Bede's Ecclesiastical History
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The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. It was composed in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, and is believed to have been completed in 731 when Bede was approximately 59 years old. It is considered one of the most important original references on
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
history, and according to some scholars has played a key role in the development of an
English national identity According to some scholars, a national identity of the English as the people or ethnic group dominant in England can be traced to the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon period. For Lindy Brady and Marc Morris, Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English ...
.


Overview

The , or ''An Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', is Bede's best-known work, completed in about 731. The first of the five books begins with some geographical background and then sketches the history of England, beginning with
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
's invasion in 55 BC. A brief account of
Christianity in Roman Britain Christianity was present in Roman Britain from at least the third century until the end of the Roman imperial administration in the early fifth century, and continued in western Britain. Religion in Roman Britain was generally polytheistic, inv ...
, including the martyrdom of
St Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an earl ...
, is followed by the story of
Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
's mission to England in 597, which brought Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons.Campbell "Bede" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' The second book begins with the death of
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
in 604, and follows the further progress of Christianity in Kent and the first attempts to evangelise Northumbria. These encountered a setback when
Penda Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...
, the pagan king of Mercia, killed the newly Christian
Edwin of Northumbria Edwin (; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around 616 until his death. He was the second monarch to rule bo ...
at the
Battle of Hatfield Chase The Battle of Hatfield Chase (; ) was fought on 12 October 633 It pitted the Northumbrians against an alliance of Gwynedd and Mercia. The Northumbrians were led by Edwin and the Gwynedd-Mercian alliance was led by Cadwallon ap Cadfan and Penda. ...
in about 632. The setback was temporary, and the third book recounts the growth of Christianity in Northumbria under kings
Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...
and Oswy. The climax of the third book is the account of the
Council of Whitby A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, traditionally seen as a major turning point in English history. The fourth book begins with the consecration of Theodore as
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, and recounts
Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...
's efforts to bring Christianity to the
kingdom of Sussex The Kingdom of the South Saxons, today referred to as the Kingdom of Sussex (; from , in turn from or , meaning "(land or people of/Kingdom of) the South Saxons"), was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon Englan ...
. The fifth book brings the story up to Bede's day, and includes an account of missionary work in
Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...
, and of the conflict with the British church over the correct dating of Easter. Bede wrote a preface for the work, in which he dedicates it to Ceolwulf, king of Northumbria. The preface mentions that Ceolwulf received an earlier draft of the book; presumably, Ceolwulf knew enough Latin to understand it, and he may even have been able to read it. The preface makes it clear that Ceolwulf had requested the earlier copy, and Bede had asked for Ceolwulf's approval; this correspondence with the king indicates that Bede's monastery had excellent connections among the Northumbrian nobility.


Scope

Divided into five books (totalling about 400 pages), the ''Historia'' covers the history of England, ecclesiastical and political, from the time of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
to the date of its completion in 731. * Book 1 Late Roman Republic to AD 603 * Book 2 AD 604–633 * Book 3 AD 633–665 * Book 4 AD 664–698 * Book 5 AD 687–731 The first twenty-one chapters cover the time period before the mission of
Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
; compiled from earlier writers such as
Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
,
Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...
,
Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine (; – AD), also called ''Prosper Tiro'', was a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, and the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Particularly, Prosper is identified with the (later) axiom '' ...
, the letters of
Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Ro ...
and others, with the insertion of legends and traditions. After 596, documentary sources that Bede took pains to obtain throughout England and from
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
are used, as well as oral testimony, which he employed along with critical consideration of its authenticity.


Sources

The monastery at Jarrow had an excellent library. Both
Benedict Biscop Benedict Biscop ( – 690), also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory (where he also founded the famous library) and was considered a saint after his death. It has been suggested that B ...
and
Ceolfrith Saint Ceolfrid (or Ceolfrith, ; also Geoffrey, c. 642 – 716) was an Anglo-Saxon Christian abbot and saint. He is best known as the warden of Bede from the age of seven until his death in 716. He was the Abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, an ...
had acquired books from the Continent, and in Bede's day the monastery was a renowned centre of learning.Cramp, "Monkwearmouth (or Wearmouth) and Jarrow", pp. 325–326. For the period prior to Augustine's arrival in 597, Bede drew on earlier writers, including
Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
, Eutropius, Pliny, and
Solinus __NOTOC__ Gaius Julius Solinus, better known simply as Solinus, was a Latin grammarian, geographer, and compiler who probably flourished in the early 3rd century AD. Historical scholar Theodor Mommsen dates him to the middle of the 3rd century. ...
. He used
Constantius Constantius may refer to: __NOTOC__ Roman people * Constantius I "Chlorus" (–306), Western Roman emperor from 305 to 306 * Julius Constantius (died 337), consul in 335, son of Constantius I * Constantius Gallus (325–354), ''caesar'' from 351 to ...
's ''Life of Germanus'' as a source for Germanus's visits to Britain. Bede's account of the
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain The settlement of Great Britain by Germanic peoples from continental Europe led to the development of an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon cultural identity and a shared Germanic language—Old English—whose closest known relative is Old Frisian, s ...
is drawn largely from
Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...
's .Lapidge, "Gildas", p. 204. Bede would also have been familiar with more recent accounts such as Eddius Stephanus's '' Life of Wilfrid'', and anonymous ''Lives'' of Gregory the Great and
Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
. He also drew on
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
's ''
Antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean such as the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures such as Ancient Persia (Iran). Artifact ...
'', and the works of
Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...
,Meyvaert "Bede" ''Speculum'' p. 831 and there was a copy of the ''
Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...
'' in Bede's monastery.Meyvaert "Bede" ''Speculum'' p. 843 Bede had correspondents who supplied him with material. Albinus, the abbot of the monastery in Canterbury, provided much information about the church in Kent, and with the assistance of
Nothhelm Nothhelm (sometimes Nothelm;Mayr-Harting ''Coming of Christianity'' p. 69 died 739) was a medieval Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. A correspondent of both Bede and Boniface, it was Nothhelm who gathered materials from Canterbury for Bede' ...
, at that time a priest in London, obtained copies of Gregory the Great's correspondence from Rome relating to Augustine's mission.Keynes, "Nothhelm", pp. 335 336. Almost all of Bede's information regarding Augustine is taken from these letters, which includes the '' Libellus responsionum'', as chapter 27 of book 1 is often known.Wallace-Hadrill ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History'' pp. 37–38 Bede acknowledged his correspondents in the preface to the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'';Bede, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', Preface, p. 42. he was in contact with Daniel, the Bishop of Winchester, for information about the history of the church in Wessex, and also wrote to the monastery at
Lastingham Lastingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, north-east of Kirkbymoorside, and to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early m ...
for information about
Cedd Cedd (; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a meeting which r ...
and
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
. Bede also mentions an Abbot Esi as a source for the affairs of the East Anglian church, and Bishop Cynibert for information about Lindsey. The historian
Walter Goffart Walter André Goffart (February 22, 1934 – February 14, 2025) was a German-born American historian who specialized in Late Antiquity and the European Middle Ages. He taught for many years in the history department and Centre for Medieval Studie ...
argues that Bede based the structure of the ''Historia'' on three works, using them as the framework around which the three main sections of the work were structured. For the early part of the work, dealing with the time up to the
Gregorian mission The Gregorian missionJones "Gregorian Mission" ''Speculum'' p. 335 or Augustinian missionMcGowan "Introduction to the Corpus" ''Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature'' p. 17 was a Christian mission sent by Pope Pope Gregory I, Gregory the Great ...
of
Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century in England, 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English". Augustine ...
, Goffart asserts that Bede used
Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...
's ''De excidio''. The second section, detailing the Gregorian mission, was framed on the anonymous ''Life of Gregory the Great'' written at Whitby. The last section, describing events after the Gregorian mission, Goffart says was modelled on
Stephen of Ripon Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century Hagiography, hagiographic text ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Wilfrid, Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these ...
's ''Life of Wilfrid''.Goffart ''Narrators'' pp. 296–307 Most of Bede's informants for information after Augustine's mission came from the eastern part of Britain, leaving significant gaps in the knowledge of the western areas, which were those areas likely to have a native Briton presence.Brooks "From British to English Christianity" ''Conversion and Colonization'' pp. 12–14


Contents

The ''Ecclesiastical History'' has a clear
polemical Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
and didactic purpose. Bede sets out not just to tell the story of the English, but to advance his views on politics and religion. In political terms he is a partisan of his native
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
, amplifying its role in English history over and above that of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
, its great southern rival. He takes greater pains in describing events of the seventh century, when Northumbria was the dominant Anglo-Saxon power than the eighth, when it was not. The only criticism he ventures of his native Northumbria comes in writing about the death of King Ecgfrith in fighting the Picts at
Nechtansmere The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere (; ) was fought between the Picts, led by King Bridei Mac Bili, and the Northumbrians, led by King Ecgfrith, on 20 May 685. The Northumbrian hegemony over northern Britain, won by Ecgfrit ...
in 685. Bede attributes this defeat to God's vengeance for the Northumbrian attack on the Irish in the previous year. For while Bede is loyal to Northumbria he shows an even greater attachment to the Irish and their
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
, whom he considers to be far more effective and dedicated than their rather complacent English counterparts. His final preoccupation is over the precise
date of Easter As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the ...
, which he writes about at length. It is here, and only here, that he ventures some criticism of
St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
and the Irish missionaries, who celebrated the event, according to Bede, at the wrong time. In the end he is pleased to note that the Irish Church was saved from error by accepting the correct date for Easter.


Models

Bede's stylistic models included some of the same authors from whom he drew the material for the earlier parts of his history. His introduction imitates the work of Orosius, and his title is an echo of Eusebius's '' Historia Ecclesiastica''. Bede also followed Eusebius in taking the ''
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
'' as the model for the overall work: where Eusebius used the ''Acts'' as the theme for his description of the development of the church, Bede made it the model for his history of the Anglo-Saxon church. Bede quoted his sources at length in his narrative, as Eusebius had done. Bede also appears to have taken quotes directly from his correspondents at times. For example, he almost always uses the terms "Australes" and "Occidentales" for the South and West Saxons respectively, but in a passage in the first book he uses "Meridiani" and "Occidui" instead, as perhaps his informant had done. At the end of the work, Bede added a brief autobiographical note; this was an idea taken from
Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...
' earlier ''History of the Franks''. Bede's work as
hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...
, and his detailed attention to dating were both useful preparations for the task of writing the ''Historia Ecclesiastica''. His interest in
computus As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after th ...
, the science of calculating the date of Easter, was also useful in the account he gives of the controversy between the British and Anglo-Saxon church over the correct method of obtaining the Easter date.


Themes

One of the important themes of the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' is that the conversion of Britain to Christianity had all been the work of Irish and Italian missionaries, with no efforts made by the native Britons. This theme was developed from Gildas' work, which denounced the sins of the native rulers during the invasions, with the elaboration by Bede that the invasion and settlement of Britain by the Angles and Saxons was God's punishment for the lack of missionary effort and the refusal to accept the Roman date for celebrating Easter. Although Bede discusses the history of Christianity in Roman Britain, it is significant that he ignores the missionary work of
St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...
.Brooks "From British to English Christianity" ''Conversion and Colonization'' pp. 4–7 He writes approvingly of Aidan and
Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...
, who came from Ireland as missionaries to the Picts and Northumbrians, but disapproved of the failure of the Welsh to evangelize the invading Anglo-Saxons. Bede was a partisan of Rome, regarding Gregory the Great, rather than Augustine, as the true apostle of the English. Likewise, in his treatment of the conversion of the invaders, any native involvement is minimized, such as when discussing
Chad of Mercia Chad (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon monk. He was an abbot, Bishop of the Northumbrians and then Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. After his death he was known as a saint. He was the brother of Bishop C ...
's first consecration, when Bede mentions that two British bishops took part in the consecration, thus invalidating it. No information is presented on who these two bishops were or where they came from. Also important is Bede's view of the conversion process as an upper-class phenomenon, with little discussion of any missionary efforts among the non-noble or royal population.Brooks "From British to English Christianity" ''Conversion and Colonization'' pp. 7–10 Another view, taken by historian D. H. Farmer, is that the theme of the work is "the progression from diversity to unity". According to Farmer, Bede took this idea from Gregory the Great and illustrates it in his work by showing how Christianity brought together the native and invading races into one church. Farmer cites Bede's intense interest in the schism over the correct date for Easter as support for this argument, and also cites the lengthy description of the Synod of Whitby, which Farmer regards as "the dramatic centre-piece of the whole work." The historian Alan Thacker wrote in 1983 that Bede's works should be seen as advocating a monastic rather than secular ministry, and Thacker argues that Bede's treatment of St Cuthbert is meant to make Cuthbert a role-model for the role of the clergy advocated by Gregory the Great. The historian Walter Goffart says of the ''Historia'' that many modern historians find it a "tale of origins framed dynamically as the Providence-guided advance of a people from heathendom to Christianity; a cast of saints rather than rude warriors; a mastery of historical technique incomparable for its time; beauty of form and diction; and, not least, an author whose qualities of life and spirit set a model of dedicated scholarship."Goffart ''Narrators'' p. 235 Goffart also feels that a major theme of the ''Historia'' is local, Northumbrian concerns, and that Bede treated matters outside Northumbria as secondary to his main concern with northern history.Goffart ''Narrators'' p. 240 Goffart sees the writing of the ''Historia'' as motivated by a political struggle in Northumbria between a party devoted to Wilfrid, and those opposed to Wilfrid's policies.Goffart ''Narrators'' p. 326 Much of the "current" history in the ''Historia'' is concerned with
Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...
, who was a bishop in Northumbria and whose stormy career is documented not only in Bede's works but in a ''Life of Wilfrid''. A theme in Bede's treatment of Wilfrid is the need to minimize the conflict between Wilfrid and
Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus (; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After studying there, he relocated to ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, who was involved in many of Wilfrid's difficulties.Chadwick "Theodore" ''Archbishop Theodore'' pp. 92–93 The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' includes many accounts of miracles and visions. These were ''de rigueur'' in medieval religious narrative, but Bede appears to have avoided relating the more extraordinary tales; and, remarkably, he makes almost no claims for miraculous events at his own monastery. There is no doubt that Bede did believe in miracles, but the ones he does include are often stories of healing, or of events that could plausibly be explained naturally. The miracles served the purpose of setting an example to the reader, and Bede explicitly states that his goal is to teach morality through history, saying "If history records good things of good men, the thoughtful reader is encouraged to imitate what is good; if it records evil of wicked men, the devout reader is encouraged to avoid all that is sinful and perverse."


Bede's sparrow

One of the most famous sections is the parable of the sparrow. In 627 King
Edwin of Northumbria Edwin (; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around 616 until his death. He was the second monarch to rule bo ...
was converted to Christianity. In Bede's account, the king held a meeting of his council to discuss acceptance of the new religion. The chief pagan priest, Coifu, declared that he had not had as much favour from the king or success in his undertakings as many other men even though no one had served the gods more faithfully, so he saw that they had no power and he would convert to Christianity. Then a leading councillor spoke: :This is how the present life of man on earth, King, appears to me in comparison with that which is unknown to us. You are sitting feasting with your
ealdormen Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''
thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...
s in winter time; the fire is burning on the hearth in the middle of the hall and all inside is warm, while outside the wintry storms of rain and snow are raging; and a sparrow flies swiftly through the hall. It enters in at one door and quickly flies out through the other. For the few moments it is inside, the storm and wintry tempest cannot touch it, but after the briefest moment of calm, it flits from your sight, out of the wintry storm and into it again. So this life of man appears but for a moment; what follows or indeed what went before, we know not at all. If this new doctrine brings us more certain information, it seems right that we should accept it.


Omissions and bias

Bede apparently had no informant at any of the main Mercian religious houses.Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 100. His information about Mercia came from
Lastingham Lastingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, north-east of Kirkbymoorside, and to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early m ...
, now in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, and from
Lindsey Lindsey may refer to : Places Canada * Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia England * Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 ** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, ...
, a province on the borders of Northumbria and Mercia. As a result, there are noticeable gaps in his coverage of Mercian church history, such as his omission of the division of the huge Mercian diocese by Theodore in the late 7th century. Bede's regional bias is apparent. There were clearly gaps in Bede's knowledge, but Bede also says little on some topics that he must have been familiar with. For example, although Bede recounts Wilfrid's missionary activities, he does not give a full account of his conflict with Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, or his ambition and aristocratic lifestyle. Only the existence of other sources such as the ''Life of Wilfrid'' make it clear what Bede discreetly avoids saying. The omissions are not restricted to Wilfrid; Bede makes no mention at all of the English missionary
Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...
, though it is unlikely he knew little of him; the final book contains less information about the church in his own day than could be expected. A possible explanation for Bede's discretion may be found in his comment that one should not make public accusations against church figures, no matter what their sins; Bede may have found little good to say about the church in his day and hence preferred to keep silent. It is clear that he did have fault to find; his letter to Ecgberht contains several criticisms of the church. The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' has more to say about episcopal events than it does about the monasteries of England. Bede does shed some light on monastic affairs; in particular, he comments in book V that many Northumbrians are laying aside their arms and entering monasteries "rather than study the arts of war. What the result of this will be the future will show." This veiled comment, another example of Bede's discretion in commenting on current affairs, could be interpreted as ominous given Bede's more specific criticism of quasi-monasteries in his letter to Ecgberht, written three years later. Bede's account of life at the court of the Anglo-Saxon kings includes little of the violence that Gregory of Tours mentions as a frequent occurrence at the Frankish court. It is possible that the courts were as different as their descriptions make them appear but it is more likely that Bede omitted some of the violent reality. Bede states that he wrote the work as an instruction for rulers, in order that "the thoughtful listener is spurred on to imitate the good".Quoted in It also was no part of Bede's purpose to describe the kings who did not convert to Christianity in the ''Historia''.


Anno Domini

In 725 Bede wrote ''
The Reckoning of Time ''The Reckoning of Time'' (, CPL 2320) is an English era treatise written in Medieval Latin by the Northumbrian monk Bede in 725. Background In mid-7th-century Anglo-Saxon England, there was a desire to see the Easter season less closel ...
'' (), using something similar to the ''
anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...
'' era (BC/AD dating system) created by the monk
Dionysius Exiguus Dionysius Exiguus (Latin for "Dionysius the Humble"; Greek: Διονύσιος; – ) was a 6th-century Eastern Roman monk born in Scythia Minor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis (present-day Constanț ...
in 525, continuing to use it throughout ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', becoming very influential in causing that era to be adopted thereafter in Western Europe. Specifically, he used ''anno ab incarnatione Domini'' (in the year from the incarnation of the Lord) or ''anno incarnationis dominicae'' (in the year of the incarnation of the Lord). He never abbreviated the term like the modern AD. Bede counted ''anno Domini'' from Christ's birth, not from Christ's conception. Within this work, he was the first writer to use a term similar to the English ''before Christ''. In book I chapter 2 he used ''ante incarnationis dominicae tempus'' (before the time of the incarnation of the Lord). However, the latter was not very influential—only this isolated use was repeated by other writers during the rest of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The first extensive use of "BC" (hundreds of times) occurred in ''Fasciculus Temporum'' by Werner Rolevinck in 1474, alongside years of the world (''anno mundi'').


Continuation of Bede

Some early manuscripts contain additional annalistic entries that extend past the date of completion of the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', with the latest entry dated 766.Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', p. 259–260. No manuscripts earlier than the twelfth century contain these entries, except for the entries for 731 through 734, which do occur in earlier manuscripts. Much of the material replicates what is found in
Simeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (fl. c.1090 to c. 1128 ) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon was a Benedictine monk at Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. He may have been one of 23 mon ...
's chronicle; the remaining material is thought to derive from northern chronicles from the eighth century. The ''Historia'' was translated into
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
sometime between the end of the ninth century and about 930; although the surviving manuscripts are predominantly in the
West Saxon dialect West Saxon is the term applied to the two different dialects Early West Saxon and Late West Saxon with West Saxon being one of the four distinct regional dialects of Old English. The three others were Kentish, Mercian and Northumbrian (the l ...
, it is clear that the original contained Anglian features and so was presumably by a scholar from or trained in
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
.Sharon M. Rowley, ''The Old English Version of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica'', Anglo-Saxon Studies, 16 (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2011), pp. 36–46. The translation was once held to have been done by King Alfred of England, but this attribution is no longer accepted, and debate centres on how far it owes its origins to the patronage of Alfred and/or his associates. The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'', the earliest tranche of which was composed/compiled around the same time as the translation was made, drew heavily on the ''Historia'', which formed the chronological framework of the early parts of the Chronicle.


Assessment and influence

The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' was copied often in the Middle Ages, and about 160 manuscripts containing it survive. About half of those are located on the European continent, rather than in the British Isles. Most of the 8th- and 9th-century texts of Bede's ''Historia'' come from the northern parts of the Carolingian Empire. This total does not include manuscripts with only a part of the work, of which another 100 or so survive. It was printed for the first time between 1474 and 1482, probably at
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
.Wright ''Companion to Bede'' pp. 4–5 Modern historians have studied the ''Historia'' extensively, and a number of editions have been produced.Goffart ''Narrators'' p. 236 For many years, early Anglo-Saxon history was essentially a retelling of the ''Historia'', but recent scholarship has focused as much on what Bede did not write as what he did. The belief that the ''Historia'' was the culmination of Bede's works, the aim of all his scholarship, a belief common among historians in the past, is no longer accepted by most scholars.Goffart ''Narrators'' pp. 238–9 The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' has given Bede a high reputation, but his concerns were different from those of a modern writer of history. His focus on the history of the organization of the English church, and on heresies and the efforts made to root them out, led him to exclude the secular history of kings and kingdoms except where a moral lesson could be drawn or where they illuminated events in the church. In the early Middle Ages, the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', ''
Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...
'', and
Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...
's ''Versus de patribus, regibus et sanctis Eboracensis ecclesiae'' all drew heavily on the text. Likewise, the later medieval writers
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
,
Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon (; 1088 – 1157), the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' (Medieval Latin for "History of the English"), as "the most important Anglo- ...
, and
Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...
used his works as sources and inspirations. Early modern writers, such as
Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: Polidoro Virgili, commonly Latinised as Polydorus Vergilius; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent much of ...
and
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...
, the Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury, also utilized the ''Historia'', and his works were used by both Protestant and Catholic sides in the Wars of Religion. Some historians have questioned the reliability of some of Bede's accounts. One historian, Charlotte Behr, asserts that the ''Historia's'' account of the arrival of the Germanic invaders in Kent should be considered as current myth, not history.Behr "Origins of Kingship" ''Early Medieval Europe'' pp. 25–52 Historian
Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
writes that "When, in the generations that followed
Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
, a united kingdom of England came to be forged, it was Bede's history that provided it with a sense of ancestry that reached back beyond its foundation."


Manuscript tradition

Manuscripts of the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' fall generally into two groups, known to historians as the "c-type" and the "m-type".Colgrave & Mynors, ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History'', pp. xl–xli. Charles Plummer, in his 1896 edition of Bede, identified six characteristic differences between the two manuscript types. For example, the c-type manuscripts omit one of the miracles attributed to St Oswald in book IV, chapter 14, and the c-type also includes the years 733 and 734 in the chronological summary at the end of the work, whereas the m-type manuscripts stop with the year 731. Plummer thought that this meant the m-type was definitely earlier than the c-type, but this has been disputed by Bertram Colgrave in his 1969 edition of the text. Colgrave points out that the addition of a couple of annals is a simple alteration for a copyist to make at any point in the manuscript history; he also notes that the omission of one of Oswald's miracles is not the mistake of a copyist, and strongly implies that the m-type is a later revision. Some genealogical relationships can be discerned among the numerous manuscripts that have survived. The earliest manuscripts used to establish the c-text and m-text are as follows.Colgrave & Mynors, ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History'', pp. xli–xlv. The letters under the "Version" column are identifying letters used by historians to refer to these manuscripts.


Relationships between the manuscripts

With few exceptions, Continental copies of the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' are of the m-type, while English copies are of the c-type. Among the c-texts, manuscript K includes only books IV and V, but C and O are complete. O is a later text than C but is independent of it and so the two are a valuable check on correctness. They are thought to have both derived from an earlier manuscript, marked "c2" in the diagram, which does not survive. A comparison of K and c2 yields an accurate understanding of the original c-text, but for the first three books, which are not in K, it is sometimes impossible to know if a variant reading in C and O represents the original state of the c-text, or is a variation only found in c2. One long chapter, book I chapter 27, is also found in another manuscript, Rh. 95 at the Zürich Zentralbibliothek; this is another witness to the c-text and appears to be independent of c2, and so is useful as a further cross-check on the c-text. The m-text depends largely on manuscripts M and L, which are very early copies, made not long after Bede's death. Both seem likely to have been taken from the original, though this is not certain. Three further manuscripts, U, E, and N, are all apparently the descendants of a Northumbrian manuscript that does not survive but which went to the continent in the late 8th century. These three are all early manuscripts, but are less useful than might be thought, since L and M are themselves so close to the original. The text of both the m-type and c-type seems to have been accurately copied. Taking a consensus text from the earliest manuscripts, Bertram Colgrave counted 32 places where there was an apparent error of some kind. However, 26 of these are to be found within a transcription from an earlier source, and it is apparent by checking independent copies of those sources that in such cases Bede copied the mistake into his own text.Colgrave & Mynors, ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History'', pp. xxxix–xl.


History of the manuscripts

*K appears to have been written in Northumbria in the late 8th century. Only books IV and V survive; the others were probably lost during the Middle Ages. The manuscript bears a 15th-century pressmark of the Abbey of Fulda. *C, also known as the
Tiberius Bede British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius C. II, or the Tiberius Bede, is an 8th-century illuminated manuscript of Bede's '' Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum''. It is one of only four surviving 8th-century manuscripts of Bede, another of which h ...
, was written in the south of England in the second half of the 8th century. Plummer argued that it was from Durham, but this is dismissed by Colgrave. The manuscript contains glosses in Old English that were added in the south during the 9th century. *O dates to the early 11th century, and has subsequent corrections many of which are from the 12th century. *L, also known as the St Petersburg Bede, was copied by four scribes no later than 747. The scribes were probably at either Wearmouth or Jarrow Abbey. *M, also known as the Moore Bede, was written in Northumbria in 737 or shortly thereafter. The manuscript was owned at one time by John Moore, the Bishop of Ely, and as a result it is known as the Moore MS. Moore's collection was purchased by King
George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...
and given to
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1715, where it still resides. *U dates to the late 8th century, and is thought to be a copy, made on the continent, of an earlier Northumbrian manuscript ("c2" in the diagram above). It has been at Weissenburg since the end of the Middle Ages. *E dates from the middle third of the 9th century. In 800, a list was made of books at Würzburg cathedral; the list includes one ''Historia Anglorum'' and E may be a copy of that manuscript. Subsequently, E is known to have been in the possession of Ebrach Abbey. *N was copied in the 9th century by several scribes; at one point it was owned by St Hubert in the
Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...
. Manuscripts written before 900 include: * Corbie MS, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris * St Gall Abbey Library Copies are sparse throughout the 10th century and for much of the 11th century. The greatest number of copies of Bede's work was made in the 12th century, but there was a significant revival of interest in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many of the copies are of English provenance, but also surprisingly many are Continental.


Printing history

The first printed copy of the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' appeared from the press of Heinrich Eggestein in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, probably between 1475 and 1480. A defect in the text allows the identification of the manuscript Eggestein used; it subsequently appeared in a catalogue of the Vienna Dominicans of 1513. Eggestein had also printed an edition of Rufinus's translation of
Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
's ''
Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...
'', and the two works were reprinted, bound as a single volume, on 14 March 1500 by Georg Husner, also of Strasbourg. Another reprint appeared on 7 December 1506, from Heinrich Gran and S. Ryman at
Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...
.Colgrave & Mynors, ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History'', pp. lxx–lxxiii. A Paris edition appeared in 1544, and in 1550 John de Grave produced an edition at
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. Two reprints of this edition appeared, in 1566 and 1601. In 1563, Johann Herwagen included it in volume III of his eight-volume ''Opera Omnia'', and this was in turn reprinted in 1612 and 1688. Michael Sonnius produced an edition in Paris in 1587, including the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' in a collection of other historical works; and in 1587 Johann Commelin included it in a similar compilation, printed at
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
. In 1643, Abraham Whelock produced at Cambridge an edition with the Old English text and the Latin text in parallel columns, the first in England. All of the above editions were based on the C-text. The first edition to use the m-type manuscripts was printed by Pierre Chifflet in 1681, using a descendant of the Moore MS. For the 1722 edition, John Smith obtained the Moore MS., and also, having access to two copies in the
Cotton Library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631). The collection of books and materials Sir Robert held was one of the three "foun ...
, was able to print a very high-quality edition. Smith undertook his edition under the influence of Thomas Gale, encouraged by Ralph Thoresby, and with assistance of
Humfrey Wanley Humfrey Wanley (21 March 1672 – 6 July 1726) was an English librarian, palaeographer and scholar of Old English, employed by manuscript collectors such as Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, Robert and Edward Harley, 2nd Earl ...
on
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
. He spent the majority of his time residing in Cambridge, and working on it, but did not live to complete the preparation. His son George brought out in 1722 the ''Historiæ Ecclesiasticæ Gentis Anglorum Libri Quinque, auctore Venerabili Bæda ... cura et studio Johannis Smith, S. T. P.'', published by
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. It contains the preface to ''
The Reckoning of Time ''The Reckoning of Time'' (, CPL 2320) is an English era treatise written in Medieval Latin by the Northumbrian monk Bede in 725. Background In mid-7th-century Anglo-Saxon England, there was a desire to see the Easter season less closel ...
'', and a world-chronicle. It had the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
version of the ''Historia ecclesiastica''. Smith's edition is described by David C. Douglas as "an enormous advance" on previous ones, adding that textual criticism of Bede hardly then changed until 1896, when the Plummer edition appeared. Subsequently, the most notable edition was that of Charles Plummer, whose 1896 ''Venerabilis Bedae Opera Historica'', with a full commentary, has been a foundation-stone for all subsequent scholarship.


Facsimiles and manuscript images

London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius C II, 1st half of 9th century, Latin https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/bedes-ecclesiastical-history-of-the-english-people Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Tanner 10, first half of 10th century, Old English https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/8fb7abbc-bea5-494b-8ed5-34d11c8ce942/surfaces/04b93784-d6fa-4346-852b-724c0d9d7877/ Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 041, c. 11th century, Old English https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/catalog/qd527zm3425 Cambridge, University Library, MS Kk.5.16 (The Moore Bede), c.737 https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-KK-00005-00016/1


Editions

*1475: Heinrich Eggestein, Strasbourg. *1550: John de Grave, Antwerp. *1587: Michael Sonnius, Paris. *1643: Abraham Whelock, Cambridge. *1722: John Smith, Cambridge. *1861: Migne, ''
Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...
'' (vol. 95), reprint of Smith's edition. *1896: Charles Plummer (ed.), ''Venerabilis Baedae Historiam ecclesiasticam gentis Anglorum, Historiam abbatum, Epistolam ad Ecgberctum una cum Historia abbatum auctore anonymo'', 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896). *1969: Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (eds.), ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969 orr. repr. Oxford: Oxford University Press">orr. repr. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. *2005: Michael Lapidge">Oxford University Press, 1991">Oxford University Press">orr. repr. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. *2005: Michael Lapidge (ed.), Pierre Monat and Philippe Robin (trans.), Bède le Vénérable, ''Histoire ecclésiastique du peuple anglais = Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'', Sources chrétiennes, 489–91, 3 volumes (Paris: Cerf, 2005). *2008–2010: Michael Lapidge (ed.), Paolo Chiesa (trans.), Beda, ''Storia degli Inglesi = Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'', Scrittori greci e latini, 2 volumes (Rome/Milan: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla/Arnoldo Mondadori, 2008–2010). Complete critical apparatus.


Translations

*Late ninth century: an anonymous, abbreviated translation, possibly at the suggestion of
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
.1643/4: Anglo-Saxon version parallel with the Latin in Abraham Whelock's edition (editio princeps of the Anglo-Saxon); ''Baedae Historia Ecclesiastica a gloriosissimo veterum Anglo-Saxonum rege Aluredo Saxonice reddita'', cura et studio Johannis Smith, Cantabrigiae, 1722; ''The Old English Version of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', ed. by Thomas Miller, Early English Text Society, o. s. 95, 96, 110, 111 (London: Trübner, 1890–98). *1565: Thomas Stapleton (Antwerp: John Laet, at the signe of the Rape
full text
*1723: John Stevens (London: J. Batley at the Dove in
Paternoster Row Paternoster Row is a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area call ...
, and T. Meighan in
Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

full text
*1845:
John Allen Giles John Allen Giles (1808–1884) was an English historian. He was primarily known as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and history. He revised Stevens' translation of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and Bede's '' Ecclesiastical History of the Englis ...
(London: James Bohn
full text
*1866: M. M. Wilden. ''Kirchengeschichte des englischen Volkes'' (Schaffhausen: Hurter). *1903: Lionel Cecil Jane (London: J.M. Dent, Temple Classics
full text
*1907: A. M. Sellar (London: George Bell & Sons
full text
*1910: Vida Dutton Scudder (London: J.M. Dent
full text
*1955:
Leo Sherley-Price Lionel Digby (Leo) Sherley-Price (1911–1998) was a Church of England clergyman and Oblate of Saint Benedict who translated medieval Christian literature for the Penguin Classics series. Life Sherley-Price was a student at Sidney Sussex College, ...
(Penguin, reprinted with revisions 1965, revised 1968, revised 1990
full text
*1969: Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford: Clarendon Press, reprint with corrections 1992
bilingual full textEnglish full text
*1982: Günter Spitzbart (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft). *1989: Chen Wei-zhen & Zhou Qing-min (Beijing: Commercial Press, 1st ed 1991). *1995: Philippe Delaveau, ''Histoire ecclésiastique du peuple anglais'' (Paris: Gallimard). *1999: Olivier Szerwiniack, Florence Bourgne, Jacques Elfassi, Mathieu Lescuyer, and Agnès Molinier, ''Histoire ecclésiastique du peuple anglais'' (Paris: Les Belles Lettres). *2003: Vadim Erlikhman, ''Церковная история народа англов'' (Saint-Petersburg: Алетейя). *2005: Pierre Monat and Philippe Robin, ''Histoire ecclésiastique du peuple anglais'', notes by André Crépin, ed. Michael Lapidge (Paris: Cerf). *2008: Hirosi Takahashi (Tokyo: Kodansha). *2008: Jaromír Kincl and Magdaléna Moravová, ''Církevní dějiny národa Anglů'' (Prague: Argo). *2009: Paolo Chiesa, ''Storia degli Inglesi'', ed. M. Lapidge (Milan: Fondazione Valla-Arnoldo Mondadori). *2015: Bogdan Kolar and Miran Sajovic, ''Cerkvena zgodovina ljudstva Anglov'' (Celje: Mohorjeva družba).


See also

* List of manuscripts of Bede's ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' *
Cædmon Cædmon (; fl. c. 657–684) is the earliest English poet whose name is known. A Northumbrian cowherd who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (now known as Whitby Abbey) during the abbacy of St. Hilda, he was orig ...


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*Jones, Putnam Fennell, ''A Concordance to the Historia ecclesiastica of Bede'', Cambridge, 1929. *Wallace-Hadrill, J. M., ''Bede's Ecclesiastical history of the English people: a historical commentary'', Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1988.


External links

* Bede

in Latin from
The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...
. * Bede
''Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England''
A.M. Sellar's 1907 Translation. From the
Christian Classics Ethereal Library The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a p ...

Also
from
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
* Bede
''The Ecclesiastical History of the English People''
in a freely-distributable PDF document. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum Sources on Germanic paganism 8th-century Christian texts History of Christianity texts Texts of Anglo-Saxon England in Latin Works by Bede 8th-century books in Latin
Ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor