The pagan Mercian king Penda killed the Christian king Oswald of Northumbria at a site thought to be near Oswestry. Welsh contingents fought alongside Penda — the Welsh maintained alliances with Mercia against Northumbria throughout this period. Oswald's body was dismembered and his arms hung on stakes (Oswestry may mean "Oswald's Tree"). Bede regarded Penda as the great enemy of Christianity, but the Welsh church had its own reasons to oppose the Roman-backed Northumbrian mission.
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