Presumably
also he found the Gallic use
adopted at St.
adopted at St.
bede
The accounts he gives here and in c.
5 are an
attempt to explain the difficulties and conflicting evidence with
regard to these walls.
80 In 431 A. D. There is much confusion with regard to the mission of
Palladius. According to later accounts, he was an unsuccessful
forerunner of St. Patrick, but Bede here, following Prosper of
Aquitaine, represents the Irish (Scotti) as in part already
Christian. The origin of Irish Christianity is very obscure, and
some have even doubted the existence of St. Patrick. Bede only
mentions him once, viz. , in the “Martyrology,” which has been
largely interpolated, and is, perhaps, not his genuine work. St.
Patrick’s latest biographer, Professor Bury, has, however, clearly
established a certain amount of fact underlying much legendary
matter. Some later authorities represent Palladius as preaching to
the Scots (in the modern sense) and Patrick to the Irish.
81 The great Roman general who preserved the Western Empire against the
invasions of the barbarians for many years. He was assassinated by
Valentinian in 454 A. D.
82 Really two years before, 444 A. D.
83 Though he is the subject of many legends, Vortigern is doubtless a
historical figure, a ruler of south-eastern Britain. Bede’s form of
the name, Uurtigernus, is right. It is a British word, meaning
“supreme lord” (Rhŷs).
84 The date of Marcian’s succession is 450.
85 Bede only professes to give the date of the invasion approximately:
cf. V, 24 (“quorum tempore”), I, 23; II, 14; V, 23 (“circiter”),
calculating in round numbers apparently. He refers here to their
first settlement, which, of course, does not preclude earlier
attacks.
_ 86 I. e. _, Vortigern.
_ 87 Anglia_ was believed to be derived from _Angulus_. The country is
the modern Schleswig, which the Angles appear to have almost
entirely evacuated. For the Continental Saxons, cf. V, 9. It has
been supposed that the Jutes came from Jutland, where, at a later
period, they mingled with the Danes (_ibid. _), but this is now
regarded as doubtful.
88 At Aylesford, in Kent. Horsted is the traditional burial-place of
Horsa.
_ 89 I. e. _, in Thanet.
90 The most probable view is that he was the last of those Romans who
usurped imperial authority in Britain (_v. s. _ cc. 6, 9).
91 The identification of this place with Badbury, in Dorsetshire
(Guest, followed by Freeman and Green) seems to be disproved (W. H.
Stevenson, in the “English Historical Review,” xvii, pp. 633, 634).
The locality is quite uncertain; Skene actually places it near
Linlithgow. According to Bede’s reckoning the date of the battle
would be 493 approximately. The “Annales Cambriae” give 516. For a
full discussion of the question, _v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _ Cf. also
Mr. Stevenson’s article.
92 Nothing more is known of them. Pelagius left Britain in early life
and did not himself spread his heresy there.
93 The life of Germanus was written by Constantius, a priest of Lyons,
who is Bede’s authority for cc. 17-21. According to him, these
bishops were sent to Britain by a Gallican Synod. Prosper of
Aquitaine attributes the origin of the mission to Pope Celestine,
“acting on the advice of the deacon Palladius” (probably the
missionary to the Irish mentioned c. 13). The two statements are not
irreconcilable (cf. Bright, p. 18). There are churches dedicated to
SS. Germanus and Lupus in Wales and Cornwall. Both had been trained
in the school of Lérins, a monastery in the group of islands off the
coast at Cannes.
94 This conference is said to have been held at Verulam.
95 Bede’s authority, Constantius, shows here the first trace of any
acquaintance of early historians with the story of St. Alban. The
last sentence is somewhat obscure. Probably the idea is that the
blood of the martyrs continues to cry aloud for vengeance.
96 Reading “reserato. ” The reading “reservato” is perhaps easier and
has some MS. authority.
97 Reading “castitatis,” from which it is difficult to extract any
meaning. The above strains the Latin unduly. Constantius has
“castrorum,” which gives a better sense.
98 Maes-y-Garmon (“The Field of Germanus”), near Mold, in Flintshire,
has been fixed upon as the scene of the Hallelujah Victory, and the
river in which the army was baptized is said to be the Alyn (Ussher,
“Antiqq. ”). The story is generally regarded as legendary.
99 Thirteenth bishop of Trèves. This account sums up nearly all that is
known of him.
100 This second voyage of St. Germanus is supposed to have taken place
about eighteen years after the first, _i. e. _, in 447.
101 The Armoricans had revolted, and Aetius (_v. s. _ c. 13 and note) had
enlisted the services of the Alani against them. Germanus, who had
at one time been duke of the Armoricans, went to the Imperial Court
at Ravenna to intercede for them.
102 Really the fifth (16th March, 455 A. D. ). Romulus Augustulus is
usually regarded as the last emperor of the west. He was overthrown
in 476 A. D.
103 The British historian, author of the “De Excidio Liber Querulus,” so
called from the historian’s denunciations of the sins of the
Britons. He himself tells us that he was born in the year of the
battle of Badon Hill (Mons Badonicus), and that he wrote his History
forty-four years after that date. According to Bede (cf. c. 15, _ad
init. _, and c. 16, _ad fin. _) this would place his birth
approximately in the year 493, but see note on c. 16.
104 Gregory the Great. Cf. Preface. Bede places the date of his
accession a year too late as well as that of his death (_v. _, II, 1,
_ad init. _, but in the same chapter he rightly places his death in
the second year of Phocas, _i. e. _, 604).
105 Augustine was prior of St. Gregory’s Monastery dedicated to St.
Andrew in Rome.
106 Cf. IV, 5, p. 227, note.
107 This is a mistake. Aetherius was archbishop of Lyons. Vergilius was
archbishop of Arles. The letter given here, however, is the letter
sent to Aetherius. Similar letters were despatched to other bishops
at this time; among them one to Vergilius of Arles.
108 A presbyter sent into Gaul by Gregory in 595 A. D. to administer the
little patrimony of St. Peter in Gaul, to collect its revenues and
to invest them in raiment for the poor, or in English slave lads to
serve in the monasteries and receive a Christian education.
109 Ethelbert was the third Bretwalda or dominant king. He had
established a practical hegemony over the East Anglians, the
Mercians of the Trent Valley, the South Saxons, East Saxons, and
even the West Saxons (cf. II, 5, p. 94).
110 Families, _i. e. _, _hides_. The hide, probably, was as much land as
would support a family, hence the extent must have varied with the
different conditions in different parts of the country.
111 In Bede’s time Thanet was divided from the rest of Kent by a broad
channel called the Wantsum, now partly represented by the River
Stour.
112 The conjecture that they landed at Ebbsfleet, which is also
traditionally regarded as the landing-place of Hengist, has been
generally adopted. Other possible landing-places are Stonar and
Richborough. For a full discussion of the question, _v. _ “The
Mission of St. Augustine,” ed. Rev. A. T. Mason, D. D.
113 It has been supposed, on the strength of this passage, that the
speech of the Franks and the English was still mutually
intelligible. This is supported by a statement of Gregory (letter to
Theoderic and Theodebert) that he had desired Augustine to take some
Frankish priests with him. It is assumed that these priests were the
interpreters. On the other hand, in view of the fact that only fifty
years later we find the language of the Franks regarded in England
as a “barbara loquella” (III, 7), it has been inferred that the
interpreters were men who had acquired a knowledge of the dialect of
Kent through commerce or otherwise.
114 Daughter of Charibert, king of Paris.
115 Said (on doubtful authority) to have been bishop of Senlis. He acted
as the queen’s private chaplain. There is nothing to show that
either he or Bertha attempted to spread their religion in England,
though probably their influence may not have been without effect on
Ethelbert.
116 The old Roman town of Doruvernis, which is the name Bede gives to it
throughout the History.
117 St. Martin was regarded with special reverence in Britain and
Ireland. Possibly some of the earliest missionaries may have been
his disciples, _e. g. _, St. Ninian and St. Patrick. The Roman church
of St. Martin at Canterbury has been frequently altered and partly
rebuilt, so that “small portions only of the Roman walls remain.
Roman bricks are used as old materials in the parts rebuilt”
(Parker).
118 Augustine was not consecrated as archbishop either of London or
Canterbury, but by the general title of “Archbishop of the English. ”
According to Gregory’s original scheme, London, not Canterbury, was
to have been the seat of the primacy of southern England (cf. c.
29), London and York being doubtless the most important cities of
south and north known to him from their history during the Roman
occupation. But Christianity was not permanently established in
London till it was too late to remove the see from Canterbury, which
would obviously commend itself to Augustine as the most suitable
place to be the metropolitan city.
119 For Aetherius read Vergilius (_v. _ c. 24, note). “The occupant of
the see of Arles was in some sense primate of France at this time,
and, as such, Vergilius received the _pallium_ and the papal
vice-gerentship in the kingdom of Childebert” (Dict. Christ. Biog. ).
120 He succeeded Augustine as archbishop. For his history, _v. _ II, 6,
7.
121 Cf. _infra_ c. 33.
_ 122 I. e. _, those in minor orders; all below the subdiaconate.
123 St. Luke, xi, 41. _Quod superest_ (Vulgate) = πλήν (R. V. ,“Howbeit”;
A. V. , “But rather”), adverbial. Gregory takes it to mean “what is
over. ”
124 Augustine must have observed these differences of ritual as he
travelled through Gaul.
Presumably also he found the Gallic use
adopted at St. Martin’s, Canterbury, by Liudhard. Dr. Bright
summarizes these differences, “Early English Church History,” p. 64.
125 Reading “fratris et sororis” (for “frater et soror”), as the sense
requires, but there is no MS. authority for the change.
126 The text of this passage is corrupt, but no very satisfactory
emendations have been suggested.
127 The _Pallium_ is a long strip of fine cloth ornamented with crosses.
It is made from wool of lambs reared in the convent of St. Agnes at
Rome, and is laid for a night on the tomb of St. Peter. It is worn
passing over the shoulders, with the ends hanging down in front and
behind, somewhat in the form of the letter Y. (The form has varied
at different times. ) In the east it is called “omophorion:” the
bishops wear it during the celebration of the Eucharist. It
originally formed part of the imperial habit and was granted by the
emperor as a special mark of honour. Afterwards the pope claimed the
exclusive right of bestowing it, and its possession became
restricted to metropolitans, and was considered necessary for the
exercise of their functions.
128 Deut. , xxiii, 25.
129 The reference may be to the third General Council held at Ephesus in
431 A. D. , at which the rule was laid down “that no bishop may act in
any province which has not always been subject to him. ”
130 This is Bede’s attempt to reconcile the discrepancy created by his
mistake in cc. 24 and 27.
131 Mellitus was consecrated Bishop of London in 604, and succeeded
Laurentius in the see of Canterbury in 619. Justus was consecrated
Bishop of Rochester in 604, and succeeded Mellitus as Primate in 624
(_v. _ II, 3, foll. ). Paulinus was the great missionary bishop of the
Northumbrians (_v. _ II, 9, foll. ). Rufinianus was the third abbot of
St. Augustine’s monastery (SS. Peter and Paul).
132 Cf. c. 27 _ad init. _, note. Gregory’s symmetrical scheme was never
carried out, and it was not till 735 that York became a metropolitan
see.
133 The date is obviously wrong, as it makes this letter earlier than
that in c. 29. The name of the month is omitted in two of the oldest
MSS. A satisfactory emendation (_v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _) is
_Augustarum_ (for _Juliarum_), the last month in Maurice’s reign (XV
Kal. Aug. , _i. e. _ 18th July).
134 St. Luke, x, 17-20.
135 The Cathedral: Christchurch, Canterbury; but the original structure
was destroyed by fire about 1067. It was rebuilt by Lanfranc, and
enlarged under his successor, St. Anselm. Prior Conrad finished and
decorated the chancel, and the Church was dedicated in 1130. The
choir was again burnt down in 1174, but at once rebuilt. It was
completed in 1184. A new nave and transept were built between 1378
and 1410, and the great central tower was carried up to its present
height by the end of the fifteenth century.
136 Afterwards called St. Augustine’s Abbey.
137 Cf. c. 27 _ad init. _
138 Ambleteuse, a small sea-port, about six miles to the north of
Boulogne.
139 II, 2, 12; III, 1. He was the grandson of Ida, first king of
Bernicia (V, 24, and note). His father, Ethelric, seized Deira on
the death of Aelli (II, 1, p. 83), and Ethelfrid ruled over both the
Northumbrian kingdoms from 593 to 617.
140 Gen. , xlix, 27.
_ 141 I. e. _, the Dalriadic Scots, _v. s. _ c. 1, and note. For Aedan and
his wars, _v. _ Rhŷs, “Celtic Britain,” pp. 157-159.
142 Perhaps Dalston, near Carlisle; more probably, on philological
grounds, Dawstane Rig in Liddesdale; _v. _ Skene, “Celtic Scotland,”
I, p. 162.
143 For a detailed study of St. Gregory, _v. _ “Gregory the Great, his
place in History and Thought,” by F. Homes Dudden, B. D. (1905). The
oldest biographies are: (1) a Life of Gregory, written by a monk of
Whitby, probably about 713 A. D. , recently discovered in a MS.
belonging to the Monastery of St. Gallen; (2) the Life by Paul the
Deacon, written towards the end of the eighth century; (3) the Life
by John the Deacon, written about the end of the ninth century.
144 Cf. I, 23. Gregory’s pontificate extended from 590 to 604.
145 1 Cor. , ix, 2.
146 We cannot be certain which Felix is meant. The choice seems to lie
between Felix III, Bishop of Rome, 483-492, and Felix IV, 526-530.
Mr. Homes Dudden decides in favour of the latter, on the authority
of John the Deacon. In either case, the word _atavus_ cannot be used
in its strict sense.
_ 147 Apocrisiarius_, official representative of the see of Rome at the
Imperial Court of Constantinople (Latin: _responsalis_). Ducange
explains the word as: “nomen inditum legatis, quod ἀποκρίσεις seu
responsa principum deferrent. ”
148 His “Moralia,” a commentary on the Book of Job, expounding it
historically, allegorically, and in its practical bearing on morals.
His other undoubtedly genuine works are those mentioned in the text:
Twenty-two homilies on Ezekiel; forty homilies on the Gospels for
the day, preached by himself at various times; the “Liber Regulae
Pastoralis,” on the duties and responsibilities of the pastoral
office, a very widely studied book; four books of Dialogues, “De
vita et miraculis patrum Italicorum et de aeternitate animae,” also
one of his most famous works; and fourteen books of letters to
various persons on many subjects. There are also some doubtful
works. Of these, the “Liber Sacramentorum” (_v. infra_), the “Liber
Antiphonarius” (a collection of Antiphons for Mass), and the Hymns
have been generally regarded as genuine, but recent research seems
to show that they cannot be attributed to Gregory. That he
introduced the “Cantus Gregorianus” can also probably be no longer
maintained; _v. infra_ c. 20, _ad fin. _ note.
149 Patriarch of Constantinople, celebrated as a saint by the Greeks. He
was born at Theium in Phrygia, _circ. _ 512 A. D. Towards the end of
his life he maintained the above theory in a book on the
Resurrection. He was opposed by Gregory, and the book was burnt by
order of the Emperor Tiberius, who, however, visited him when he
fell ill soon after, and received his blessing. He died on Easter
Day, 582, and the “heresy” was suffered to rest. (He is, of course,
not to be confused with Eutyches, author of the heresy known as
“Eutychianism,” _v. _ IV, 17. )
150 St. Luke, xxiv, 39.
151 Tiberius II, emperor of the East, 578-582 A. D.
152 I, 27.
153 A Synodical epistle, such as newly-elected bishops were in the habit
of sending to other bishops. The subject-matter is the same as that
of the “Pastoral Care. ”
154 Heb. , xii, 6.
155 Job, xxix, 11-17.
156 The quotation is from the Vulgate (Job, xxxi, 16-18). The sentence
is finished in v. 22: “Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder
blade. . . . ”
157 John the Deacon attributes to Gregory the “Liber Sacramentorum,” or
Gregorian Sacramentary, a revision of the Gelasian Sacramentary. It
seems probable, however, that it is of much later date. Only a few
alterations in the Liturgy and in the ceremonial of the Mass are
proved to have been effected by Gregory. In the Canon of the Mass he
introduced two changes, viz. : (1) he inserted the words here quoted;
(2) he altered the position of the Lord’s Prayer (_v. _ Homes Dudden,
pp. 264-271).
_ 158 I. e. _, 604 A. D. , cf. I, 23; II, 1, _ad init. _, note.
159 Deira was the southern part of the province of Northumbria, the
northern part being Bernicia. Deira was bounded on the south by the
Humber; on the north, according to some authorities, by the Tyne,
according to others, by the Tees. The discrepancy doubtless arose
from the fact that the part between the two latter rivers was a
desert subject to no authority. To the west lay the British
kingdoms.
160 The son of Yffi, the first king of Deira. The ancient pedigrees
trace the descent of the royal houses of Deira and Bernicia from two
sons of Woden.
161 This pope was either Benedict I (574-578) or Pelagius II (578-590),
the immediate predecessor of Gregory. The oldest extant life of
Gregory (_v. s. _ p. 75, note) makes him Benedict, and is followed by
John the Deacon. If this is right, the incident related in the text
must be placed before Gregory’s departure to Constantinople in 579.
Paul the Deacon places it after his return in 585 or 586, and
asserts that the pope was Pelagius II.
162 The date of the synod is uncertain. It was probably about 602 or 603
A. D. , after the arrival of Gregory’s “Responsa. ” The “nearest
province” must mean what we call South Wales, though it is possible
that the Britons of Cornwall were also represented. The scene of the
conference has been generally supposed to be Aust, on the Severn,
opposite Chepstow, and the name may possibly preserve the memory of
Augustine, though more probably it is derived from “Trajectus
Augusti” (Haddan and Stubbs). Other possible sites are Malmesbury
(Green, “Making of England”), and a spot called “the Oak,” near
Cricklade, on the Upper Thames, which would be on the borders of the
Hwiccas and West Saxons (_v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _).
163 The Hwiccas were in the present Gloucestershire and Worcestershire,
north-west of Wessex.
164 Cf. especially III, 25, and V, 21. (Other references are: II, 4, 19;
III, 3, 4, 26, 29; V, 15, 22. )
A full discussion of this involved question is beyond our scope.
Readers are referred to Plummer (Excursus on Paschal Controversy),
Bright, or Hunt. Here, the point at issue may be briefly stated. It
was regarded as essential by the Roman Church that Easter Day should
be kept on a Sunday, in the third week of the first month, _i. e. _,
the month in which the full moon occurred on or after the vernal
equinox. The Celts observed the Feast on Sunday, and were,
therefore, not rightly called “Quartodecimans” (the name given to
those who observed it on the 14th of the month Nisan, the day of the
Jewish Passover, without regard to the day of the week). They
differed from the Romans in fixing the vernal equinox at March 25th,
instead of March 21st, and in their reckoning of the third week,
holding it to be from the 14th to the 20th of the moon inclusive.
The Roman Church originally reckoned it from the 16th to the 22nd,
but ultimately fixed it from the 15th to the 21st (cf. V, 21, p.
365).
There was a further divergence in the “cycles” adopted to ascertain
the day in each year on which the Paschal moon would fall. The Celts
retained an old cycle of eighty-four years, while the Romans had
finally adopted one of nineteen. It is obvious that these
differences must necessarily lead to great divergence in practice
and consequently serious inconvenience. The real importance of this
and the other points of difference, settled afterwards at the Synod
of Whitby, lay in the question whether England was to conform to the
practice of the Catholic Church, or to isolate herself from it by
local peculiarities (cf. the reply of the British to Augustine:
“They would do none of those things nor receive him as their
archbishop”).
_ 165 E. g. _, Consecration of bishops by a single bishop, certain
differences of ritual (Gregory’s “Responsa” admit of some latitude
in these matters), and the tonsure, which was a more controversial
point (cf. III, 26, and V, 21). The Romans shaved only the top of
the head, letting the hair grow in the form of a crown. The Celts
shaved the whole front of the head from ear to ear, leaving the hair
at the back.
attempt to explain the difficulties and conflicting evidence with
regard to these walls.
80 In 431 A. D. There is much confusion with regard to the mission of
Palladius. According to later accounts, he was an unsuccessful
forerunner of St. Patrick, but Bede here, following Prosper of
Aquitaine, represents the Irish (Scotti) as in part already
Christian. The origin of Irish Christianity is very obscure, and
some have even doubted the existence of St. Patrick. Bede only
mentions him once, viz. , in the “Martyrology,” which has been
largely interpolated, and is, perhaps, not his genuine work. St.
Patrick’s latest biographer, Professor Bury, has, however, clearly
established a certain amount of fact underlying much legendary
matter. Some later authorities represent Palladius as preaching to
the Scots (in the modern sense) and Patrick to the Irish.
81 The great Roman general who preserved the Western Empire against the
invasions of the barbarians for many years. He was assassinated by
Valentinian in 454 A. D.
82 Really two years before, 444 A. D.
83 Though he is the subject of many legends, Vortigern is doubtless a
historical figure, a ruler of south-eastern Britain. Bede’s form of
the name, Uurtigernus, is right. It is a British word, meaning
“supreme lord” (Rhŷs).
84 The date of Marcian’s succession is 450.
85 Bede only professes to give the date of the invasion approximately:
cf. V, 24 (“quorum tempore”), I, 23; II, 14; V, 23 (“circiter”),
calculating in round numbers apparently. He refers here to their
first settlement, which, of course, does not preclude earlier
attacks.
_ 86 I. e. _, Vortigern.
_ 87 Anglia_ was believed to be derived from _Angulus_. The country is
the modern Schleswig, which the Angles appear to have almost
entirely evacuated. For the Continental Saxons, cf. V, 9. It has
been supposed that the Jutes came from Jutland, where, at a later
period, they mingled with the Danes (_ibid. _), but this is now
regarded as doubtful.
88 At Aylesford, in Kent. Horsted is the traditional burial-place of
Horsa.
_ 89 I. e. _, in Thanet.
90 The most probable view is that he was the last of those Romans who
usurped imperial authority in Britain (_v. s. _ cc. 6, 9).
91 The identification of this place with Badbury, in Dorsetshire
(Guest, followed by Freeman and Green) seems to be disproved (W. H.
Stevenson, in the “English Historical Review,” xvii, pp. 633, 634).
The locality is quite uncertain; Skene actually places it near
Linlithgow. According to Bede’s reckoning the date of the battle
would be 493 approximately. The “Annales Cambriae” give 516. For a
full discussion of the question, _v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _ Cf. also
Mr. Stevenson’s article.
92 Nothing more is known of them. Pelagius left Britain in early life
and did not himself spread his heresy there.
93 The life of Germanus was written by Constantius, a priest of Lyons,
who is Bede’s authority for cc. 17-21. According to him, these
bishops were sent to Britain by a Gallican Synod. Prosper of
Aquitaine attributes the origin of the mission to Pope Celestine,
“acting on the advice of the deacon Palladius” (probably the
missionary to the Irish mentioned c. 13). The two statements are not
irreconcilable (cf. Bright, p. 18). There are churches dedicated to
SS. Germanus and Lupus in Wales and Cornwall. Both had been trained
in the school of Lérins, a monastery in the group of islands off the
coast at Cannes.
94 This conference is said to have been held at Verulam.
95 Bede’s authority, Constantius, shows here the first trace of any
acquaintance of early historians with the story of St. Alban. The
last sentence is somewhat obscure. Probably the idea is that the
blood of the martyrs continues to cry aloud for vengeance.
96 Reading “reserato. ” The reading “reservato” is perhaps easier and
has some MS. authority.
97 Reading “castitatis,” from which it is difficult to extract any
meaning. The above strains the Latin unduly. Constantius has
“castrorum,” which gives a better sense.
98 Maes-y-Garmon (“The Field of Germanus”), near Mold, in Flintshire,
has been fixed upon as the scene of the Hallelujah Victory, and the
river in which the army was baptized is said to be the Alyn (Ussher,
“Antiqq. ”). The story is generally regarded as legendary.
99 Thirteenth bishop of Trèves. This account sums up nearly all that is
known of him.
100 This second voyage of St. Germanus is supposed to have taken place
about eighteen years after the first, _i. e. _, in 447.
101 The Armoricans had revolted, and Aetius (_v. s. _ c. 13 and note) had
enlisted the services of the Alani against them. Germanus, who had
at one time been duke of the Armoricans, went to the Imperial Court
at Ravenna to intercede for them.
102 Really the fifth (16th March, 455 A. D. ). Romulus Augustulus is
usually regarded as the last emperor of the west. He was overthrown
in 476 A. D.
103 The British historian, author of the “De Excidio Liber Querulus,” so
called from the historian’s denunciations of the sins of the
Britons. He himself tells us that he was born in the year of the
battle of Badon Hill (Mons Badonicus), and that he wrote his History
forty-four years after that date. According to Bede (cf. c. 15, _ad
init. _, and c. 16, _ad fin. _) this would place his birth
approximately in the year 493, but see note on c. 16.
104 Gregory the Great. Cf. Preface. Bede places the date of his
accession a year too late as well as that of his death (_v. _, II, 1,
_ad init. _, but in the same chapter he rightly places his death in
the second year of Phocas, _i. e. _, 604).
105 Augustine was prior of St. Gregory’s Monastery dedicated to St.
Andrew in Rome.
106 Cf. IV, 5, p. 227, note.
107 This is a mistake. Aetherius was archbishop of Lyons. Vergilius was
archbishop of Arles. The letter given here, however, is the letter
sent to Aetherius. Similar letters were despatched to other bishops
at this time; among them one to Vergilius of Arles.
108 A presbyter sent into Gaul by Gregory in 595 A. D. to administer the
little patrimony of St. Peter in Gaul, to collect its revenues and
to invest them in raiment for the poor, or in English slave lads to
serve in the monasteries and receive a Christian education.
109 Ethelbert was the third Bretwalda or dominant king. He had
established a practical hegemony over the East Anglians, the
Mercians of the Trent Valley, the South Saxons, East Saxons, and
even the West Saxons (cf. II, 5, p. 94).
110 Families, _i. e. _, _hides_. The hide, probably, was as much land as
would support a family, hence the extent must have varied with the
different conditions in different parts of the country.
111 In Bede’s time Thanet was divided from the rest of Kent by a broad
channel called the Wantsum, now partly represented by the River
Stour.
112 The conjecture that they landed at Ebbsfleet, which is also
traditionally regarded as the landing-place of Hengist, has been
generally adopted. Other possible landing-places are Stonar and
Richborough. For a full discussion of the question, _v. _ “The
Mission of St. Augustine,” ed. Rev. A. T. Mason, D. D.
113 It has been supposed, on the strength of this passage, that the
speech of the Franks and the English was still mutually
intelligible. This is supported by a statement of Gregory (letter to
Theoderic and Theodebert) that he had desired Augustine to take some
Frankish priests with him. It is assumed that these priests were the
interpreters. On the other hand, in view of the fact that only fifty
years later we find the language of the Franks regarded in England
as a “barbara loquella” (III, 7), it has been inferred that the
interpreters were men who had acquired a knowledge of the dialect of
Kent through commerce or otherwise.
114 Daughter of Charibert, king of Paris.
115 Said (on doubtful authority) to have been bishop of Senlis. He acted
as the queen’s private chaplain. There is nothing to show that
either he or Bertha attempted to spread their religion in England,
though probably their influence may not have been without effect on
Ethelbert.
116 The old Roman town of Doruvernis, which is the name Bede gives to it
throughout the History.
117 St. Martin was regarded with special reverence in Britain and
Ireland. Possibly some of the earliest missionaries may have been
his disciples, _e. g. _, St. Ninian and St. Patrick. The Roman church
of St. Martin at Canterbury has been frequently altered and partly
rebuilt, so that “small portions only of the Roman walls remain.
Roman bricks are used as old materials in the parts rebuilt”
(Parker).
118 Augustine was not consecrated as archbishop either of London or
Canterbury, but by the general title of “Archbishop of the English. ”
According to Gregory’s original scheme, London, not Canterbury, was
to have been the seat of the primacy of southern England (cf. c.
29), London and York being doubtless the most important cities of
south and north known to him from their history during the Roman
occupation. But Christianity was not permanently established in
London till it was too late to remove the see from Canterbury, which
would obviously commend itself to Augustine as the most suitable
place to be the metropolitan city.
119 For Aetherius read Vergilius (_v. _ c. 24, note). “The occupant of
the see of Arles was in some sense primate of France at this time,
and, as such, Vergilius received the _pallium_ and the papal
vice-gerentship in the kingdom of Childebert” (Dict. Christ. Biog. ).
120 He succeeded Augustine as archbishop. For his history, _v. _ II, 6,
7.
121 Cf. _infra_ c. 33.
_ 122 I. e. _, those in minor orders; all below the subdiaconate.
123 St. Luke, xi, 41. _Quod superest_ (Vulgate) = πλήν (R. V. ,“Howbeit”;
A. V. , “But rather”), adverbial. Gregory takes it to mean “what is
over. ”
124 Augustine must have observed these differences of ritual as he
travelled through Gaul.
Presumably also he found the Gallic use
adopted at St. Martin’s, Canterbury, by Liudhard. Dr. Bright
summarizes these differences, “Early English Church History,” p. 64.
125 Reading “fratris et sororis” (for “frater et soror”), as the sense
requires, but there is no MS. authority for the change.
126 The text of this passage is corrupt, but no very satisfactory
emendations have been suggested.
127 The _Pallium_ is a long strip of fine cloth ornamented with crosses.
It is made from wool of lambs reared in the convent of St. Agnes at
Rome, and is laid for a night on the tomb of St. Peter. It is worn
passing over the shoulders, with the ends hanging down in front and
behind, somewhat in the form of the letter Y. (The form has varied
at different times. ) In the east it is called “omophorion:” the
bishops wear it during the celebration of the Eucharist. It
originally formed part of the imperial habit and was granted by the
emperor as a special mark of honour. Afterwards the pope claimed the
exclusive right of bestowing it, and its possession became
restricted to metropolitans, and was considered necessary for the
exercise of their functions.
128 Deut. , xxiii, 25.
129 The reference may be to the third General Council held at Ephesus in
431 A. D. , at which the rule was laid down “that no bishop may act in
any province which has not always been subject to him. ”
130 This is Bede’s attempt to reconcile the discrepancy created by his
mistake in cc. 24 and 27.
131 Mellitus was consecrated Bishop of London in 604, and succeeded
Laurentius in the see of Canterbury in 619. Justus was consecrated
Bishop of Rochester in 604, and succeeded Mellitus as Primate in 624
(_v. _ II, 3, foll. ). Paulinus was the great missionary bishop of the
Northumbrians (_v. _ II, 9, foll. ). Rufinianus was the third abbot of
St. Augustine’s monastery (SS. Peter and Paul).
132 Cf. c. 27 _ad init. _, note. Gregory’s symmetrical scheme was never
carried out, and it was not till 735 that York became a metropolitan
see.
133 The date is obviously wrong, as it makes this letter earlier than
that in c. 29. The name of the month is omitted in two of the oldest
MSS. A satisfactory emendation (_v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _) is
_Augustarum_ (for _Juliarum_), the last month in Maurice’s reign (XV
Kal. Aug. , _i. e. _ 18th July).
134 St. Luke, x, 17-20.
135 The Cathedral: Christchurch, Canterbury; but the original structure
was destroyed by fire about 1067. It was rebuilt by Lanfranc, and
enlarged under his successor, St. Anselm. Prior Conrad finished and
decorated the chancel, and the Church was dedicated in 1130. The
choir was again burnt down in 1174, but at once rebuilt. It was
completed in 1184. A new nave and transept were built between 1378
and 1410, and the great central tower was carried up to its present
height by the end of the fifteenth century.
136 Afterwards called St. Augustine’s Abbey.
137 Cf. c. 27 _ad init. _
138 Ambleteuse, a small sea-port, about six miles to the north of
Boulogne.
139 II, 2, 12; III, 1. He was the grandson of Ida, first king of
Bernicia (V, 24, and note). His father, Ethelric, seized Deira on
the death of Aelli (II, 1, p. 83), and Ethelfrid ruled over both the
Northumbrian kingdoms from 593 to 617.
140 Gen. , xlix, 27.
_ 141 I. e. _, the Dalriadic Scots, _v. s. _ c. 1, and note. For Aedan and
his wars, _v. _ Rhŷs, “Celtic Britain,” pp. 157-159.
142 Perhaps Dalston, near Carlisle; more probably, on philological
grounds, Dawstane Rig in Liddesdale; _v. _ Skene, “Celtic Scotland,”
I, p. 162.
143 For a detailed study of St. Gregory, _v. _ “Gregory the Great, his
place in History and Thought,” by F. Homes Dudden, B. D. (1905). The
oldest biographies are: (1) a Life of Gregory, written by a monk of
Whitby, probably about 713 A. D. , recently discovered in a MS.
belonging to the Monastery of St. Gallen; (2) the Life by Paul the
Deacon, written towards the end of the eighth century; (3) the Life
by John the Deacon, written about the end of the ninth century.
144 Cf. I, 23. Gregory’s pontificate extended from 590 to 604.
145 1 Cor. , ix, 2.
146 We cannot be certain which Felix is meant. The choice seems to lie
between Felix III, Bishop of Rome, 483-492, and Felix IV, 526-530.
Mr. Homes Dudden decides in favour of the latter, on the authority
of John the Deacon. In either case, the word _atavus_ cannot be used
in its strict sense.
_ 147 Apocrisiarius_, official representative of the see of Rome at the
Imperial Court of Constantinople (Latin: _responsalis_). Ducange
explains the word as: “nomen inditum legatis, quod ἀποκρίσεις seu
responsa principum deferrent. ”
148 His “Moralia,” a commentary on the Book of Job, expounding it
historically, allegorically, and in its practical bearing on morals.
His other undoubtedly genuine works are those mentioned in the text:
Twenty-two homilies on Ezekiel; forty homilies on the Gospels for
the day, preached by himself at various times; the “Liber Regulae
Pastoralis,” on the duties and responsibilities of the pastoral
office, a very widely studied book; four books of Dialogues, “De
vita et miraculis patrum Italicorum et de aeternitate animae,” also
one of his most famous works; and fourteen books of letters to
various persons on many subjects. There are also some doubtful
works. Of these, the “Liber Sacramentorum” (_v. infra_), the “Liber
Antiphonarius” (a collection of Antiphons for Mass), and the Hymns
have been generally regarded as genuine, but recent research seems
to show that they cannot be attributed to Gregory. That he
introduced the “Cantus Gregorianus” can also probably be no longer
maintained; _v. infra_ c. 20, _ad fin. _ note.
149 Patriarch of Constantinople, celebrated as a saint by the Greeks. He
was born at Theium in Phrygia, _circ. _ 512 A. D. Towards the end of
his life he maintained the above theory in a book on the
Resurrection. He was opposed by Gregory, and the book was burnt by
order of the Emperor Tiberius, who, however, visited him when he
fell ill soon after, and received his blessing. He died on Easter
Day, 582, and the “heresy” was suffered to rest. (He is, of course,
not to be confused with Eutyches, author of the heresy known as
“Eutychianism,” _v. _ IV, 17. )
150 St. Luke, xxiv, 39.
151 Tiberius II, emperor of the East, 578-582 A. D.
152 I, 27.
153 A Synodical epistle, such as newly-elected bishops were in the habit
of sending to other bishops. The subject-matter is the same as that
of the “Pastoral Care. ”
154 Heb. , xii, 6.
155 Job, xxix, 11-17.
156 The quotation is from the Vulgate (Job, xxxi, 16-18). The sentence
is finished in v. 22: “Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder
blade. . . . ”
157 John the Deacon attributes to Gregory the “Liber Sacramentorum,” or
Gregorian Sacramentary, a revision of the Gelasian Sacramentary. It
seems probable, however, that it is of much later date. Only a few
alterations in the Liturgy and in the ceremonial of the Mass are
proved to have been effected by Gregory. In the Canon of the Mass he
introduced two changes, viz. : (1) he inserted the words here quoted;
(2) he altered the position of the Lord’s Prayer (_v. _ Homes Dudden,
pp. 264-271).
_ 158 I. e. _, 604 A. D. , cf. I, 23; II, 1, _ad init. _, note.
159 Deira was the southern part of the province of Northumbria, the
northern part being Bernicia. Deira was bounded on the south by the
Humber; on the north, according to some authorities, by the Tyne,
according to others, by the Tees. The discrepancy doubtless arose
from the fact that the part between the two latter rivers was a
desert subject to no authority. To the west lay the British
kingdoms.
160 The son of Yffi, the first king of Deira. The ancient pedigrees
trace the descent of the royal houses of Deira and Bernicia from two
sons of Woden.
161 This pope was either Benedict I (574-578) or Pelagius II (578-590),
the immediate predecessor of Gregory. The oldest extant life of
Gregory (_v. s. _ p. 75, note) makes him Benedict, and is followed by
John the Deacon. If this is right, the incident related in the text
must be placed before Gregory’s departure to Constantinople in 579.
Paul the Deacon places it after his return in 585 or 586, and
asserts that the pope was Pelagius II.
162 The date of the synod is uncertain. It was probably about 602 or 603
A. D. , after the arrival of Gregory’s “Responsa. ” The “nearest
province” must mean what we call South Wales, though it is possible
that the Britons of Cornwall were also represented. The scene of the
conference has been generally supposed to be Aust, on the Severn,
opposite Chepstow, and the name may possibly preserve the memory of
Augustine, though more probably it is derived from “Trajectus
Augusti” (Haddan and Stubbs). Other possible sites are Malmesbury
(Green, “Making of England”), and a spot called “the Oak,” near
Cricklade, on the Upper Thames, which would be on the borders of the
Hwiccas and West Saxons (_v. _ Plummer, _ad loc. _).
163 The Hwiccas were in the present Gloucestershire and Worcestershire,
north-west of Wessex.
164 Cf. especially III, 25, and V, 21. (Other references are: II, 4, 19;
III, 3, 4, 26, 29; V, 15, 22. )
A full discussion of this involved question is beyond our scope.
Readers are referred to Plummer (Excursus on Paschal Controversy),
Bright, or Hunt. Here, the point at issue may be briefly stated. It
was regarded as essential by the Roman Church that Easter Day should
be kept on a Sunday, in the third week of the first month, _i. e. _,
the month in which the full moon occurred on or after the vernal
equinox. The Celts observed the Feast on Sunday, and were,
therefore, not rightly called “Quartodecimans” (the name given to
those who observed it on the 14th of the month Nisan, the day of the
Jewish Passover, without regard to the day of the week). They
differed from the Romans in fixing the vernal equinox at March 25th,
instead of March 21st, and in their reckoning of the third week,
holding it to be from the 14th to the 20th of the moon inclusive.
The Roman Church originally reckoned it from the 16th to the 22nd,
but ultimately fixed it from the 15th to the 21st (cf. V, 21, p.
365).
There was a further divergence in the “cycles” adopted to ascertain
the day in each year on which the Paschal moon would fall. The Celts
retained an old cycle of eighty-four years, while the Romans had
finally adopted one of nineteen. It is obvious that these
differences must necessarily lead to great divergence in practice
and consequently serious inconvenience. The real importance of this
and the other points of difference, settled afterwards at the Synod
of Whitby, lay in the question whether England was to conform to the
practice of the Catholic Church, or to isolate herself from it by
local peculiarities (cf. the reply of the British to Augustine:
“They would do none of those things nor receive him as their
archbishop”).
_ 165 E. g. _, Consecration of bishops by a single bishop, certain
differences of ritual (Gregory’s “Responsa” admit of some latitude
in these matters), and the tonsure, which was a more controversial
point (cf. III, 26, and V, 21). The Romans shaved only the top of
the head, letting the hair grow in the form of a crown. The Celts
shaved the whole front of the head from ear to ear, leaving the hair
at the back.
