by Bede
The Complete Works of
BEDE
(672/673-735 AD)
Contents
The Translations
THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE
THE LIFE AND MIRACLES OF SAINT CUTHBERT, BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE
LIVES OF THE HOLY ABBOTS OF WEARMOUTH AND JARROW
THE BOOK OF THE HOLY PLACES
THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
THE LIFE OF THE HOLY CONFESSOR SAINT FELIX
THE EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE
THE LIFE OF ST. VEDAST, BISHOP OF ARRAS
AN EPISTLE FROM BEDE TO ABBOT ALBINUS, RELATING TO HIS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
AN EPISTLE TO BISHOP EGBERT, CONCERNING ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE
The Latin Text
CONTENTS OF THE LATIN TEXT
The Dual Text
DUAL LATIN AND ENGLISH TEXT
The Biographies
BEDE by William Hunt
© Delphi Classics 2015
Version 1
The Complete Works of
THE VENERABLE BEDE
By Delphi Classics, 2015
The Translations
Monkwearmouth and Jarrow in modern-day Sunderland, North East England — Bede records his birthplace as “on the lands of this monastery” in his ‘Historia’.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE
Translated by A. M. Sellar
Believed to have been completed in AD 731, when Bede was approximately fifty-nine-years-old, his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum narrates the history of the Christian Churches in England, focusing on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity. It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history, playing a central role in the development of an English national identity.
Divided into five books, the Historia covers the history of England, ecclesiastical and political, from the time of Julius Caesar to the date of its completion (AD 731). The first of the five books begins with geographical background on the country, before sketching the history of England, beginning with Caesar’s invasion in 55 BC. A brief account of Christianity in Roman Britain, including the martyrdom of Saint Alban, is followed by the account of Augustine’s mission to England in 597, bringing Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. The second book opens with the death of Gregory the Great in 604 and follows the further progress of Christianity in Kent and the first attempts to evangelise Northumbria. These attempts encountered a setback when Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, killed the newly Christian Edwin of Northumbria at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in c. 632.
The third book recounts the growth of Christianity in Northumbria under kings Oswald and Oswy, as the book culminates with the account of the Council of Whitby, traditionally seen as a major turning point in English history. The fourth book begins with the consecration of Theodore as Archbishop of Canterbury, recounting Wilfrid’s efforts to bring Christianity to the kingdom of Sussex. The fifth book brings the story up to Bede’s day, including an account of missionary work in Frisia and of the conflict with the British church over the correct dating of Easter. Bede also wrote a Preface for the work, in which he dedicates the History to Ceolwulf, king of Northumbria.
Aiding Bede’s composition, the monastery at Jarrow had an excellent library. Both Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrith had acquired books from the Continent, and in Bede’s day the monastery was a renowned centre of learning. For the period prior to Augustine’s arrival in 597, the historian drew on earlier writers, including Orosius, Eutropius, Pliny and Solinus. He used Constantius’s Life of Germanus as a source for Germanus’ visits to Britain. Bede’s account of the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons is drawn largely from Gildas’s De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. 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. He also drew on Josephus’ Antiquities and the works of Cassiodorus.
Bede also had correspondents that 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, at that time a priest in London, obtained copies of Gregory the Great’s correspondence from Rome relating to Augustine’s mission. Almost all of Bede’s information regarding Augustine is taken from these letters, including the Libellus responsionum, as Chapter 27 of Book I is often known. Bede acknowledged his correspondents in the preface to the History.
One of the striking themes of the Historia is that the conversion of the British Isles to Christianity had been largely the work of Irish and Italian missionaries, with little effort 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 the British Isles 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, significantly he utterly ignores the missionary work of Saint Patrick. He writes approvingly of Aidan and Columba, who came from Ireland as missionaries to the Picts and Northumbrians, but disapproved of the failure of the Welsh to evangelise 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 minimised, such as when discussing Chad of Mercia’s first consecration, when Bede mentions that two British bishops took part in the consecration, thus invalidating it.
The Historia was copied often in the Middle Ages and about 160 manuscripts survive. About half of these are located on the European continent, rather than on the British Isles. Most of the eighth and ninth century texts of Bede’s great work 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 hundred or so survive. It was printed for the first time between 1474 and 1482, most likely at Strasbourg, France.
The Historia has attained Bede a great reputation, but his concerns were different from those of a modern writer of history. His focus on the history of the organisation 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. Besides the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the medieval writers William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth used his works as sources and inspirations. Early modern writers, such as Polydore Virgil and Matthew Parker, the Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury, also utilised the Historia and Bede’s works were used by both Protestant and Catholic sides in the Wars of Religion.
An original manuscript page from the St Petersburg Bede
The martyrdom of Saint Alban, from a 13th Century manuscript, now in the Trinity College Library — a key event from the early books of the ‘Historia’
CONTENTS
Editor’s Preface
Introduction
Life of Bede
Letter of Cuthbert to Cuthwin.
Preface
Book I
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
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br /> Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV.
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
Chap. XXX.
Chap. XXXI.
Chap. XXXII.
Chap. XXXIII.
Chap. XXXIV.
Book II
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Book III
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV.
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
Chap. XXX.
Book IV
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Chap. XXV.
Chap. XXVI.
Chap. XXVII.
Chap. XXVIII.
Chap. XXIX.
Chap. XXX.
Chap. XXXI.
Chap. XXXII.
Book V
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
Chap. VI.
Chap. VII.
Chap. VIII.
Chap. IX.
Chap. X.
Chap. XI.
Chap. XII.
Chap. XIII.
Chap. XIV.
Chap. XV.
Chap. XVI.
Chap. XVII.
Chap. XVIII.
Chap. XIX.
Chap. XX.
Chap. XXI.
Chap. XXII.
Chap. XXIII.
Chap. XXIV.
Continuation
Pope Gregory dictating the Gregorian chant — Bede was a partisan of Rome, regarding Gregory the Great, as the true apostle of the English
Editor’s Preface
The English version of the “Ecclesiastical History” in the following pages is a revision of the translation of Dr. Giles, which is itself a revision of the earlier rendering of Stevens. In the present edition very considerable alterations have been made, but the work of Dr. Giles remains the basis of the translation. The Latin text used throughout is Mr. Plummer’s. Since the edition of Dr. Giles appeared in 1842, so much fresh work on the subject has been done, and recent research has brought so many new facts to light, that it has been found necessary to rewrite the notes almost entirely, and to add a new introduction. After the appearance of Mr. Plummer’s edition of the Historical Works of Bede, it might seem superfluous, for the present at least, to write any notes at all on the “Ecclesiastical History.” The present volume, however, is intended to fulfil a different and much humbler function. There has been no attempt at any original work, and no new theories are advanced. The object of the book is merely to present in a short and convenient form the substance of the views held by trustworthy authorities, and it is hoped that it may be found useful by those students who have either no time or no inclination to deal with more important works.
Among the books of which most use has been made, are Mr. Plummer’s edition of the “Ecclesiastical History,” Messrs. Mayor and Lumby’s edition of Books III and IV, Dr. Bright’s “Early English Church History,” and Dr. Hunt’s “History of the English Church from its foundation to the Norman Conquest.” Many of the articles in the “Dictionary of Christian Biography” and the “Dictionary of Christian Antiquities,” Dr. Mason’s “Mission of St. Augustine,” Dr. Rhŷs’s “Celtic Britain,” and a number of other books, mentioned in the notes, have been consulted.
For help received in different ways I wish to express my gratitude to various correspondents and friends. I am particularly indebted to Mr. Edward Bell, who has kindly revised my proofs and made many valuable suggestions. For information on certain points I have to thank the Rev. Charles Plummer, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Professor Lindsay of St. Andrews University, Miss Wordsworth, Principal, and Miss Lodge, Vice-Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; and in a very special sense I wish to acknowledge my obligations to Miss Paterson, Assistant Librarian at the University Library, St. Andrews, whose unfailing kindness in verifying references, and supplying me with books, has greatly lightened my labours.
Introduction
There are, it has been estimated, in England and on the Continent, in all about 140 manuscripts of the “Ecclesiastical History.” Of these, four date from the eighth century: the Moore MS. (Cambridge), so called, because, after being sold by auction in the reign of William III, it came into the possession of Bishop Moore, who bequeathed it to the University of Cambridge; Cotton, Tiberius A, xiv; Cotton, Tiberius C, ii; and the Namur MS. A detailed account of these, as well as of a great number of other manuscripts, will be found in Mr. Plummer’s Introduction to his edition of Bede’s Historical Works. He has been the first to collate the four oldest MSS., besides examining numerous others and collating them in certain passages. He has pointed out that two of the MSS. dating from the eighth century (the century in which Bede died), the Moore MS. and Cotton, Tiberius A, xiv, point to a common original which cannot be far removed from Bede’s autograph. We are thus brought very near to our author, and may have more than in most cases the assurance that we have before us what he actually meant to say.
The earliest editions were printed on the Continent; the “editio princeps” is believed to date from 1475. A number of editions followed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the first in England was published by Abraham Whelock at Cambridge in 1643-4. Smith’s edition in 1722 marked a new era in the history of the book. It was the first critical edition, the text being based on the Moore MS. collated with three others, of which two were eighth century MSS.; and succeeding editors, Stevenson (1841), Giles (1842), Hussey (1846), the editor in the “Monumenta Historica Britannica” (1848), Moberly (1869), Holder (1882), base their work mainly on Smith’s. Mr. Mayor and Mr. Lumby together edited Books III and IV with excellent notes in 1878. Their text “reproduces exactly the Moore MS.” which they collated with some other Cambridge MSS. (cf. Mayor and Lumby, Excursus II). In 1896 the Rev. C. Plummer published his edition of Bede’s Historical Works, the first critical edition since Smith’s, and “the very first which exhibits in an apparatus criticus the various readings of the MSS. on which the text is based.” For the student of Bede
this admirable book is of the highest value, and the labours of all succeeding editors are made comparatively light. Besides the most minute and accurate work on the text, it contains a copious and interesting commentary and the fullest references to the various sources upon which the editor has drawn.
The first translation of the “Ecclesiastical History” is the Anglo-Saxon version, executed either by Alfred himself or under his immediate supervision. Of this version Dr. Hodgkin says: “As this book had become a kind of classic among churchmen, Alfred allowed himself here less liberty than in some of his other translations. Some letters, epitaphs, and similar documents are omitted, and there is an almost complete erasure of the chapters relating to the wearisome Paschal controversy. In other respects the king’s translation seems to be a fairly accurate reproduction of the original work.” Mr. Plummer, however, finds it “very rarely available for the settlement of minute differences of reading.”
The first modern English translation is Thomas Stapleton’s (1565), published at Antwerp. It is a controversial work, intended to point out to Queen Elizabeth “in how many and weighty pointes the pretended refourmers of the Church ... have departed from the patern of that sounde and Catholike faith planted first among Englishmen by holy S. Augustin, our Apostle, and his vertuous company, described truly and sincerely by Venerable Bede, so called in all Christendom for his passing vertues and rare lerning, the Author of this History.” To save Elizabeth’s time “in espying out the particulars,” the translator has “gathered out of the whole History a number of diversities between the pretended religion of Protestants and the primitive faith of the english Church.” If charm and appropriateness of style were the only qualities to be aimed at in a translation, we might well content ourselves with this rendering, which fills with despair the translator of to-day, debarred by his date from writing Elizabethan English.
The work was again translated by John Stevens (1723), and a third time (with some omissions) by W. Hurst in 1814. In 1840 Dr. Giles published a new edition of Stevens’s translation with certain alterations; and a second edition of the same volume was published in 1842, and incorporated in the collected works of Bede, edited by Dr. Giles. In 1870 a literal translation by the Rev. L. Gidley was published. The present volume is a revision of the translation of Dr. Giles.