No More Learning

Severinus was Pope for a
few months only. Apparently (cf. _infra_) the Irish ecclesiastics
had consulted him about the Easter question.

265 Cf. _supra_ c. 2, p. 84, note. On the Paschal question the Council
of Nicaea passed no canon, but the understanding was established
that “all the brethren in the East, who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it agreeably with the Romans and
ourselves and all who from ancient time have kept Easter as we”;
_i. e. _, that they should all keep Easter on the first day of the
week, but never on the 14th of the month Nisan, even when it fell on
a Sunday. The object of the rule was to avoid the day of the Jewish
Passover.

266 Cf. I, 10, note.

267 These bishops have been identified as follows: Tomianus is Tomene,
Abbot and Bishop of Armagh; Columbanus is Colman, Abbot of Clonard
(also a bishop); Cromanus is Cronan, Bishop of Nendrum, or
Inishmahee; Dinnaus is probably Dima, Bishop of Connor; Baithanus
has not been identified with any certainty. With regard to the
priests the proposed identifications are more conjectural. Saranus
is a certain Saran Ua Critain. Two vice-gerents of the Papal see are
associated with the Pope elect in writing this letter. The
arch-presbyter and the “primicerius notariorum,” with the
archdeacon, acted as vice-gerents during a vacancy, or in the
absence of the Pope (cf. Plummer _ad loc. _).

268 This is not fairly stated. The Irish were not “Quartodecimans,”
_i. e. _, did not insist on the celebration of Easter being on the
fourteenth of the moon. They only included that day as a possible
one for Easter (cf. _supra_ c. 2, p. 84, note 3).

269 Ps. li, 5, in our Psalter. The quotation is partly from the Vulgate,
partly from the “Roman” Psalter, _i. e. _, Jerome’s revision of the
old Italic version.

270 Or Cadwallon, King of Gwynedd, in North Wales. His father Cadvan,
had sheltered Edwin during his exile. Afterwards, when Cadwallon
invaded Northumbria, Edwin defeated him and drove him from his
kingdom. Having regained it, Cadwallon now allied himself with
Penda, king of the Mercians (626- or 627-655) in a successful
attempt to shake off the Northumbrian supremacy.

271 Generally identified with Hatfield Chase, north-east of Doncaster.

272 C. 14, p. 119.

_ 273 Ibid. _

274 His body was ultimately buried at Whitby; cf. III, 24, p. 190, and
note.

275 For Eanfled, _v. s. _ c. 9. For Yffi and Wuscfrea, c. 14.

276 Cf. c. 5.

277 He was a kinsman. Ethelberg’s mother, Bertha, was a daughter of
Charibert, King of Paris (cf. I, 25, note). His brother, Chilperic,
was Dagobert’s grandfather.

278 Cf. c. 8.

279 C. 16, and III, 25.

280 Cf. c. 14. The village cannot be identified. Akeburgh has been
suggested, the name being regarded as a corruption of “Jacobsburgh. ”

281 The “Cantus Romanus,” brought to England by the Roman mission;
_i. e. _, the style of Church music according to the use of Rome. The
theory that Gregory the Great was the founder of Gregorian music,
which superseded the old “Cantus Ambrosianus” everywhere in the West
except at Milan, must in all probability be abandoned. It seems to
be established that no change of any importance was made till nearly
a hundred years after Gregory’s time, and “the terms ‘Gregorianus,’
‘Ambrosianus Cantus,’ probably mean nothing more than the style of
singing according to the respective uses of Rome and Milan. ” (F.
Homes Dudden, “Gregory the Great,” I, p. 274. )

282 Cf. II, 1, p. 82, note.

283 I, 34; II, 2, 12.

_ 284 I. e. _, Osric and Eanfrid.

285 Cf. II, 20, _ad init. _

286 “In oppido municipio. ” Commentators are agreed that Bede means York.
It was a Roman “Colonia,” and is called a “municipium” by Aurelius
Victor, though whether Bede attaches any definitely Roman meaning to
the term seems doubtful. Ducange explains “municipium” as “castrum,”
“castellum muris cinctum. ”

287 From the death of Edwin (October 12th, 633), for Oswald’s reign is
reckoned as lasting nine years, including the “hateful year,” and he
was killed August 5th, 642. Cf. _infra_ c. 9.

_ 288 I. e. _, probably before the end of 634.

289 Not identified with any certainty, but probably the Rowley Water or
a tributary of it. It cannot be, as has been suggested, the Devil’s
Water, which is clearly distinguished from it in a charter of the
thirteenth century. Caedwalla must have fled southwards for eight or
nine miles after the battle (cf. next note).

290 For another instance of a name with an inner meaning, cf. II, 15.
The site of the battle is probably seven or eight miles north of
Hexham (v. next note), Oswald having taken up his position on the
northern side of the Roman wall between the Tyne and the Solway
(_i. e. _, the wall attributed to Hadrian, cf. I, 12, p. 25, note).
According to tradition the battle was finally won at a place called
Halydene (Hallington? ), two miles to the east.

291 Hexham. Wilfrid built a magnificent church there between the years
672-678 on land given by Ethelthryth, wife of Egfrid, king of
Northumbria. It became the see of a bishop in 678 when the great
northern diocese was subdivided by Theodore (_v. _ IV, 12). Bede’s
own monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow was in the diocese of Hexham.
The bishopric became extinct in 821.

292 The place is still called St. Oswald’s, and a little chapel probably
marks the spot.

_ 293 I. e. _, Irish.

294 Cf. II, 2, note on Paschal Controversy.

295 Bishop of Laodicea, _circ. _ 284 A. D. According to Eusebius, he was
the first to arrange the cycle of nineteen years. The Canon quoted
by the Celts in support of their observance of Easter is proved to
be a forgery, probably of the seventh century and of British origin.

296 Probably they adopted Catholic customs about 633, after the return
of their delegates sent to consult the Roman Church on this question
in 631.

297 Cf. Preface, p. 4, note 3. The Celtic missionaries were generally
attracted to remote sites, and this, the first mission station of
the Celtic Church in Northumbria, was doubtless chosen for the
resemblance of its physical features to Iona. The constitution was
also modelled on that of Iona, with this difference, that it was an
episcopal see as well as a monastery. It was included in the
“province” of the Abbot of Iona. The Bishop and all the clergy were
monks, and Aidan himself was Abbot as well as Bishop.

298 “Sacerdotali,” perhaps (but not necessarily here) = “episcopal,” as
often. There may have been a number of the Irish non-diocesan
bishops in the mission.

299 Iona, a name supposed to have arisen from a mistaken reading of
_Ioua_, an adjectival form used by Adamnan (_v. infra_ note 4),
feminine, agreeing with _insula_, formed from the Irish name, I, Ii,
Hii, etc. (the forms vary greatly). Then “Iona” was fancifully
regarded as the Hebrew equivalent for _Columba_ (= a dove), and this
helped to preserve the name.

_ 300 I. e. _, Irish.

301 For St. Columba, _v. _ Dr. Reeves’s edition of the life by Adamnan,
Abbot of Iona, 679-704 (cf. V, 15, note). Authorities are divided
with regard to the date of his coming to Britain. Dr. Reeves and Mr.
Skene, following the Annals of Tighernach, decide in favour of 563.
For his name, “Columcille,” cf. V, 9, note. He was of Irish birth,
connected with the Dalriadic Scots, and of royal descent on both
sides of his house. He was ordained priest at Clonard, but was never
a bishop. Many ecclesiastical and monastic foundations throughout
Ireland and Scotland are attributed to him. He travelled much in
both countries, visited Bruide (_v. infra_) at Inverness, and
founded churches all over the north of Scotland. He also worked
indefatigably in his own monastery of Iona. In his earlier years his
excitable, impatient temperament seems to have involved him in
various wars. He is said to have stirred up his kinsmen against the
Irish king, Diarmaid; and it has been supposed that his mission to
the Picts was undertaken in expiation of the bloodshed for which he
was responsible.

302 There is much that is legendary in the account of St. Ninias, and
Bede only professes to give the tradition. He was a Briton, probably
a native of Strathclyde. He studied at Rome and received episcopal
consecration there; came under the influence of St. Martin of Tours,
to whom he afterwards dedicated his church in Galloway, and returned
as a missionary to Britain. His preaching led to the conversion of
the Picts of Galloway and those to whom Bede alludes here as
situated to the south of the Grampians. Irish tradition, difficult
to reconcile with Bede’s statement that he was buried at Whitern,
tells that he spent the last years of his life in Ireland and
founded a church at Leinster. He was commemorated there on September
16th, under the name of Moinenn. The traditional date of his death,
September 16th, 432, has no authority.

303 Whitern, on Wigton Bay, so called from the white appearance of the
stone church, as compared with the usual wooden buildings. The
dedication must have been subsequent to St. Martin’s death, _circ. _
397. The see was revived as an Anglian one in Bede’s own time (_v. _
V. 23, p. 381). For the form of the name, “Ad Candidam Casam,” cf.
II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

304 Bruide Mac Maelchon had defeated the Dalriadic Scots in 560 A. D. and
driven them back to Cantyre. Northwards his dominion extended as far
as the Orkneys and it is probable that it included the eastern
lowlands north of the Forth (cf. Rhŷs, “Celtic Britain”). Another
tradition (Irish) represents Conall, King of the Dalriadic Scots, as
the donor of Iona, but the earliest Irish authority (ninth or tenth
century) agrees with Bede.

305 The year in which he died, as well as the ultimate resting-place of
his relics, is uncertain. Dr. Reeves places his death in 597, the
year of St. Augustine’s landing.

_ 306 I. e. _, in Irish. The place is Durrow in Leinster.

307 There was no diocesan episcopate in the early Irish Church; it was
organized on a monastic system. Bishops performed all episcopal
functions (ordination, etc.
), but they lived in the monastery,
subject to the supreme authority of the abbot, who was aided in the
government by a council of senior monks. Bishops were also sent out
as missionaries. The functions of abbot and bishop might be combined
in one man, but the abbot, as such, could discharge no episcopal
duties. A great monastery was head of a “provincia” (“diocesis,”
“parochia”), and had many monasteries and churches dependent on it.

308 Cf. c. 27, IV, 3, 26; V, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24. Perhaps “sacerdos”
should be translated “bishop” here (_v. supra_ c. 3, note; _infra_
c. 27, note). Early writers allude to him as a bishop, _e. g. _,
Alcuin, Ethelwulf. In the life of St. Adalbert, one of Wilbrord’s
companions (cf. V. 10), he is called “Northumbrorum episcopus. ”

_ 309 I. e. _, they were not “Quartodecimans” (cf. II, 2, p. 84, note 3).

310 Phil. , iii, 15.

311 Cf. II, 19. He is probably to be identified with the Segenus
mentioned there as one of the priests to whom Pope John’s letter was
addressed. He was Abbot of Iona, 623-652.

312 Hector Boethius gives his name as Corman.

313 Cf. I, 1, p. 6, note 2.

314 Bamborough (Bebbanburh, Bebburgh, Babbanburch, etc. There are many
forms of the name). It is uncertain who the queen was. Nennius says
she was the wife of Ethelfrid. His wife, Oswald’s mother, was Acha
(_v. infra_), but he may have been married twice. It was Ida, the
first king of Bernicia, who founded Bamborough (Sax. Chron. ).

315 Cf. II, 5 _ad fin. _, note.

316 Cf. note on Cuichelm, II, 9. Cynegils began to reign in 611 and
reigned about thirty-one years.

317 This account tells us substantially all that is known of him.
Additional details are either legendary or conjectural. He was made
a missionary (“regionary”) bishop, _i. e. _, had no fixed see assigned
to him.

318 II, 17, 18, 19, 20.

319 He was Archbishop of Milan, residing at Genoa. “Asterius . . . like
his predecessors from 568, avoided contact with the dominant Arian
Lombards by residing within the imperial territory at Genoa”
(Bright).

320 Called Cyneburga by Reginald of Durham (Life of St. Oswald).

321 Dorchester, about nine miles from Oxford, near the junction of the
Thame and the Thames. The Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul stands
on the traditional site of Cynegil’s baptism. The see became extinct
on the retirement of Agilbert (_v. infra_), but there are some
grounds for believing that it was revived for a short time as a
Mercian see in 679 (_v. _ p. 272, note), after which it again
disappeared till, in the ninth century, the Bishop of Leicester
moved his see to Dorchester.

322 IV, 12; V, 18. Haedde became bishop in 676 (Sax. Chron. ). His see
was at Winchester. He removed the bones of Birinus, because
Dorchester had ceased to be an episcopal see. Winchester continued
to be the only West Saxon see till the diocese was again divided
(_v. _ V, 18), when Daniel was established at Winchester, and Aldhelm
at Sherborne.

323 Winchester; _Gwent_ (Celtic) = a plain. This, the “old Church,” as
distinguished from the present Cathedral, was built by Coinwalch on
his restoration to his kingdom. There are legends of early British
churches on the site, the first founded by “King Lucius” (I, 4), the
second dedicated to “St. Amphibalus” (I, 7, p. 15, note).

324 Cuichelm (_v. _ II, 9, and note) had died before his father,
Cynegils.

325 Bede reverts more than once to the subject of Anna’s pious
offspring, _v. infra_ cc. 8, 18; IV, 19, 20. He had four daughters:
Sexburg (c. 8, IV, 19, 22), Ethelberg (c. 8), Ethelthryth (IV, 19,
20; cf. IV, 3, 22), and Witberg (not mentioned by Bede); two
granddaughters, Earcongota (c. 8) and Ermingild, the wife of
Wulfhere of Mercia; all of whom entered convents, as did also his
step-daughter, Saethryth (c. 8).

326 Cc. 25, 26, 28; IV, 1; V, 19. The name is a Frankish form of the
English “Aethelbert. ” He was apparently consecrated in Gaul, but not
appointed to any diocese.

327 Cf. c. 28. It is not known why he was expelled (_v. infra_). There
is a tradition that he spent the last three years of his life at
Winchester as a penitent, doubtless for the act of simony related
below, but this is inconsistent with Bede’s statement that he
remained Bishop of London till his death.

328 Winchester; _v. s. _ pp. 148-9, notes.

329 London was an East Saxon bishopric, but Wulfhere (_v. _ c. 24, _ad
fin. _) had acquired the supremacy over the East Saxons (_v. _ c. 30).

330 Hlothere, consecrated 670. Apparently he was appointed by a West
Saxon Synod (“ex synodica sanctione”). Dr. Bright thinks the term is
used loosely for a Witenagemot.

331 II, 5-9, 20; V, 24.

332 Faremoûtier-en-Brie (Farae Monasterium in Brige), founded _circ. _
617 by Fara, or Burgundofara, a Burgundian lady of noble birth, said
to have been dedicated by St. Columba in her infancy. The monastery
was a double one, _i. e. _, consisted of monks and nuns (cf. _infra_,
“many of the brethren”).

333 Chelles, near Paris, founded by Clothilde, wife of Clovis I,
restored and enlarged by Bathild, wife of Clovis II (_v. _ V, 19,
note).

334 Andeley-sur-Seine, also founded by Clothilde, wife of Clovis I.

335 Cf. _supra_ c. 7, note on Anna.

_ 336 Ibid. _

_ 337 Ibid. _

_ 338 Ibid. _

339 Cf. c. 1.

340 The place is commonly supposed to be near Oswestry in Shropshire
(_i. e. _, Oswald’s Tree). There is a legend (related by Reginald)
which tells of a tree near the spot, to which a large bird carried
the king’s right arm from the stake (cf. c. 12 _ad fin. _). The Welsh
name of the place, “Croes Oswallt” (Cross-Oswald), points to the
explanation that the “tree” was a wooden cross set up to mark the
site.

341 642, _i. e. _, nine years after the death of Edwin.

342 Reading _stramine subtracto_, on the authority of the oldest MSS. ,
in which case we must assume (with Plummer) that _stramen_ is used
incorrectly for _stragulus_ in the sense of “saddle,” or
“horse-cloth,” from the classical use, _sternere equum_ = to saddle.
Cf. “stratus regaliter,” c. 14. Later MSS. read _stramine substrato_
(= “spreading straw under him”).

343 Wife of Ethelred of Mercia (cf. IV, 21), murdered by her own people
in 697 (V, 24).

344 Bardney, in Lincolnshire. Ethelred became first a monk, afterwards
abbot of the monastery.

345 “Sacrarium. ” Probably here = the cemetery. But we find it elsewhere
in Bede for the sacristy, and it is also used of the sanctuary.

346 Cf. c. 27; IV, 12.

347 Partney: cf. II, 16, and note. This is the only mention of its
abbot, Aldwin.

348 Aen. II, 1. Quotations from Vergil are frequent in Bede. Cf. II, 13,
_ad fin. _; v. 12, p. 327.

_ 349 I. e. _, matins (between midnight and 3 A. M. ).

350 It was removed in 875, during the Danish invasions, in the coffin of
St. Cuthbert, and finally interred in the same tomb with the body of
Cuthbert at Durham, where it was found in 1827. Hence St. Cuthbert
is often represented holding St. Oswald’s head in his hands.

351 Bamborough: cf. c. 6, note.

352 Bishop of Hexham, 709-731: _v. _ V, 20 (cf. also IV, 14; V, 19). He
was a much loved friend of Bede, many of whose works were undertaken
at his instigation. He was devotedly attached to Wilfrid, whom he
succeeded at Hexham. The “Continuation” says that he was expelled
from his see in 731, and he probably never regained it.

353 Cf. V. 19, p. 353. This was probably Wilfrid’s third journey to
Rome, undertaken in 703-704, for, at the time of his earlier journey
(in 678), when he spent the winter in Frisland, Wilbrord was not yet
there.

354 The great missionary archbishop of the Frisians. He was trained as a
boy in Wilfrid’s abbey at Ripon, studied some time in Ireland, and
with eleven companions undertook in 690 the mission to Frisland
planned by Egbert: _v.