to bring Deira under his dominion. Family Rædwald, which in Old English means 'power in counsel', was born around 560–580. The son of Tytila, whom he succeeded, he was the elder brother of Eni. According to Bede, he was descended from Wuffa, the founder of the Wuffingas dynasty: filius Tytili, cuius pater fuit UUffa ('the son of Tytil, whose father was Wuffa'). At some time during the 590s, Rædwald married a woman whose name is unknown, though it is known from Bede that she was pagan. By her he fathered at least two sons, Rægenhere and Eorpwald. He also had an older son, Sigeberht, whose name is unlike other Wuffingas names but which is typical of the East Saxon dynasty. It has been suggested that Rædwald's queen had previously been married to a member of the Essex royal family and that Sigeberht was Rædwald's stepson, as was stated by William of Malmesbury in the 12th century. Sigeberht earned the enmity of his step-father, who drove him into exile in Gaul, possibly to protect the Wuffingas bloodline. For a family tree that includes the descendants of Eni, see Wuffingas. Early reign and baptism Events that occurred during the early years of Rædwald's reign include the arrival of Augustine of Canterbury and his mission from Rome in 597, the conversions of Æthelberht of Kent and Saeberht of Essex, and the establishment of new bishoprics in their kingdoms. Bede, when relating the conversion of Rædwald's son Eorpwald in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, mentioned that Rædwald received the Christian sacraments in Kent. This happened in perhaps 604 or later, presumably at the invitation of Æthelberht, who may have been his baptismal sponsor. The date of his conversion is unknown, but it would have occurred after the arrival of the Gregorian mission in 597. Since it is claimed that Augustine, who died in about 605, dedicated a church near Ely, it may have followed Saebert's conversion fairly swiftly. Rædwald's marriage to a member of the royal dynasty of Essex helped form a diplomatic alliance between the neighbouring kingdoms of East Anglia and Essex. His conversion in Kent would have affiliated him with Æthelberht, bringing him directly into the sphere of Kent. In East Anglia, Rædwald's conversion was not universally accepted by his household or his own queen. According to the historian Steven Plunkett, she and her pagan teachers persuaded him to default in part