Bede

Lore & Background

Almost everything known of Bede's life comes from the last chapter of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed about 731. He was born on lands belonging to the twin monastery of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow in present-day Tyne and Wear, England. At age seven he was sent as a puer oblatus to Monkwearmouth to be educated by Benedict Biscop and later by Ceolfrith. He probably transferred to Jarrow in 682. In 686, a plague struck Jarrow, killing most of the population; only Ceolfrith and a young boy—almost certainly Bede—survived to sing the full offices. Bede was ordained a deacon at about age 19 and a priest at about age 30, both by Bishop John of Hexham. He wrote his first works around 701 and continued writing for the rest of his life, completing over 60 books. In 708, some monks at Hexham accused him of heresy over his calculation of the age of the world in De Temporibus, but he defended himself in a letter.

Reader's Guide

Bede is considered by many historians to be the most important scholar of antiquity for the period between the death of Pope Gregory I in 604 and the coronation of Charlemagne in 800. His theological writings included numerous biblical commentaries and works of exegesis. He was a skilled linguist and translator, making Greek and Latin writings of the early Church Fathers more accessible to Anglo-Saxons, which contributed significantly to English Christianity. He helped popularize the practice of dating forward from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini). His monastery had access to a library containing works by Eusebius, Orosius, and others. A cult formed around Bede by the tenth century and was widespread in England by the fourteenth. His body was translated to Durham Cathedral in 1020 and placed in the same tomb as Saint Cuthbert, later moved to an independent shrine in 1370. The shrine was demolished during the English Reformation, but Bede was reburied in the cathedral. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII canonised him and declared him a Doctor of the Church, making him the first native of Great Britain to achieve this designation.

Did You Know?

• Bede's name reflects West Saxon Bīeda (Anglian Bēda), an Old English short name formed on the root of bēodan 'to bid, command.'
• At age 14, Bede was likely the only young boy to survive a plague at Jarrow in 686, alongside Abbot Ceolfrith.
• Bede calculated that Christ was born 3,952 years after the creation of the world, differing from the commonly accepted figure of over 5,000 years.
• A 6th-century Greek and Latin manuscript of Acts of the Apostles believed to have been used by Bede survives as the Codex Laudianus at the Bodleian Library.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Book II, chapter 1; Bede's source for this story is an anonymous Life of Gregory the Great, written by a monk of Whitby Abbey." — Bede "Tanta eo tempore pax in Britannia fuisse perhibetur, ut, sicut usque hodie in proverbio dicitur, etiamsi mulier una cum recens nato parvulo vellet totam perambulare insulam a mari ad mare, nullo se laedente valeret." — Bede "Fore there neidfaerae • naenig uuiurthitthoncsnotturra • than him tharf sieto ymbhycggannae • aer his hiniongaehuaet his gastae • godaes aeththa yflaesaefter deothdaege • doemid uueorthae." — Bede "For þam nedfere • næni wyrþeþþances snotera, • þonne him þearf syto gehicgenne • ær his heonengangehwæt his gaste • godes oþþe yfelesæfter deaþe heonon • demed weorþe." — Bede