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Ecclesiastical History

  Bede

Bede (Baeda) (c. 673-735) was an English monk and Church historian, often referred to as the "Father of English History". He was born in Northumbria (northeast England), and was placed under the protection of Abbot Benedict Biscop in the monastery of St. Peter at Wearmouth, moving in to the joint-foundation of Jarrow in 682. At Jarrow he fulfilled the life of monastic devotion under Abbot Ceolfrid, who had a great influence upon him, and who encouraged Bede's scholarly endeavors (Bede would later write Ceolfrid's biography in Lives of the Abbots). Though he was ordained both as a deacon and priest, Bede remained in the monastic life, writing historical works (saints' lives), scriptural commentaries, as well as other theological and academic pieces. Toward the end of his life he was working on a translation of the gospel of John into Saxon (old English). However, his fame truly rests upon the History, a work of great devotion and learning, which earned him the title "The Venerable".

The first history of the Church in England, and a landmark of historical writing in western Europe.

This is Bede's greatest work, a masterpiece of early historical writing, and a testament to the first centuries of the Church in Britain. It was completed in 731, having been compiled from many sources. For its period it is well-researched and accurate, composed in a lucid, engaging style (in Latin – King Alfred was the first to translate it into Old English). The work is divided into five books, from the coming of the Romans to Britain until Bede's own day; however the vast majority of text deals with the 7th and early 8th centuries, the period for which the greatest information would be available. The early saints and martyrs are covered, as well as the great mission of Augustine of Canterbury, the Irish church, Columba and the monks of Iona, the Easter controversies and the Synod of Whitby, the saints Cuthbert and Wilfrid, and so on. Many miraculous stories and legends are included, in the ancient hagiographic tradition, inspired both by the Biblical examples and actual events.

Church History

First - Eigth Century