Having married the
Christian princess (Saint) Ethelburga, Edwin, the
pagan king of the English kingdom of Northumbria, began to consider becoming a
Christian himself. As the king delayed a final decision about his religion, Pope
Boniface V wrote to him, inviting him to accept "the medicine of salvation." To encourage Queen Ethelburga in her efforts to convert her husband, the pope sent her as
gifts a silver mirror and a comb for her hair. At length, Edwin was won over through the efforts of Ethelburga's chaplain, (Saint) Paulinus of York. Edwin spent the six remaining years of his reign as a devout
Catholic monarch who brought peace to his kingdom. In a letter to Edwin, Pope Honorius I praised the king's newfound piety and zeal: "Your sincere
Christian character, afire with ardent
faith in the worship of your Creator, has shone out far and wide." The subsequent slaying of Edwin in a military battle instigated by the irreligious Welsh king Cadwallon and the
pagan English warrior Penda of Mercia led to Edwin being venerated as a
martyr slaughtered for his
Christian faith.