Bede was known as the Father of English History. This title was earned mainly through his five volume book called "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum", which translates as "An Ecclesiastical History of the English People". The Penguin Classics edition calls it "A History of the English Church and People".
His models and inspiration were Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament; Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History of the Early Church written during the reign of Emperor Constantine; and the History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours written in the sixth century. His book was dedicated to King Ceolwulf of Northumbria who commissioned it.
Bede the historian
He starts with a description of Britain and the story of the arrival of the Romans in Britain. For the early Roman history, he drew on Roman historians such as Pliny. For the history of the English in Britain, he drew on many sources including research done for him by travelling monks at the Vatican archives. He did not make things up and he was a very careful historian. Other information came from answers to letters he wrote to various people around England, and oral history from trusted people. In all, he acknowledged about 144 different sources.
England at the time of Bede
There had been Christianity in Britain under the Roman Empire. However pagan Anglo-Saxon tribes had come from continental Europe after the Roman withdrawal from Britain. Angles and Saxons established kingdoms across what became England, leaving the local British population in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Cumbria.
At the time, England was divided into separate tribal kingdoms and over a thousand years later we still see the names of these kingdoms preserved in the names of the successor counties such as Kent. The Kingdom of the East Saxons is now Essex, and the Kingdom of the South Saxons is Sussex. The Middle Saxons lived in Middlesex. The Eastern Angles lived in the Kingdom of East Anglia with its Northern Folk and Southern Folk, which are now Norfolk and Suffolk, and parts of the Kingdom of Northumbria are still called Northumberland.
Bede perceived these various Anglo-Saxon tribes as one people who he called the "gentii Angloram", linked by ethnic origin, speaking dialects of the same language, which we now call English. This identification of the English as one people also distinguished them from the native Britons, who today we might call the Celts. It is thanks to his book that all the Anglo-Saxon tribes are together known as the English.
The English language
The language the Anglo-Saxons spoke was an inflected Germanic language, before the influence of French which crept in after the Norman conquest. It is so different to modern English that Old English is often considered a separate language, which for most people has to be translated into modern English.
Significance of his History
Without Bede's History of the English People, we would know very little history of England from before the eighth century. Without Bede, we would not know about Pope Gregory's mission to the English when he sent St Augustine, (called St Augustine of Canterbury so as not to confuse him with St Augustine of Hippo), who arrived in Kent in AD 597.
Without Bede telling us the story of the first English church established at Canterbury in Kent, it would not be clear why the senior Anglican bishop is the Archbishop of Canterbury. Without Bede we would not know about the Synod of Whitby in AD 664, when the British (Celtic) and English traditions of the Church agreed on a common date for Easter.
Attitude to women
It is interesting to see how Bede honoured the importance of women. He recognised the influence of the Christian wives of the Anglo-Saxons kings, and he mentioned by name the royal princesses who became abbesses. He particularly highly respected Abbess Hilda, who he tells us presided at the Synod of Whitby. In fact, abbesses were called to councils and Parliament until mediaeval times.
Christian faith
Bede's work was driven by his strong Christian faith. He was not only a historian but also an able biblical scholar. He knew the Bible well and wrote commentaries on many parts of the Bible as well as homilies on the Gospels which were for reading aloud in church services. In these he drew on homilies by his hero, Pope Gregory the Great, who he regarded as the Apostle to the English. Bede's books were copied, read and used throughout Western Europe and the Bible was so important to him that in later life he attempted to translate parts of the New Testament into Old English.
Polymath
Bede was a polymath, who during his life wrote about 40 books on matters of history, theology, astronomy and science. His empirical approach to science led to his belief that the world was round. He even divided history into six periods, akin to the later theological dispensational view of history.
But who was Bede?
We know some details of Bede's life because he wrote a short biography at the end of his Ecclesiastical History. He tells us that he entered the monastery of Wearmouth aged seven, and then moved to Jarrow. He had to learn Latin, the language of learning, and then read all the books in the library. He was ordained as deacon at age 19, which was exceptionally young., and in AD 703, he became a priest. He says that he finished writing his history in AD 731, when he was 59 years old, meaning he was born about AD 672.
In fact the reason we use the term "AD", at all, is mainly due to Bede, who used the term Anno Domini as a dating mechanism numbering years since the birth of Jesus Christ. Prior to that, dates were usually given by reference to the ruling monarch. Bede died in 735, when he was still trying to finish his translation of the Gospel of John into English.
Legacy
Later King Alfred the Great had Bede's History translated from Latin into Old English, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle used it as a source for early history. During the English Reformation, Catholics quoted Bede to show that the English Church was destined to be part of the Catholic world, whilst Protestants quoted it as evidence that the British Church had a separate history, and the Church of England was returning it to its independent heritage.
In reality, Bede's work had neither agenda, but simply served to tell the history of England and the English, to give moral instruction to the reader, and show what he saw as God's plan for the English.
Centuries later, inspired by Bede, and in places quoting Bede, Winston Churchill wrote a modern equivalent, to bring the story up to date, which was published in 1958 as his four volume "History of the English Speaking Peoples".
Modern commemoration
Bede died in AD 731 on 25 May - which is the day that he is still remembered in the Anglican and Catholic calendars. Bede became known as the Venerable Bede because of his holiness, and his tomb at Jarrow attracted great numbers of pilgrims. His remains were later translated to Durham Cathedral where people still visit his tomb.
The Venerable Bede was belatedly canonised by Pope Leo XIII in 1899, as St Bede the Venerable, and he is often considered the patron saint of scholars and historians. There are many churches, monasteries, and schools around the world that are dedicated to Bede and his legacy continues to serve as an inspiration to Christians around the world. Testament to this is the fact that some 1,300 years later, his writings are still in print and still widely read and studied.
Neil Rees is a publishing consultant, historian, freelance writer and speaker. He is also involved in youth work at his local village church, and guest preaching in churches of different denominations.
