by Bede
In the year 596, Pope Gregory sent Augustine with monks into Britain, to preach the good tidings of the Word of God to the English nation. [I, 23.]
In the year 597, the aforesaid teachers arrived in Britain; being about the 150th year from the coming of the English into Britain. [I, 25.]
In the year 601, Pope Gregory sent the pall into Britain to Augustine, who was already made bishop; he sent also several ministers of the Word, among whom was Paulinus. [I, 29.]
In the year 603, a battle was fought at Degsastan. [I, 34.]
In the year 604, the East Saxons received the faith of Christ, under King Sabert, Mellitus being bishop. [II, 3.]
In the year 605, Gregory died. [II, 1.]
In the year 616, Ethelbert, king of Kent died. [II, 5.]
In the year 625, Paulinus was ordained bishop of the Northumbrians by Archbishop Justus. [II, 9.]
In the year 626, Eanfled, daughter of King Edwin, was baptized with twelve others, on the eve of Whitsunday. [Ib.]
In the year 627, King Edwin was baptized, with his nation, at Easter. [II, 14.]
In the year 633, King Edwin being killed, Paulinus returned to Kent. [II, 20.]
In the year 640, Eadbald, king of Kent, died. [III, 8.]
In the year 642, King Oswald was slain. [III, 9.]
In the year 644, Paulinus, formerly bishop of York, but then of the city of Rochester, departed to the Lord. [III, 14.]
In the year 651, King Oswin was killed, and Bishop Aidan died. [Ibid.]
In the year 653, the Middle Angles, under their prince, Penda, were admitted to the mysteries of the faith. [III, 21.]
In the year 655, Penda was slain, and the Mercians became Christians. [III, 24.]
In the year 664, an eclipse came to pass; Earconbert, king of Kent, died; and Colman with the Scots returned to his people; a pestilence arose; Ceadda and Wilfrid were ordained bishops of the Northumbrians. [III, 26-28, IV, 1.]
In the year 668, Theodore was ordained bishop. [IV, 1.]
In the year 670, Oswy, king of the Northumbrians, died. [IV, 5.]
In the year 673, Egbert, king of Kent, died; and a synod was held at Hertford, in the presence of King Egfrid, Archbishop Theodore presiding: the synod was of great profit, and its decrees are contained in ten articles. [Ibid.]
In the year 675, Wulfhere, king of the Mercians, when he had reigned seventeen years, died and left the government to his brother Ethelred.
In the year 676, Ethelred ravaged Kent. [IV, 12.]
In the year 678, a comet appeared; Bishop Wilfrid was driven from his see by King Egfrid; and Bosa, Eata, and Eadhaed were consecrated bishops in his stead. [Ibid.; V, 19.]
In the year 679, Aelfwine was killed. [IV, 21.]
In the year 680, a synod was held in the plain of Haethfelth, concerning the Catholic faith, Archbishop Theodore presiding; John, the Roman abbot, was also present. The same year also the Abbess Hilda died at Streanaeshalch. [IV, 17, 18, 23.]
In the year 685, Egfrid, king of the Northumbrians, was slain. The same year Hlothere, king of Kent, died. [IV, 26.]
In the year 688, Caedwald, king of the West Saxons, went to Rome from Britain. [V, 7.]
In the year 690, Archbishop Theodore died. [V, 8.]
In the year 697, Queen Osthryth was murdered by her own nobles, to wit, the nobles of the Mercians.
In the year 698, Berctred, an ealdorman of the king of the Northumbrians, was slain by the Picts.
In the year 704, Ethelred, after he had reigned thirty-one years over the nation of the Mercians, became a monk, and gave up the kingdom to Coenred. [V, 19.]
In the year 705, Aldfrid, king of the Northumbrians, died. [V, 18.]
In the year 709, Coenred, king of the Mercians, having reigned five years, went to Rome. [V, 19.]
In the year 711, the commander Bertfrid fought with the Picts.
In the year 716, Osred, king of the Northumbrians, was killed; and Ceolred, king of the Mercians, died; and the man of God, Egbert, brought the monks of Hii to observe the Catholic Easter and the ecclesiastical tonsure. [V, 22.]
In the year 725, Wictred, king of Kent, died. [V, 23.]
In the year 729, comets appeared; the holy Egbert passed away; and Osric died. [Ibid.]
In the year 731, Archbishop Bertwald died. [Ibid.]
The same year Tatwine was consecrated ninth archbishop of the church of Canterbury, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Ethelbald, king of the Mercians. [Ibid.]
Thus much of the Ecclesiastical History of Britain, and more especially of the English nation, as far as I could learn either from the writings of the ancients, or the tradition of our forefathers, or of my own knowledge, with the help of the Lord, I, Bede, the servant of Christ, and priest of the monastery of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, which is at Wearmouth and Jarrow, have set forth. Having been born in the territory of that same monastery, I was given, by the care of kinsmen, at seven years of age, to be educated by the most reverend Abbot Benedict, and afterwards by Ceolfrid, and spending all the remaining time of my life a dweller in that monastery, I wholly applied myself to the study of Scripture; and amidst the observance of monastic rule, and the daily charge of singing in the church, I always took delight in learning, or teaching, or writing. In the nineteenth year of my age, I received deacon’s orders; in the thirtieth, those of the priesthood, both of them by the ministry of the most reverend Bishop John, and at the bidding of the Abbot Ceolfrid. From the time when I received priest’s orders, till the fifty-ninth year of my age, I have made it my business, for my own needs and those of my brethren, to compile out of the works of the venerable Fathers, the following brief notes on the Holy Scriptures, and also to make some additions after the manner of the meaning and interpretation given by them:
On the Beginning of Genesis, to the birth of Isaac and the casting out of Ishmael, four books.
Concerning the Tabernacle and its Vessels, and of the Vestments of the Priests, three books.
On the first part of Samuel, to the Death of Saul, three books.
Concerning the Building of the Temple, of Allegorical Exposition, and other matters, two books.
Likewise on the Book of Kings, thirty Questions.
On the Proverbs of Solomon, three books.
On the Song of Songs, seven books.
On Isaiah, Daniel, the twelve Prophets, and Part of Jeremiah, Divisions of Chapters, collected from the Treatise of the blessed Jerome.
On Ezra and Nehemiah, three books.
On the song of Habakkuk, one book.
On the Book of the blessed Father Tobias, one Book of Allegorical Explanation concerning Christ and the Church.
Also, Chapters of Readings on the Pentateuch of Moses, Joshua, and Judges;
On the Books of Kings and Chronicles;
On the Book of the blessed Father Job;
On the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs;
On the Prophets Isaiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
On the Gospel of Mark, four books.
On the Gospel of Luke, six books.
Of Homilies on the Gospel, two books.
On the Apostle, whatsoever I have found in the works of St. Augustine I have taken heed to transcribe in order.
On the Acts of the Apostles, two books.
On the seven Catholic Epistles, a book on each.
On the Revelation of St. John, three books.
Likewise, Chapters of Lessons on all the New Testament, except the Gospel.
Likewise a book of Epistles to divers Persons, of which one is of the Six Ages of the world; one of the Halting-places of the Children of Israel; one on the words of Isaiah, “And they shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited”; one of the Reason of Leap-Year, and one of the Equinox, according to Anatolius.
Likewise concerning the Histories of Saints: I translated the Book of the Life and Passion of St. Felix, Confessor, from the metrical work of Paulinus, into prose; the Book of the Life and Passion of St. An
astasius, which was ill translated from the Greek, and worse amended by some ignorant person, I have corrected as to the sense as far as I could; I have written the Life of the Holy Father Cuthbert, who was both monk and bishop, first in heroic verse, and afterwards in prose.
The History of the Abbots of this monastery, in which I rejoice to serve the Divine Goodness, to wit, Benedict, Ceolfrid, and Huaetbert, in two books.
The Ecclesiastical History of our Island and Nation, in five books.
The Martyrology of the Festivals of the Holy Martyrs, in which I have carefully endeavoured to set down all whom I could find, and not only on what day, but also by what sort of combat, and under what judge they overcame the world.
A Book of Hymns in divers sorts of metre, or rhythm.
A Book of Epigrams in heroic or elegiac verse.
Of the Nature of Things, and of the Times, one book of each; likewise, of the Times, one larger book.
A book of Orthography arranged in Alphabetical Order.
Likewise a Book of the Art of Poetry, and to it I have added another little Book of Figures of Speech or Tropes; that is, of the Figures and Modes of Speech in which the Holy Scriptures are written.
And I beseech Thee, good Jesus, that to whom Thou hast graciously granted sweetly to drink in the words of Thy knowledge, Thou wilt also vouchsafe in Thy loving-kindness that he may one day come to Thee, the Fountain of all wisdom, and appear for ever before Thy face.
Continuation
The Continuation of Bede.
In the year 731 King Ceolwulf was taken prisoner, and tonsured, and sent back to his kingdom; Bishop Acca was driven from his see.
In the year 732, Egbert was made Bishop of York, in the room of Wilfrid.
[Cynibert Bishop of Lindsey died.]
[In the year of our Lord 733, Archbishop Tatwine, having received the pall by Apostolic authority, ordained Alwic and Sigfrid, bishops.]
In the year 733, there was an eclipse of the sun on the 14th day of August about the third hour, in such wise that the whole orb of the sun seemed to be covered with a black and gloomy shield.
In the year 734, the moon, on the 31st of January, about the time of cock-crowing, was, for about a whole hour, coloured blood-red, after which a blackness followed, and she regained her wonted light.
In the year from the Incarnation of Christ, 734, bishop Tatwine died.
In the year 735, Nothelm was ordained archbishop; and bishop Egbert, having received the pall from the Apostolic see, was the first to be established as archbishop after Paulinus, and he ordained Frithbert, and Frithwald bishops; and the priest Bede died.
In the year 737, an excessive drought rendered the land unfruitful; and Ceolwulf, voluntarily receiving the tonsure, left the kingdom to Eadbert.
In the year 739, Edilhart, king of the West-Saxons, died, as did Archbishop Nothelm.
In the year 740, Cuthbert was consecrated in Nothelm’s stead. Ethelbald, king of the Mercians, cruelly and wrongfully wasted part of Northumbria, their king, Eadbert, with his army, being employed against the Picts. Bishop Ethelwald died also, and Conwulf, was consecrated in his stead. Arnwin and Eadbert were slain.
In the year 741, a great drought came upon the country. Charles, king of the Franks, died; and his sons, Caroloman and Pippin, reigned in his stead.
In the year 745, Bishop Wilfrid and Ingwald, Bishop of London, departed to the Lord.
In the year 747, the man of God, Herefrid, died.
In the year 750, Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, rose up against king Ethelbald and Oengus; Theudor and Eanred died; Eadbert added the plain of Kyle and other places to his dominions.
In the year 753, in the fifth year of King Eadbert, on the 9th of January, an eclipse of the sun came to pass; afterwards, in the same year and month, on the 24th day of January, the moon suffered an eclipse, being covered with a gloomy, black shield, in like manner as was the sun a little while before.
In the year 754, Boniface, called also Winfrid, Bishop of the Franks, received the crown of martyrdom, together with fifty-three others; and Redger was consecrated archbishop in his stead, by pope Stephen.
In the year 757, Ethelbald, king of the Mercians, was treacherously and miserably murdered, in the night, by his own guards; Beornred began his reign; Cyniwulf, king of the West Saxons, died; and the same year, Offa, having put Beornred to flight, sought to gain the kingdom of the Mercians by bloodshed.
In the year 758, Eadbert, king of the Northumbrians, receiving St. Peter’s tonsure for the love of God, and to the end that he might take the heavenly country by force, left the kingdom to his son Oswulf.
In the year 755, Oswulf was wickedly murdered by his own thegns; and Ethelwald, being chosen the same year by his people, entered upon the kingdom; in whose second year there was great tribulation by reason of pestilence, which continued almost two years, divers grievous sicknesses raging, but more especially the disease of dysentery.
In the year 761, Oengus, king of the Picts, died; who, from the beginning to the end of his reign, continued to be a blood-stained and tyrannical butcher; Oswin was also slain.
In the year 765, King Aluchred came to the throne.
In the year 766 a.d., Archbishop Egbert, of the royal race, and endued with divine knowledge, as also Frithbert, both of them truly faithful bishops, departed to the Lord.
THE LIFE AND MIRACLES OF SAINT CUTHBERT, BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE
Translated by J. A. Giles
Bede wrote this life of Saint Cuthbert in about AD 721. It is in part based on an earlier life of the saint, anonymous but probably written by a monk of Lindisfarne. Saint Cuthbert (c. 634-687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian Church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in what might loosely be termed the Kingdom of Northumbria. After his death he became one of the most important medieval saints of Northern England, with a cult centred on his tomb at Durham Cathedral. Now, Cuthbert is regarded as the patron saint of northern England.
A page from a copy of Bede’s ‘Lives of St. Cuthbert’, showing King Athelstan presenting the work to the saint. This manuscript was given to St. Cuthbert’s shrine in 934.
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE VERSE LIFE OF ST. CUTHBERT.
PREFACE.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Cuthbert meets Ælfflæd of Whitby on Coquet Island, ‘Bede’s Life of Cuthbert’, 12th century
PREFACE TO THE VERSE LIFE OF ST. CUTHBERT.
To the Lord John, Priest and most beloved in the Lord of Lords, Bede, the Servant of Christ, sendeth Health.
IT cannot be expressed, my beloved Lord in Christ, how much I feel your af
fection, and am always delighted, if so it might be, by your presence, nor how much I am excited by the continual memory of your holy sweetness, even amid the discomforts of the long journey, which you are eager to enter upon. Wherefore, (either to commemorate my own devotion, or to lighten the burden of your journey,) I have offered unto you the acts of the blessed Bishop Cuthbert, which I have lately written in verse. For I trust, without any doubt, that the company of so great a man may confer much happiness. For the sweetness of his affability consoles the sorrower; his contrite fervour stimulates the fainting; and his vigorous intercession defends him who is in danger. But you must know that I have not been able to relate all his acts: for both new wonders are daily wrought by his relics, and his old achievements are, in a novel way, confirmed by those who were able to know. One of these, as I already told you, I have in myself experienced in the guidance of my tongue whilst I was singing of his miracles. But if the powers of life accompany the wish, and the divine will be in unison with my inclinations, I hope that in another work I shall hand down to memory some of those things which I had omitted. I beseech you, when you shall have arrived, under God’s protection, at the gate of the blessed Apostles, to remember and intercede with God in my behalf.
PREFACE.
To the holy and most blessed Father Bishop Eadfrid, and to all the Congregation of Brothers also, who serve Christ in the Island of Lindisfarne, Bede, your faithful fellow-servant, sends greeting.
INASMUCH as you bade me, my beloved, prefix to the book, which I have written at your request about the life of our father Cuthbert, of blessed memory, some preface, as I usually do, by which its readers might become acquainted with your desire and my readiness to gratify it, it has seemed good to me, by way of preface, to recal to the minds of those among you who know, and to make known to those readers who were before ignorant thereof, how that I have not presumed without minute investigation to write any of the deeds of so great a man, nor without the most accurate examination of credible witnesses to hand over what I had written to be transcribed. Moreover, when I learnt from those who knew the beginning, the middle, and the end of his glorious life and conversation, I sometimes inserted the names of these my authors, to establish the truth of my narrative, and thus ventured to put my pen to paper and to write. But when my work was arranged, but still kept back from publication, I frequently submitted it for perusal and for correction to our reverend brother Herefrid the priest, and others, who for a long time had well known the life and conversation of that man of God. Some faults were, at their suggestion, carefully amended, and thus every scruple being utterly removed, I have taken care to commit to writing what I clearly ascertained to be the truth, and to bring it into your presence also, my brethren, in order that by the judgment of your authority, what I have written might be either corrected, if false, or certified to be true. Whilst, with God’s assistance, I was so engaged, and my book was read during two days by the elders and teachers of your congregation, and was accurately weighed and examined in all its parts, there was nothing at all found which required to be altered, but every thing which I had written was by common consent pronounced worthy to be read without any hesitation, and to be handed over to be copied by such as by zeal for religion should be disposed to do so. But you also, in my presence, added many other facts of no less importance than what I had written, concerning the life and virtues of that blessed man, and which well deserved to be mentioned, if I had not thought it unmeet to insert new matter into a work, which, after due deliberation, I considered to be perfect.