Æthelberht was a sixth-century king of Kent who exercised authority over several other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. As the first of his kind to embrace Christianity, he played a pivotal role in the religious transformation of the region. His marriage to Bertha, a Frankish princess, helped facilitate the mission of Augustine from Rome. Beyond his religious influence, he established the earliest written legal code in a Germanic language, which utilized a system of fines to maintain order within his realm.