Bede's work. The rise of Æthelfrith of Northumbria in the north of Britain limited Æthelbertht's ability to expand his kingdom as well as limiting the spread of Christianity. Æthelfrith took over Deira about 604, adding it to his own realm of Bernicia. The Frankish kings in Gaul were increasingly involved in internal power struggles, leaving Æthelbertht free to continue to promote Christianity within his own lands. The Kentish Church sent Justus, then Bishop of Rochester, and Peter, the abbot of Sts Peter and Paul Abbey in Canterbury, to the Council of Paris in 614, probably with Æthelbertht's support. Æthelbertht also promulgated a code of laws, which was probably influenced by the missionaries. Pagan reactions A pagan reaction set in following Æthelbert's death in 616; Mellitus was expelled from London never to return, and Justus was expelled from Rochester, although he eventually managed to return after spending some time with Mellitus in Gaul. Bede relates a story that Laurence was preparing to join Mellitus and Justus in Francia when he had a dream in which Saint Peter appeared and whipped Laurence as a rebuke for his plans to leave his mission. When Laurence woke whip marks had miraculously appeared on his body. He showed these to the new Kentish king, who promptly was converted and recalled the exiled bishops. The historian N. J. Higham sees political factors at work in the expulsion of Mellitus, as it was Sæberht's sons who banished Mellitus. Bede said that the sons had never been converted, and after Æthelberht's death they attempted to force Mellitus to give them the Eucharist without ever becoming Christians, seeing the Eucharist as magical. Although Bede does not give details of any political factors surrounding the event, it is likely that by expelling Mellitus the sons were demonstrating their independence from Kent, and repudiating the overlordship that Æthelberht had exercised over the East Saxons. There is no evidence that Christians among the East Saxons were mistreated or oppressed after Mellitus' departure. Æthelberht was succeeded in Kent by his son Eadbald. Bede states that after Æthelberht's death Eadbald refused to be baptised and married his stepmother, an act forbidden by the teachings of the Roman Church. Although Bede's account makes Laurence's miraculous flogging the trigger for Eadbald's baptism, this completely ignores the political and diplomatic problems facing Eadbald. There are also chronological problems with Bede's narrative, as surviving papal letters contradict Bede's