Eoppa, nephew to King Ina,
by his brother Ingild, who died, before that prince, had begot Eata,
father to Alchmond, from whom sprung Egbert, a young man of the most
promising hopes, who gave great jealousy to Brithric, the reigning
prince, both because he seemed by his birth better entitled to the crown
and because he had acquired, to an eminent degree, the affections of the
people. Egbert, sensible of his danger from the suspicions of Brithric,
secretly withdrew into France, where he was well received by
Charlemagne. By living in the court, and serving in the armies of that
prince, the most able and most generous that had appeared in Europe
during several ages, he acquired those accomplishments which afterward
enabled him to make such a shining figure on the throne. And
familiarizing himself to the manners of the French, who, as Malmesbury
observes, were eminent both for valor and civility above all the western
nations, he learned to polish the rudeness and barbarity of the Saxon
character; his early misfortunes thus proved of singular advantage to
him.
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