generation of Cedd and Chad.

Bede's record makes clear that Cedd demanded personal commitment and that he was unafraid to confront the powerful.

Bede presents Cedd's work as decisive in the conversion of the East Saxons, although it was preceded by other missionaries, and eventually followed by a revival of paganism.

Cedd was appointed as abbot of the monastery of Lastingham in his native Northumbria at the request of the sub-king Œthelwald of Deira.

Bede records the foundation of this monastery in some detail,[1] showing that Ethelwald was put in contact with Cedd through Caelin, one of the bishop's brothers, who was on the king's staff.

Cedd and his brothers regarded Lastingham as a monastic base,[7] providing intellectual and spiritual support, and a place of retreat.

The proceedings of the council were hampered by the participants' mutual incomprehension of each other's languages, which probably included Old Irish, Old English, Frankish and Old Welsh, as well as Latin.

[8] Cedd's facility with the languages, together with his status as a trusted royal emissary, likely made him a key figure in the negotiations.

His skills were seen as an eschatological sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, in contrast to the Biblical account of the Tower of Babel.

[1][11] Bede records that immediately after Cedd's death a party of thirty monks travelled up from Essex to Lastingham to do homage.

Jaruman, working (according to Bede) with great discretion, toured Essex, negotiated with local magnates, and soon restored Christianity.