No More Learning

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. _ V, 10, 11. (For Egbert, _v. _ c. 4, p. 143,
and note. )

355 The third of Ethelfrid’s seven sons (_v. _ Sax. Chron. ) to succeed to
the sovereignty. With his brothers he had spent his youth in
banishment among the Picts and Scots (_v. s. _ c. 1).

356 Cc. 21, 24, 25, 28. The pupil and friend of Wilfrid. He was made
sub-king of Deira in place of Ethelwald (_v. _ next note). The date
and circumstances of his rebellion are not known. A cross at
Bewcastle in Cumberland, erected in 670 or 671, commemorates him and
asks prayers for his soul.

357 Ethelwald, _v. _ cc. 23, 24.

358 Cf. II, 3.

359 The first bishop of English birth. For Honorius, _v. _ II, 15, note.

360 The apostate king of Deira, Osric, son of Aelfric, was first cousin
to Edwin (cf. c. 1). Oswald united the two Northumbrian kingdoms,
but at his death, Oswin, son of Osric, succeeded to Deira. He was
canonised, and his tragic death led him to be regarded as a martyr.

361 Not identified. The village (“a vico Cataractone”) is probably the
one called Cataracta in II, 14 (_v. _ note, _ad loc. _).

_ 362 Comes_, A. S. _gesith_.

363 At Queen Eanfled’s request (_v. _ c. 24, p. 191). The place is
generally identified with Gilling in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
For the form of the name, _v. _ II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

364 In 651 A. D. Cf. V. 24.

365 Cf. c. 21.

366 II, 9, 20; III, 24, 25, 29; V, 19.

367 The monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow. Cf. IV, 18; V, 21 _ad init. _,
24.

368 Bamborough, _v. _ cc. 6, 12.

369 The scene of St. Cuthbert’s hermit life: _v. _ IV, 27, 28, 29; V, 1.
It is called the “House Island,” and is the largest of the Farne
group of seventeen islands off the coast of Northumberland, opposite
Bamborough, famous in modern times for the rescue of a shipwrecked
crew by Grace Darling.

_ 370 v. l. _ seventeen. The MS. authority is about equal; but cf. _infra_,
the statement that he died in the seventeenth year of his
episcopate, which seems to be correct.

371 651 A. D. ; _v. s. _ c. 14 _ad fin. _

372 Cc. 21, 22, 25, 26, 27. For his character, _v. _ c. 25 (though some
suppose the reference to be to Ronan). For Hii, _v. _ c. 3, note.

373 The church and the buttress were evidently both of wood.

374 He probably refers to the “De Temporum Ratione,” the longer of his
two chronological works. It treats the Paschal question at length.
But in the “De Temporibus” he also briefly discusses it.

375 Cf. c. 3.

376 II, 15, and note.

377 Cf. _ib. _ The school was probably in the episcopal city of Dunwich,
though it has been maintained that it was the origin of Cambridge
University. For this there seems to be no authority except a
seventeenth century addition to this passage in a twelfth or
thirteenth century MS: “Grantebrig schola a Sigberto Rege. ”

378 Cf. c. 7, p. 149, and note.

379 For a full account of St. Fursa and his brothers, and other
companions mentioned in this chapter, _v. _ Miss Margaret Stokes’s
“Three months in the Forests of France, a pilgrimage in search of
vestiges of the Irish Saints in France. ” Bede’s narrative is taken
from an extant ancient Latin life of St. Fursa (or Fursey), the
“libellus de vita ejus conscriptus” to which he refers several times
(_v. infra_).

380 St. Matt. , xxv, 13.

381 Burgh Castle in Suffolk, where there was a Roman fortress,
Garianonum.

_ 382 I. e. _, Irish.

383 His monastery on Lough Corrib. It is obvious from the sequel that
this vision was prior to his journey to Britain, and is distinct
from the vision mentioned above.

384 Ps. lxxxiv, 7; (lxxxiii, 8, in the Vulgate). The reading is that of
the Vulgate and the Gallican Psalter: “Ibunt de virtute in virtutem:
videbitur Deus deorum in Sion. ”

_ 385 Ibid. _

_ 386 I. e. _, Ireland.

387 The monastery at Burgh Castle.

388 Fullan, or Foillan, was apparently a bishop (the others are called
“presbyteri”). He and Ultan after Fursa’s death (_circ. _ 650) went
to South Brabant. Ultan founded a monastery at Fosse in the diocese
of Liège (then of Maestricht), and Fullan laboured in conjunction
with St. Gertrude in the double monastery of Nivelles. Ultan became
abbot, first of Fosse and later of Péronne. The name Gobban occurs
frequently in Irish Church History, Dicull occasionally. There is a
Dicull mentioned in IV, 13.

_ 389 I. e. _, the Mercians; _v. s. _ c. 18.

390 Clovis II, King of Neustria, 638-656. Ercinwald was his Mayor of the
Palace.

391 Lagny on the Marne, near Paris.

392 Péronne on the Somme. The monastery founded there after his death
was called “Perrona Scotorum” from the number of Irish who resorted
to it.

_ 393 Circ. _ 647. The rapid increase in the number of native bishops may
be seen from this chapter. The only one before Thomas was Ithamar
(cf. c. 14, p. 164).

394 The Fen country.