The Venerable Bede"Servant of Christ and Priest of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul which is at Wearmouth and Jarrow." These are the words which Bede used to describe himself. Today, we probably know him best as the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People which he completed in AD 731. This work is our primary source for understanding the beginnings of the English people and the coming of Christianity. This is the first work of history in which the AD dating system is used.
Bede was born in AD 673 on the lands of the monastery. Of his family background we know nothing, save that he was entrusted at the age of 7 to the care of Benedict Biscop, the founder of the monastery, and then to Ceolfrith who in AD 681 was appointed Abbot of the new foundation at Jarrow. Bede spent the rest of his life in the monastery. He was ordained deacon at the age of 19 and priest at 30. He observed the Rule of the monastery and was punctilious in his attendance in choir at the daily offices. Outside of his time in choir, he worked as scholar and teacher; he records that "It has always been my delight to learn or to teach or to write". And he explains that "I have made it my business, for my own benefit and that of my brothers, to make brief extracts from the works of the venerable fathers on the holy scriptures, or to add notes of my own to clarify their sense and interpretation".
The range of Bede's scholarship was astonishing, going far beyond the" History". Bishop Boniface, who led a mission to Germany, wrote of Bede that he "shone forth as a lantern in the church by his scriptural commentary"; and his commentaries on books of the Bible were widely sought and widely circulated. He wrote also of nature. He knew that the earth was a sphere. He had a sense of latitude and the annual movement of the sun into the north and south hemispheres from the evidence of varying lengths of shadows. He knew that the moon influenced the cycle of the tides. He wrote on calculating time and his exposition of the Great Cycle of 532 years was of fundamental value to the church in the task of calculating the date of Easter. He wrote a textbook for his students on poetic metres.
Bede died in his cell at the monastery in the year 735. Cuthbert, a young monk who was with him later wrote an account of his death. He describes how Bede finished dictating a chapter of a book which he was composing. Then he said "I have a few treasures in my box, some pepper and napking and incense. Run quickly and fetch the priests of our monastery, and I will share among them such little presents as God has given me."
Bede was born in AD 673 on the lands of the monastery. Of his family background we know nothing, save that he was entrusted at the age of 7 to the care of Benedict Biscop, the founder of the monastery, and then to Ceolfrith who in AD 681 was appointed Abbot of the new foundation at Jarrow. Bede spent the rest of his life in the monastery. He was ordained deacon at the age of 19 and priest at 30. He observed the Rule of the monastery and was punctilious in his attendance in choir at the daily offices. Outside of his time in choir, he worked as scholar and teacher; he records that "It has always been my delight to learn or to teach or to write". And he explains that "I have made it my business, for my own benefit and that of my brothers, to make brief extracts from the works of the venerable fathers on the holy scriptures, or to add notes of my own to clarify their sense and interpretation".
The range of Bede's scholarship was astonishing, going far beyond the" History". Bishop Boniface, who led a mission to Germany, wrote of Bede that he "shone forth as a lantern in the church by his scriptural commentary"; and his commentaries on books of the Bible were widely sought and widely circulated. He wrote also of nature. He knew that the earth was a sphere. He had a sense of latitude and the annual movement of the sun into the north and south hemispheres from the evidence of varying lengths of shadows. He knew that the moon influenced the cycle of the tides. He wrote on calculating time and his exposition of the Great Cycle of 532 years was of fundamental value to the church in the task of calculating the date of Easter. He wrote a textbook for his students on poetic metres.
Bede died in his cell at the monastery in the year 735. Cuthbert, a young monk who was with him later wrote an account of his death. He describes how Bede finished dictating a chapter of a book which he was composing. Then he said "I have a few treasures in my box, some pepper and napking and incense. Run quickly and fetch the priests of our monastery, and I will share among them such little presents as God has given me."
For more information about Bede, the book by Sister Benedict Ward is highly recommended.
Benedicta Ward 1998. The Venerable Bede Geoffrey Chapman, London.ISBN 0-225-66859-9details...
Consult Bede's People: portraits of Northumbrian people of the 7th and 8th centuries.
( Credit: Ven Bede of Jarrow - Charities site )
