_ The church which stands on the
probable site of this church is called St.
probable site of this church is called St.
bede
D.
189 To commemorate the dedication the pope introduced into the Western
Church the Festival of All Saints, celebrated at first probably on
13th May. The Eastern Church had from early times observed a
Festival of All Martyrs, which became later the Festival of All
Saints, kept by them on the Sunday after Whitsunday.
190 As Bretwalda, or paramount sovereign (_v. _ Stubbs, “Constitutional
History,” I, pp. 162-163). Aelli and Ceaulin are not elsewhere
mentioned in this work. For Redwald, _v. infra_ c. 12; for Edwin, c.
9, foll. ; for Oswald, III, 1, foll. ; and for Oswy, III, 14, foll.
191 Anglesea and Man.
192 This is inaccurate and inconsistent with Bede’s own statement in V.
24. Augustine did not arrive in Britain till 597. The dates given
above, at the beginning of this chapter, are, however, probably
correct, if he means that Ethelbert died twenty-one years after the
dispatch of the mission from Rome.
193 The Witenagemot, the supreme assembly. This is the first recorded
instance of its legislative action. The “decisions” are the
so-called “dooms. ”
194 “—ing” is a Saxon patronymic.
195 It was Ethelbert’s second wife. Bertha had died before him.
196 Or Gewissae. The West Saxons, an antiquated term for them. Cf. III,
7: “Occidentalium Saxonum, qui antiquitus Gewissae vocabantur” (cf.
“visi” = west, in “Visigoth”).
197 At Canterbury, to the east of the church of SS. Peter and Paul, to
which it was afterwards joined.
198 619 A. D.
199 Boniface V.
200 Their names are said to have been: Severus, Severianus, Victorinus,
and Carpophorus (v. addition to Bede’s Martyrology at 8th November).
They suffered martyrdom at Rome in the Diocletian persecution. A
church was erected in their honour on the Coelian, and on its site
stands the present church of the Santi Quattro Coronati.
201 St. Matt. , xxviii, 20.
_ 202 I. e. _, the reward is bestowed on that gift of faithful and
successful service which he might hand on in its results to
posterity. But the text is probably corrupt, and it is difficult to
extract sense from it.
203 St. Matt. , x, 22.
204 He means Eadbald.
205 Ps. xix, 4.
206 Cf. c. 5, p. 94.
207 I, 29.
208 Except Kent. Cf. _supra_, c. 5.
_ 209 Ibid. _
210 A term of endearment.
211 2 Cor. , xi, 2.
212 2 Cor. , iv, 4.
213 Apparently joint king with his father, Cynegils (III, 7). The
hegemony which the West-Saxon Ceaulin had possessed (_v. s. _ c. 5)
had passed to Northumbria.
_ 214 I. e. _, Easter Eve, April 19th, 626.
215 Supposed to be at Aldby, near Stamford Bridge, but other conjectures
have been advanced.
216 Twelve in some MSS. and in V, 24. The baptism was on the Eve of
Whitsunday (cf. V. 24, “in Sabbato Pentecostes”). The Eves of Easter
and Whitsunday were usual days for baptisms; the Roman Church tried
to limit them to these seasons, but Christmas and Epiphany were also
favourite times.
217 Boniface V, unless, as Dr. Bright suggests, the name is a scribe’s
error for Honorius, his successor. Boniface V died in October, 625.
Paulinus had only been consecrated in the preceding July, so it is
impossible that Boniface could have heard of Edwin’s delay in
receiving the faith; _v. _ following letter (c. 11). But there is a
reference in the same letter to Eadbald’s conversion, the news of
which must have come in the time of Boniface rather than of
Honorius. The difficulty is not cleared up.
218 Reading “profert” for the impossible “proferetur. ” The style of this
letter is very involved and there seems to be a good deal of
corruption in the text.
219 Adopting the conjecture “propinemus. ”
220 The MSS. reading (“totius creaturae suae dilatandi subdi”) yields no
sense here, but no satisfactory conjecture has been made.
221 From the Vulgate, Ps. xcv, 5 (Ps. xcvi, 5 in our Psalter).
222 Ps. cxiii, 5-8 (cxv in our Psalter).
223 Gen. , ii, 24; St. Matt. , xix, 5; St. Mark, x, 7; Eph. , v, 31.
224 1 Cor. , vii, 14, cf. 16.
225 Reading “conversione. ”
_ 226 I. e. _, of East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire). Cf.
c. 5, _ad init. _
227 I, 34, and note.
228 Cf. Verg. Aen. , IV, 2, “caeco carpitur igni. ”
229 A tributary of the Trent. The battle is supposed to have been fought
near Retford, in Nottinghamshire, before April 12th, 617. Cf. Bede’s
statement that Edwin was baptized on April 12th, 627, in the
eleventh year of his reign (c. 14).
230 The Witenagemot.
231 Goodmanham, near Market Weighton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
232 Cf. Verg. Aen. , II. 502.
_ 233 I. e. _, Easter Eve. Cf. c. 9, p. 104, note 3.
234 On the site now covered by York Cathedral. The little wooden oratory
was carefully preserved and adorned with gifts. The church has been
repeatedly rebuilt, and of the Saxon building nothing remains but
the central wall of the crypt.
235 Cf. _infra_ c. 20.
236 The newly-baptized wore white garments till the octave of the day of
their baptism, and appeared in church daily with lighted tapers and
accompanied by their sponsors.
237 For Wuscfrea and Yffi, _v. infra_ c. 20, p. 132.
238 Yeavering in Glendale, near Wooler in Northumberland. The name,
Adgefrin, is one of those (common in Anglo-Saxon) in which the
preposition is prefixed. “Æt” (Latin _ad_) and “in” are so used. The
idiom is preserved in the Latin. Cf. Ad Murum, Ad Caprae Caput (III,
21), Infeppingum _(ibid. ), et saep. _
239 The stream, in its upper reaches called the Bowmont Water, is still
called the Glen at Yeavering. It is a tributary of the Till.
Pallinsburn, in the neighbourhood of Coldstream, preserves by its
name the memory of similar baptisms by Paulinus.
240 Perhaps Millfield, near Wooler; but Mindrum and Kirknewton in the
same district have also been suggested.
241 Catterick Bridge (the Roman station Cataractonium, on the Watling
Street), near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
242 Perhaps Doncaster. Other suggestions are Slack, near Huddersfield,
and Tanfield, near Ripon. The Anglo-Saxon version has Donafeld.
243 Leeds. The royal township (_villa_) is said to have been at
Oswinthorp.
244 Elmet Wood, near Leeds.
245 Cf. IV, 17, 23. His father was Ethelhere, King of East Anglia (III,
24).
246 For the patronymic, cf. _supra_ c. 5, p. 95, and note.
247 Cf. III, 18. He was Earpwald’s half-brother, and had been driven
into exile by his step-father, Redwald. Besides becoming a
Christian, he had acquired a taste for secular learning in the
ecclesiastical schools of Gaul.
248 Cf. III, 18, 20. “An important feature of this mission, as it was of
the Kentish, was the combination of education with religion, by
means of a school such as Sigbert had seen abroad, and as by this
time existed at Canterbury in connection with the house of SS. Peter
and Paul” (Bright, p. 143). The name of Felix is preserved in
Felixstowe, on the coast of Suffolk, and in Feliskirk, a Yorkshire
village.
_ 249 Infra_ cc. 16, 18, _et saep. _ He was a disciple of Pope Gregory,
“vir in rebus ecclesiasticis sublimiter institutus” (V, 19).
250 Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, once an important town, afterwards
partially submerged. The diocese was divided into two by Theodore,
and both sees became extinct during the Danish invasions. After
various vicissitudes, the seat of the East Anglian bishopric was
established at Norwich. Cf. IV, 5, p. 231, note 1.
251 Lindsey, the largest of the three divisions of Lincolnshire, was at
times Mercian, at times Northumbrian. At this time it appears to
have been dependent on Northumbria; cf. IV, 12, note.
252 Cf. _infra_ c. 18, _ad init.
_ The church which stands on the
probable site of this church is called St. Paul’s. The name has been
supposed to be a corruption of “Paulinus. ”
253 Partney, in Lincolnshire; afterwards it became a cell of Bardney
Abbey.
254 The place cannot be identified with certainty. Torksey, Southwell,
Newark, Fiskerton, and Littleborough have all been suggested.
255 Cf. _infra_ c. 20, _ad fin. _
256 A form of standard adopted from the Romans. It was made of feathers
attached to a spear.
257 Cf. the instructions of Gregory: I, 29.
258 Bede does not mention the year of his death. The Saxon Chronicle
places it in 627, and this is supported by William of Malmesbury.
Smith places it in 630.
259 St. Matt. , xi, 28.
260 St. Matt. , xxv, 21.
_ 261 I. e. _, the kings of Northumbria and Kent. For similar combined
action on the part of a Northumbrian and a Kentish king, cf. III,
29.
_ 262 I. e. _, Heracleonas, son of Heraclius and half-brother of
Constantine III; associated with them in the Empire.
_ 263 I. e. _, Irish. For their error with regard to Easter, _v. s. _ c. 4.
264 John IV, consecrated December 25th, 640. 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.
189 To commemorate the dedication the pope introduced into the Western
Church the Festival of All Saints, celebrated at first probably on
13th May. The Eastern Church had from early times observed a
Festival of All Martyrs, which became later the Festival of All
Saints, kept by them on the Sunday after Whitsunday.
190 As Bretwalda, or paramount sovereign (_v. _ Stubbs, “Constitutional
History,” I, pp. 162-163). Aelli and Ceaulin are not elsewhere
mentioned in this work. For Redwald, _v. infra_ c. 12; for Edwin, c.
9, foll. ; for Oswald, III, 1, foll. ; and for Oswy, III, 14, foll.
191 Anglesea and Man.
192 This is inaccurate and inconsistent with Bede’s own statement in V.
24. Augustine did not arrive in Britain till 597. The dates given
above, at the beginning of this chapter, are, however, probably
correct, if he means that Ethelbert died twenty-one years after the
dispatch of the mission from Rome.
193 The Witenagemot, the supreme assembly. This is the first recorded
instance of its legislative action. The “decisions” are the
so-called “dooms. ”
194 “—ing” is a Saxon patronymic.
195 It was Ethelbert’s second wife. Bertha had died before him.
196 Or Gewissae. The West Saxons, an antiquated term for them. Cf. III,
7: “Occidentalium Saxonum, qui antiquitus Gewissae vocabantur” (cf.
“visi” = west, in “Visigoth”).
197 At Canterbury, to the east of the church of SS. Peter and Paul, to
which it was afterwards joined.
198 619 A. D.
199 Boniface V.
200 Their names are said to have been: Severus, Severianus, Victorinus,
and Carpophorus (v. addition to Bede’s Martyrology at 8th November).
They suffered martyrdom at Rome in the Diocletian persecution. A
church was erected in their honour on the Coelian, and on its site
stands the present church of the Santi Quattro Coronati.
201 St. Matt. , xxviii, 20.
_ 202 I. e. _, the reward is bestowed on that gift of faithful and
successful service which he might hand on in its results to
posterity. But the text is probably corrupt, and it is difficult to
extract sense from it.
203 St. Matt. , x, 22.
204 He means Eadbald.
205 Ps. xix, 4.
206 Cf. c. 5, p. 94.
207 I, 29.
208 Except Kent. Cf. _supra_, c. 5.
_ 209 Ibid. _
210 A term of endearment.
211 2 Cor. , xi, 2.
212 2 Cor. , iv, 4.
213 Apparently joint king with his father, Cynegils (III, 7). The
hegemony which the West-Saxon Ceaulin had possessed (_v. s. _ c. 5)
had passed to Northumbria.
_ 214 I. e. _, Easter Eve, April 19th, 626.
215 Supposed to be at Aldby, near Stamford Bridge, but other conjectures
have been advanced.
216 Twelve in some MSS. and in V, 24. The baptism was on the Eve of
Whitsunday (cf. V. 24, “in Sabbato Pentecostes”). The Eves of Easter
and Whitsunday were usual days for baptisms; the Roman Church tried
to limit them to these seasons, but Christmas and Epiphany were also
favourite times.
217 Boniface V, unless, as Dr. Bright suggests, the name is a scribe’s
error for Honorius, his successor. Boniface V died in October, 625.
Paulinus had only been consecrated in the preceding July, so it is
impossible that Boniface could have heard of Edwin’s delay in
receiving the faith; _v. _ following letter (c. 11). But there is a
reference in the same letter to Eadbald’s conversion, the news of
which must have come in the time of Boniface rather than of
Honorius. The difficulty is not cleared up.
218 Reading “profert” for the impossible “proferetur. ” The style of this
letter is very involved and there seems to be a good deal of
corruption in the text.
219 Adopting the conjecture “propinemus. ”
220 The MSS. reading (“totius creaturae suae dilatandi subdi”) yields no
sense here, but no satisfactory conjecture has been made.
221 From the Vulgate, Ps. xcv, 5 (Ps. xcvi, 5 in our Psalter).
222 Ps. cxiii, 5-8 (cxv in our Psalter).
223 Gen. , ii, 24; St. Matt. , xix, 5; St. Mark, x, 7; Eph. , v, 31.
224 1 Cor. , vii, 14, cf. 16.
225 Reading “conversione. ”
_ 226 I. e. _, of East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire). Cf.
c. 5, _ad init. _
227 I, 34, and note.
228 Cf. Verg. Aen. , IV, 2, “caeco carpitur igni. ”
229 A tributary of the Trent. The battle is supposed to have been fought
near Retford, in Nottinghamshire, before April 12th, 617. Cf. Bede’s
statement that Edwin was baptized on April 12th, 627, in the
eleventh year of his reign (c. 14).
230 The Witenagemot.
231 Goodmanham, near Market Weighton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
232 Cf. Verg. Aen. , II. 502.
_ 233 I. e. _, Easter Eve. Cf. c. 9, p. 104, note 3.
234 On the site now covered by York Cathedral. The little wooden oratory
was carefully preserved and adorned with gifts. The church has been
repeatedly rebuilt, and of the Saxon building nothing remains but
the central wall of the crypt.
235 Cf. _infra_ c. 20.
236 The newly-baptized wore white garments till the octave of the day of
their baptism, and appeared in church daily with lighted tapers and
accompanied by their sponsors.
237 For Wuscfrea and Yffi, _v. infra_ c. 20, p. 132.
238 Yeavering in Glendale, near Wooler in Northumberland. The name,
Adgefrin, is one of those (common in Anglo-Saxon) in which the
preposition is prefixed. “Æt” (Latin _ad_) and “in” are so used. The
idiom is preserved in the Latin. Cf. Ad Murum, Ad Caprae Caput (III,
21), Infeppingum _(ibid. ), et saep. _
239 The stream, in its upper reaches called the Bowmont Water, is still
called the Glen at Yeavering. It is a tributary of the Till.
Pallinsburn, in the neighbourhood of Coldstream, preserves by its
name the memory of similar baptisms by Paulinus.
240 Perhaps Millfield, near Wooler; but Mindrum and Kirknewton in the
same district have also been suggested.
241 Catterick Bridge (the Roman station Cataractonium, on the Watling
Street), near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
242 Perhaps Doncaster. Other suggestions are Slack, near Huddersfield,
and Tanfield, near Ripon. The Anglo-Saxon version has Donafeld.
243 Leeds. The royal township (_villa_) is said to have been at
Oswinthorp.
244 Elmet Wood, near Leeds.
245 Cf. IV, 17, 23. His father was Ethelhere, King of East Anglia (III,
24).
246 For the patronymic, cf. _supra_ c. 5, p. 95, and note.
247 Cf. III, 18. He was Earpwald’s half-brother, and had been driven
into exile by his step-father, Redwald. Besides becoming a
Christian, he had acquired a taste for secular learning in the
ecclesiastical schools of Gaul.
248 Cf. III, 18, 20. “An important feature of this mission, as it was of
the Kentish, was the combination of education with religion, by
means of a school such as Sigbert had seen abroad, and as by this
time existed at Canterbury in connection with the house of SS. Peter
and Paul” (Bright, p. 143). The name of Felix is preserved in
Felixstowe, on the coast of Suffolk, and in Feliskirk, a Yorkshire
village.
_ 249 Infra_ cc. 16, 18, _et saep. _ He was a disciple of Pope Gregory,
“vir in rebus ecclesiasticis sublimiter institutus” (V, 19).
250 Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, once an important town, afterwards
partially submerged. The diocese was divided into two by Theodore,
and both sees became extinct during the Danish invasions. After
various vicissitudes, the seat of the East Anglian bishopric was
established at Norwich. Cf. IV, 5, p. 231, note 1.
251 Lindsey, the largest of the three divisions of Lincolnshire, was at
times Mercian, at times Northumbrian. At this time it appears to
have been dependent on Northumbria; cf. IV, 12, note.
252 Cf. _infra_ c. 18, _ad init.
_ The church which stands on the
probable site of this church is called St. Paul’s. The name has been
supposed to be a corruption of “Paulinus. ”
253 Partney, in Lincolnshire; afterwards it became a cell of Bardney
Abbey.
254 The place cannot be identified with certainty. Torksey, Southwell,
Newark, Fiskerton, and Littleborough have all been suggested.
255 Cf. _infra_ c. 20, _ad fin. _
256 A form of standard adopted from the Romans. It was made of feathers
attached to a spear.
257 Cf. the instructions of Gregory: I, 29.
258 Bede does not mention the year of his death. The Saxon Chronicle
places it in 627, and this is supported by William of Malmesbury.
Smith places it in 630.
259 St. Matt. , xi, 28.
260 St. Matt. , xxv, 21.
_ 261 I. e. _, the kings of Northumbria and Kent. For similar combined
action on the part of a Northumbrian and a Kentish king, cf. III,
29.
_ 262 I. e. _, Heracleonas, son of Heraclius and half-brother of
Constantine III; associated with them in the Empire.
_ 263 I. e. _, Irish. For their error with regard to Easter, _v. s. _ c. 4.
264 John IV, consecrated December 25th, 640. 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.
