Ethelbert, or Aethelbert, (552?--616), an Anglo-Saxon king. As king of Kent (560?--616) he was the first Anglo-Saxon ruler to become a Christian. His wife Bertha, daughter of a Frankish king, introduced him to Christianity and Ethelbert was baptized by Saint Augustine of Canterbury in 597. Ethelbert is also noted for his code of laws, the earliest surviving laws written in a Germanic language. Ethelbert is a saint of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. His feast day is February 25.