The Rebellion and Excommunication of Ayyadbert

In 796, Ayyadbert Prian orchestrated a rebellion against Mercian rule in Kent, taking advantage of a power vacuum. With Carolingian support, he covertly returned to Kent, causing Archbishop Athleherd, a Mercian appointee, to flee. Coenwulf, the Mercian king, saw an opportunity to crush the rebellion without international outrage. By highlighting the disloyalty to the church and Ayyadbert's illegal forsaking of his ordination, Coenwulf obtained papal approval to invade Kent. In 798, after two years of independence, Coenwulf successfully invaded, captured Ayyadbert, who was later blinded and may have had his hands cut off.