In
pursuance
of his policy of increasing the number of bishops, he
subdivides the great Northumbrian diocese.
subdivides the great Northumbrian diocese.
bede
(Cambridge), so called, because,
after being sold by auction in the reign of William III, it came into the
possession of Bishop Moore, who bequeathed it to the University of
Cambridge; Cotton, Tiberius A, xiv; Cotton, Tiberius C, ii; and the Namur
MS. A detailed account of these, as well as of a great number of other
manuscripts, will be found in Mr. Plummer’s Introduction to his edition of
Bede’s Historical Works. He has been the first to collate the four oldest
MSS. , besides examining numerous others and collating them in certain
passages. He has pointed out that two of the MSS. dating from the eighth
century (the century in which Bede died), the Moore MS. and Cotton,
Tiberius A, xiv, point to a common original which cannot be far removed
from Bede’s autograph. We are thus brought very near to our author, and
may have more than in most cases the assurance that we have before us what
he actually meant to say.
The earliest editions were printed on the Continent; the “editio princeps”
is believed to date from 1475. A number of editions followed in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the first in England was published by
Abraham Whelock at Cambridge in 1643-4. Smith’s edition in 1722 marked a
new era in the history of the book. It was the first critical edition, the
text being based on the Moore MS. collated with three others, of which two
were eighth century MSS. ; and succeeding editors, Stevenson (1841), Giles
(1842), Hussey (1846), the editor in the “Monumenta Historica Britannica”
(1848), Moberly (1869), Holder (1882), base their work mainly on Smith’s.
Mr. Mayor and Mr. Lumby together edited Books III and IV with excellent
notes in 1878. Their text “reproduces exactly the Moore MS. ” which they
collated with some other Cambridge MSS. (cf. Mayor and Lumby, Excursus
II). In 1896 the Rev. C. Plummer published his edition of Bede’s
Historical Works, the first critical edition since Smith’s, and “the very
first which exhibits in an _apparatus criticus_ the various readings of
the MSS. on which the text is based. ” For the student of Bede this
admirable book is of the highest value, and the labours of all succeeding
editors are made comparatively light. Besides the most minute and accurate
work on the text, it contains a copious and interesting commentary and the
fullest references to the various sources upon which the editor has drawn.
The first translation of the “Ecclesiastical History” is the Anglo-Saxon
version, executed either by Alfred himself or under his immediate
supervision. Of this version Dr. Hodgkin says: “As this book had become a
kind of classic among churchmen, Alfred allowed himself here less liberty
than in some of his other translations. Some letters, epitaphs, and
similar documents are omitted, and there is an almost complete erasure of
the chapters relating to the wearisome Paschal controversy. In other
respects the king’s translation seems to be a fairly accurate reproduction
of the original work. ” Mr. Plummer, however, finds it “very rarely
available for the settlement of minute differences of reading. ”
The first modern English translation is Thomas Stapleton’s (1565),
published at Antwerp. It is a controversial work, intended to point out to
Queen Elizabeth “in how many and weighty pointes the pretended refourmers
of the Church . . . have departed from the patern of that sounde and
Catholike faith planted first among Englishmen by holy S. Augustin, our
Apostle, and his vertuous company, described truly and sincerely by
Venerable Bede, so called in all Christendom for his passing vertues and
rare lerning, the Author of this History. ” To save Elizabeth’s time “in
espying out the particulars,” the translator has “gathered out of the
whole History a number of diversities between the pretended religion of
Protestants and the primitive faith of the english Church. ” If charm and
appropriateness of style were the only qualities to be aimed at in a
translation, we might well content ourselves with this rendering, which
fills with despair the translator of to-day, debarred by his date from
writing Elizabethan English.
The work was again translated by John Stevens (1723), and a third time
(with some omissions) by W. Hurst in 1814. In 1840 Dr. Giles published a
new edition of Stevens’s translation with certain alterations; and a
second edition of the same volume was published in 1842, and incorporated
in the collected works of Bede, edited by Dr. Giles. In 1870 a literal
translation by the Rev. L. Gidley was published. The present volume is a
revision of the translation of Dr. Giles.
A brief analysis of the work may be of some use to the student in keeping
distinct the different threads of the narrative, as owing to the variety
of subjects introduced, and the want of strict chronological order, it is
difficult to grasp the sequence of events as a coherent whole.
The sources from which Bede draws his material are briefly indicated in
the dedication to King Ceolwulf which forms the Preface, and in it he
acknowledges his obligations to the friends and correspondents who have
helped and encouraged him. For the greater part of Book I (cc. 1-22),
which forms the introduction to his real subject, he depends on earlier
authors. Here he does not specify his sources, but indicates them
generally as _priorum scripta_. These authors are mainly Pliny, Solinus,
Orosius, Eutropius, and the British historian Gildas. In the story of
Germanus and Lupus he follows closely the Life of Germanus by Constantius
of Lyons. Prosper of Aquitaine also supplies him with some materials. When
he comes to his main subject, the History of the English Church, he
appears to rely but little upon books. Only a very few are referred to
here and there, _e. g. _, The Life of St. Fursa, The Life of St. Ethelburg,
Adamnan’s work on the Holy Places, and the Anonymous Life of St. Cuthbert.
That some form of annalistic records existed before his time, and that
these were consulted by him, we may infer from some of his chronological
references (cf. iii, 1, 9). Local information with regard to provinces
other than Northumbria he obtains from his correspondents in various parts
of England, and these are expressly mentioned in the Preface.
For the history of the Roman mission and of Kent generally, as well as
some particulars with regard to the conversion of other provinces, his
chief source is the Church of Canterbury, which apparently possessed,
besides oral tradition, written documents relating to the first beginnings
of the Church. Moreover, Nothelm, who was the bearer of much important
material, had been to Rome and had permission to search the papal
archives. But it is in dealing with the history of Northumbria, as is
natural, that Bede’s information is most varied and copious. Much of it is
apparently obtained directly from eye-witnesses of the events, much would
doubtless be preserved in the records of the Church of Lindisfarne, to
which he had access, perhaps also in his own monastery. We know that the
monasteries kept calendars in which the death-days of saints and others
were entered, and other records of similar nature (cf. iv, 14), and that
these were used as materials for history.
Passing to the history itself, we may trace a division of subjects or
periods roughly analogous to the division into books. Book I contains the
long introduction, the sending of the Roman mission, and the foundation of
the Church; Books II and III, the period of missionary activity and the
establishment of Christianity throughout the land. Book IV may be said to
describe the period of organization. In Book V the English Church itself
becomes a missionary centre, planting the faith in Germany, and drawing
the Celtic Churches into conformity with Rome.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
BOOK I. —In Book I, cc. 1-22, Bede sketches the early history of Britain,
describing the country and giving some account of the various races by
whom it was inhabited. The story of the Roman occupation is narrated at
some length, the invasions of the Picts and Scots and consequent miseries
of the Britons, their appeals for help to the Romans, the final departure
of their protectors, and the coming of the Saxons are described. We have
some shadowy outlines of British Church History in the legendary account
of the conversion of King Lucius, in the story of St. Alban, affording
evidence of a great persecution of Christians during the Roman occupation,
in the allusions to the Arian and Pelagian heresies, and in the mission of
Germanus and Lupus. A brief allusion to the mission of Palladius is all
that we hear of the Irish Church at this period.
These chapters are introductory to the main subject, the History of the
English Church, which begins in Chapter 23 with the mission of St.
Augustine in 597 A. D. The reception of the Christian faith in the kingdom
of Kent and the foundation of a national Church occupy the remaining
chapters of the book. Various letters of Pope Gregory relating to the
mission and his answers to the questions of Augustine are given at length;
and the Book concludes with a piece of Northumbrian history, Ethelfrid’s
conquests of the Britons and the defeat of Aedan, king of the Dalriadic
Scots, at Degsastan in 603 A. D.
BOOK II. —Book II opens with a biographical sketch of Gregory the Great,
the founder of the Mission. This is followed by an account of Augustine’s
negotiations with the leaders of the British Church with regard to the
Paschal question and some other matters, his failure to win them over (a
failure apparently largely due to his own want of tact in dealing with the
susceptible Celtic temperament), his alleged prophecy of disaster and its
fulfilment some time after at the battle of Chester. Then we have the
consecration of Mellitus to London, as Bishop of the East Saxons, and
Justus to Rochester (604 A. D. ); the evangelization of the East Saxons by
Mellitus; the death of Augustine and succession of Laurentius as
Archbishop (no date is given; it may have been in 605); fresh attempts at
union with the Celtic Churches, in which again we can perceive a failure
of courtesy on the one side met by an obstinate pride on the other. The
death of Ethelbert in Kent (616 A. D. ) and that of Sabert in Essex, soon
after, lead to a pagan reaction in both provinces; Mellitus and Justus
take refuge on the Continent; Laurentius, intending to follow them, is
stopped by a vision which leads to the conversion of King Eadbald and the
recovery of Kent for Christianity. Essex, however, continues to be pagan.
On the death of Laurentius (619 A. D. ), Mellitus succeeds to Canterbury and
is himself succeeded by Justus (in 624). In Chapter 9 we enter upon a new
development of the highest importance in the work of the mission. The
marriage of Edwin, king of Northumbria, and the Kentish princess,
Ethelberg, brings about the conversion of Northumbria through the
preaching of Paulinus. The story is told in detail. Letters from Pope
Boniface to Edwin and his consort are quoted at length, Edwin’s early
history with its bearing on the great crisis of his life is related;
finally we have the decisive debate in the Witenagemot at Goodmanham and
the baptism of the king at Easter, 627 A. D. Through the influence of Edwin
on Earpwald, king of East Anglia, that province is next converted, but on
the death of Earpwald the people lapse into paganism for three years, till
Christianity is finally established by the labours of Bishop Felix, under
the enlightened King Sigbert, who had himself been drawn to the faith in
Gaul.
Meanwhile, peace and prosperity reign in Northumbria, and Paulinus extends
his preaching to Lindsey. He re-receives the pall from Pope Honorius, in
accordance with the original intention of Gregory that the Bishop of York
should rank as a metropolitan. At Canterbury, Justus is succeeded by
Archbishop Honorius. Parenthetically we have extracts from letters,
probably of the year 640 A. D. , addressed by the Roman see to the Irish
clergy on the Paschal question and the Pelagian heresy.
In Chapter 20 we have a dramatic climax to the book in the overthrow and
death of Edwin at the battle of Hatfield in 633 A. D. ; the devastation of
Northumbria by the British king, Caedwalla, and Penda of Mercia; and the
flight of Paulinus, taking with him Ethelberg and Eanfled to Kent, where
he ends his life in charge of the Church of Rochester. His work in
Northumbria seems for the time, at least, wholly overthrown. Only James
the Deacon remains heroically at his post to keep alive the smouldering
embers of the faith.
BOOK III. —Book III opens with the story of the apostasy of the
Northumbrian kings and the miseries of the “Hateful Year,” terminated by
the victory of Oswald at Heavenfield in 634 A. D. Christianity is brought
again to Northumbria (635 A. D. ) by the Celtic Mission, sent from Iona at
the request of Oswald, who nobly co-operates with Aidan in the work of
evangelization. Aidan fixes his see at Lindisfarne. The mention of Iona
leads to a short account of the mission of St. Columba to the Northern
Picts in 565 A. D. , and incidentally of St. Ninian’s mission to the
Southern Picts “long before”; the grant of Iona to St. Columba, and its
constitution, the character of its monks and their error with regard to
Easter. The characters of Aidan and Oswald are described; and the union of
Deira and Bernicia under Oswald is briefly mentioned.
In Chapter 7 we pass to a fresh missionary enterprise. Birinus, sent to
Britain by Pope Honorius, converts the West Saxons. Their king, Cynegils,
is baptized, and a see is established at Dorchester, in Oxfordshire. Under
Coinwalch, the successor of Cynegils, the province passes through various
vicissitudes, political and ecclesiastical, and finally the West Saxon see
is fixed at Winchester.
In Kent, Earconbert succeeds Eadbald in 640 A. D. , and takes vigorous
measures for the suppression of idolatry. His daughter, Earcongota, and
many other high-born English ladies enter the religious life in Gaul, for
convents are still scarce in England.
In Chapter 9, reverting to the history of Northumbria, Bede tells us of
the death of Oswald at Maserfelth in 642, and relates at length various
miracles wrought by his relics. Oswald is succeeded by Oswy in Bernicia
and in Deira by Oswin. The latter is treacherously murdered by Oswy; his
character is described. The death of Aidan (in 651) immediately follows
that of his beloved king; Aidan’s miracles are related, and a warm tribute
is paid to his character, in spite of the inevitable error with regard to
Easter, which is severely condemned.
In Chapter 18, passing again to East Anglian history, we hear of King
Sigbert’s services to education, and of his retirement to a monastery from
which he was forcibly drawn to fall in battle against the Mercians. (The
chronology is here very vague. ) A vision of the Irish St. Fursa, who
founded the monastery of Cnobheresburg in East Anglia is told in detail.
Changes in the episcopate in East Anglia and elsewhere are mentioned.
Deusdedit succeeds Honorius as Archbishop of Canterbury in 654.
Again, a Northumbrian prince gives a fresh impulse to the spread of
Christianity. In 653 the Middle Angles (who occupied a part of Mercia) are
converted, their prince, Peada, being persuaded chiefly by his
brother-in-law, Alchfrid, a son of Oswy. Four priests are sent to them to
preach and baptize, Cedd, Adda, Betti, and Diuma, and Diuma becomes bishop
of the Middle Angles and Mercians. Similarly, at this time, King Sigbert
of Essex listens to the exhortations of his friend, King Oswy, and, at the
preaching of Cedd, the East Saxons receive the faith a second time. Cedd
becomes their bishop. Sigbert’s tragic death is related. His successor,
Suidhelm, receives baptism at the hands of Cedd. The foundation of
Lastingham by Ethelwald of Deira and its consecration by Cedd are
described. Cedd dies of the plague of 664.
Meanwhile, important political changes have taken place in the north: the
defeat and death of Penda at the Winwaed in 655 are followed by Oswy’s
rule, which established Christianity in Mercia, in spite of a successful
rebellion after three years, when the Mercians threw off the yoke of
Northumbria and set up Penda’s son, Wulfhere, as their king.
In Chapter 25 we come to the Synod of Whitby (664 A. D. ), which settled the
Easter question for the English Church. Wilfrid comes to the front as a
champion of the Catholic rules. The opposing party either retire or
conform. The self-denial and devotion of the Celtic missionaries are
highly praised, and some account of the life led by English students in
Ireland follows, with the story of the self-dedication of Egbert, who is
destined to play a prominent part afterwards in the history of the Church.
The consecration of both Wilfrid and Ceadda (664 A. D. ), as bishops of
Northumbria leads to complications in the episcopate. An important step
towards the unity of the English nation in ecclesiastical matters is taken
when Wighard is sent to Rome by the kings Oswy and Egbert, acting in
concert, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury (667 A. D. ). Wighard
dies there, and Pope Vitalian undertakes to find an archbishop for the
English Church.
The book ends with a fresh apostasy in Essex during the miseries of the
great plague of 664. Mercia, so lately itself evangelized, becomes a new
missionary centre, King Wulfhere sending Bishop Jaruman to recall the East
Saxons to the faith.
BOOK IV. —In all but one of the kingdoms of England Christianity is now, at
least in name, established, and the Church settles down to the work of
organization. The man for this task is found in Theodore of Tarsus,
consecrated Archbishop of the English in 668. He arrives at Canterbury in
669. We hear at once of the vigorous impulse given by him and Abbot
Hadrian to the various departments of education there. Finding an
irregularity in Ceadda’s orders, he completes his ordination and makes him
Bishop of the Mercians (probably in 669), with his see at Lichfield.
Ceadda’s death (672 A. D. ), his character, and the miracles and visions
connected with him are described. Parenthetically we get an account of
Colman’s activity in Ireland after his retirement, in consequence of the
decision at Whitby. The most important political events at this time are
the death of Oswy and succession of Egfrid in Northumbria in 670 or 671,
and the death of Egbert and succession of Hlothere in Kent in 673.
In the same year the Council of Hertford, the first English provincial
council, is held, and marks the strength and independence of the Church.
Theodore proceeds with his reforms in the episcopate. Various events of
ecclesiastical importance follow; the East Anglian diocese is divided
about this time, and other changes are effected.
Essex, so long prone to lapses into paganism, becomes at this time a
centre of religious life under its Bishop Earconwald and its king Sebbi.
Earconwald, whose holiness is attested by many miraculous circumstances,
was the founder of the monasteries of Chertsey and Barking, the latter of
which was ruled by his sister, the saintly Ethelburg. Various miracles are
related in connection with her and her monastery. The king of the East
Saxons, Sebbi, is a man of unusual piety who resigns his kingdom and
receives the tonsure.
After a brief allusion to West Saxon history, the devastation of Kent by
Ethelred of Mercia in 676, and certain changes in the episcopate, we come
to an important step in the organization of the Church taken by Theodore.
In pursuance of his policy of increasing the number of bishops, he
subdivides the great Northumbrian diocese. Wilfrid is expelled (678 A. D. ).
From these events we pass summarily to the evangelization of the South
Saxons by Wilfrid, who extends his labours to the Isle of Wight, and thus
the last of the English provinces is won for the faith.
In the Council of Hatfield (680 A. D. ) the English Church asserts its
orthodoxy and unites with the continental Churches in repudiating the
heresy of the Monothelites. Turning to Northumbrian history, we have the
story of Egfrid’s queen, Ethelthryth, and a hymn composed in her honour by
Bede. The war between Mercia and Northumbria in 679 is ended by the
mediation of Theodore, and a miracle in connection with the battle of the
Trent is related.
The remainder of the book is occupied mainly with Northumbrian history,
the life and death of Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, the story of the poet
Caedmon, the destruction of Coldingham, prophesied by the monk Adamnan,
Egfrid’s invasion of Ireland (684 A. D. ) and of the country of the Picts
(685 A. D. ), his defeat and death in that year, the decline of Northumbria,
the flight of Bishop Trumwine from Abercorn, and the succession of Aldfrid
to the kingdom. The death of Hlothere of Kent (685 A. D. ) is followed by
anarchy in that province, till Wictred succeeds and restores peace.
In Chapters 27-32 we have an account of the life of St. Cuthbert and
stories of the miracles wrought by his relics.
BOOK V. —Book V opens with the story of the holy Ethelwald, who succeeded
Cuthbert as anchorite at Farne, and a miracle wrought through his
intercession. This is followed (cc. 2-6) by an account of John of
Beverley, Bishop of Hexham, and the miracles attributed to him. In Chapter
7 we have a piece of West Saxon history: Caedwalla, King of Wessex, after
a life of war and bloodshed, goes to Rome to receive baptism there, and
dies immediately after his admission into the Church (689 A. D. ). He is
succeeded by Ini, who in 725 likewise ended his days at Rome.
In 690 Theodore dies, after an episcopate of twenty-two years. Bertwald
succeeds him at Canterbury in 693.
At this time Englishmen begin to extend their missionary enterprise
abroad. Various missions are undertaken by men who have lived long in
Ireland and caught the Celtic zeal for the work of evangelization. The
story is told of the attempted mission of Egbert to Germany and the
unsuccessful venture of Witbert. Wilbrord (in 690) and others plant the
faith among the German tribes.
The vision of Drythelm is inserted here, probably on chronological grounds
(“his temporibus”), and other visions of the future world follow.
Apparently about the same time a change is effected in the attitude of the
greater part of the Celtic Church towards the Paschal question. The
Northern Irish are converted to the Roman usages by Adamnan, Abbot of
Iona, whose book on the “Holy Places” is here described (cc. 16-17).
The death of Aldfrid and succession of Osred in Northumbria in 705 are the
next events narrated.
About this time the division of the West Saxon diocese is carried out,
Aldhelm being appointed to Sherborne and Daniel to Winchester; the South
Saxons receive a bishop of their own for the first time. In 709 A. D.
Coenred of Mercia and Offa of Essex receive the tonsure at Rome, and in
the same year Bishop Wilfrid dies. The story of his life is told.
Not long after, Hadrian dies and is succeeded by Albinus as Abbot of St.
Augustine’s. Bede’s friend, Acca, succeeds Wilfrid as Bishop of Hexham.
His services to the Church are enumerated.
An important step is taken at this time by the Northern Picts in the
acceptance of the Roman rules with regard to Easter and the tonsure. The
letter of Abbot Ceolfrid of Wearmouth and Jarrow to the Pictish king
Naiton on this subject is quoted at length. Soon after, Iona yields to the
preaching of Egbert, and receives the Catholic usages. Egbert dies in 729.
In Chapter 23 a number of events are briefly mentioned; the death of
Wictred of Kent in 725, and the succession of his sons, the death of the
learned Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, in 726, the appearance of two comets
in 729, followed by the devastation of Gaul by the Saracens, the death of
the Northumbrian king Osric, and succession of Ceolwulf in 729; finally,
the death of Archbishop Bertwald in 731 and the succession of Tatwine.
Then follows an account of the state of the English episcopate in 731, the
year in which Bede finished the History. The relations of the English with
Picts, Scots, and Britons are described, and some allusion is made to the
growth of monasticism in this time of external peace.
The book closes in Chapter 24 with a chronological summary of the whole
work, an autobiographical sketch of the author, and a list of his works.
LIFE OF BEDE
Few lives afford less material for the biographer than Bede’s; few seem to
possess a more irresistible fascination. Often as the simple story has
been told, the desire to tell it afresh appears to be perennial. And yet
it is perhaps as wholly devoid of incident as any life could be. The short
autobiographical sketch at the end of the “Ecclesiastical History” tells
us practically all: that he was born in the territory of the twin
monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow; that at the age of seven he was sent by
his kinsfolk to be brought up, first under the Abbot Benedict, afterwards
under Ceolfrid; that in his nineteenth year (the canonical age was
twenty-five) he was admitted to the diaconate, and received priest’s
orders in his thirtieth year, in both instances at the hands of John,
Bishop of Hexham, and by order of the Abbot Ceolfrid; that he spent his
whole life in the monastery in learning, in teaching, and in writing, and
in the observance of the monastic rule and attendance at the daily
services of the Church. Of his family we know nothing; the name Beda
appears to have been not uncommon. The fact that he was handed over by
kinsmen (“cura propinquorum”) to Abbot Benedict would seem to imply that
he was an orphan when he entered the monastery at the age of seven, but it
was not unusual for parents to dedicate their infant children to the
religious life, in many cases even at an earlier age than Bede’s. We may
compare the story of the little boy, Aesica, at Barking, related by Bede,
and of Elfled, the daughter of Oswy, dedicated by her father before she
was a year old.
The epithet “Venerable,” commonly attached to his name, has given rise to
more than one legend. It was apparently first applied to him in the ninth
century, and is said to have been an appellation of priests. The best
known of these legends is Fuller’s story of a certain “dunce monk” who set
about writing Bede’s epitaph, and being unable to complete the verse, “Hic
sunt in fossa Bedae . . . ossa,” went to bed with his task unfinished.
Returning to it in the morning, he found that an angel had filled the gap
with the word “venerabilis. ” Another account tells how Bede, in his old
age, when his eyes were dim, was induced by certain “mockers” to preach,
under the mistaken belief that the people were assembled to hear him. As
he ended his sermon with a solemn invocation of the Trinity, the angels
(in one version it is the stones of a rocky valley) responded “Amen, very
venerable Bede. ”
The land on which Bede was born was granted by Egfrid to Benedict Biscop
for the foundation of the monasteries a short time after the birth of
Bede. Wearmouth was founded in 674, Jarrow in 681 or 682. Bede was among
those members of the community who were transferred to Jarrow under Abbot
Ceolfrid, and under his rule and that of his successor, Huaetbert, he
passed his life. With regard to the chief dates, the authorities differ,
Simeon of Durham and others placing his birth as late as 677. Bede himself
tells us that he was in his fifty-ninth year when he wrote the short
autobiography at the end of the History. That work was finished in 731,
and there seems to be no good reason to suppose that the autobiographical
sketch was written at a later time. We may infer then that he was born in
673, that he was ordained deacon in 691 and priest in 702. For his death,
735, the date given in the “Continuation,” seems to be supported by the
evidence of the letter of Cuthbert to Cuthwin (_v. infra_). From this it
appears that he died on a Wednesday, which nevertheless is called
Ascension Day, implying, doubtless, that his death occurred on the eve,
after the festival had begun, according to ecclesiastical reckoning. It is
further explained that Ascension Day was on the 26th of May (“VII Kal.
Junii”),(1) which was actually the case in the year 735.
Beyond the testimony borne to his exceptional diligence as a student in a
letter from Alcuin to the monks of Wearmouth and Jarrow, we hear nothing
of his childhood and early youth. One anecdote in the Anonymous History of
the Abbots may perhaps refer to him, though no name is given. It tells
how, when the plague of 686 devastated the monastery, the Abbot Ceolfrid,
for lack of fit persons to assist at the daily offices, decided to recite
the psalms without antiphons, except at vespers and matins. But after a
week’s trial, unable to bear it any longer, he restored the antiphons to
their proper place, and with the help of one little boy carried on the
services in the usual manner. This little boy is described as being, at
the time the History was written, a priest of that monastery who “duly,
both by his words and writings, commends the Abbot’s praiseworthy deeds to
all who seek to know them,” and he has generally been supposed to be Bede.
In the “Ecclesiastical History” (IV, 3) there is an allusion to Bede’s
teachers, one of whom, Trumbert, educated at Lastingham under Ceadda, is
mentioned by name. The monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow must have offered
exceptional facilities for study. Benedict had enriched it with many
treasures which he brought with him from his travels. Chief among these
was the famous library which he founded and which was enlarged by Abbot
Ceolfrid. Here Bede acquired that wide and varied learning revealed in his
historical, scientific, and theological works. He studied with particular
care and reverence the patristic writings; his theological treatises were,
as he says, “compiled out of the works of the venerable Fathers. ” He must
have had a considerable knowledge of Greek, probably he knew some Hebrew.
Though he is not wholly free from the mediaeval churchman’s distrust of
pagan authors, he constantly betrays his acquaintance with them, and the
sense of form which must unconsciously influence the student of classical
literature has passed into his own writings and preserved him from the
barbarism of monkish Latin. His style is singularly clear, simple, and
fluent, as free from obscurity as from affectation and bombast.
Thus was the foundation laid of that sound learning upon which his
widespread influence both as a teacher and writer was reared. “I always
took delight,” he tells us, “in learning, or teaching, or writing. ”
Probably his writing was, as is so often the case, the outcome of his
teaching; his object in both is to meet “the needs of the brethren. ” One
of his pupils was Archbishop Egbert, the founder of the school of York,
which gave a fresh impulse to learning, not only in England, but through
Alcuin in France, at a time when a revival was most to be desired.
It was to Egbert that he paid one of the only two visits which he records.
In the “Epistola ad Ecgbertum” he alludes to a short stay he had made with
him the year before, and declines, on account of the illness which proved
to be his last, an invitation to visit him again. He visited Lindisfarne
in connection with his task of writing the life of Cuthbert. Otherwise we
have no authentic record of any absence from the monastery. The story that
he went to Rome at the request of Pope Sergius, founded on a statement of
William of Malmesbury, is now regarded as highly improbable. The oldest
MS. of the letter of Sergius, requesting Ceolfrid to send one of his monks
to Rome, has no mention of the name of Bede. If such an event had ever
disturbed his accustomed course of life, it is inconceivable that he
should nowhere allude to it. Still less is the assertion that he lived and
taught at Cambridge one which need be seriously debated by the present
generation.
We may fairly assume that, except for a few short absences such as the
visits to York and Lindisfarne, his whole life was spent in the monastery.
It must have been a life of unremitting toil. His writings, numerous as
they are, covering a wide range of subjects and involving the severest
study, can only have been a part of his work; he had, besides, his duties
as priest, teacher, and member of a religious community to fulfil. Even
the manual labour of his literary work must have been considerable. He did
not employ an amanuensis, and he had not the advantages with regard to
copyists which a member of one of the larger monasteries might have had.
“Ipse mihi dictator simul notarius (= shorthand writer) et librarius (=
copyist),” he writes. Yet he never flags. Through all the outward monotony
of his days his own interest remains fresh. He “takes delight” (“dulce
habui”) in it all. It is a life full of eager activity in intellectual
things, of a keen and patriotic interest in the wider life beyond the
monastery walls, which shows itself sadly enough in his reflections on the
evils of the times, of the ardent charity which spends itself in labour
for the brethren, and, pervading the whole, that spirit of quiet obedience
and devotion which his own simple words describe as “the observance of
monastic rule and the daily charge of singing in the Church. ” We can
picture him, at the appointed hours, breaking off his absorbing
occupations to take his place at the daily offices, lest, as he believed,
he should fail to meet the angels there. Alcuin records a saying of his,
“I know that angels visit the canonical hours and the congregations of the
brethren. What if they do not find me among the brethren? May they not
say, ‘Where is Bede? ’ ”
It is probably here, in this harmony of work and devotion, that we may
find the secret of the fascination in the record of his uneventful days.
It reconciles the sharp antithesis between the active and the
contemplative life. It seems to attain to that ideal of “toil unsever’d
from tranquillity” which haunts us all, but which we have almost ceased to
associate with the life of man under present conditions. Balance,
moderation, or rather, that rare quality which has been well called “the
sanity of saintliness,”(2) these give a unity to the life of Bede and
preserve him from the exaggerations of the conventual ideal. With all his
admiration for the ascetic life, he recognizes human limitations. It is
cheering to find that even he felt the need of a holiday. “Having
completed,” he writes, “the third book of the Commentary on Samuel, I
thought I would rest awhile, and, after recovering in that way my delight
in study and writing, proceed to take in hand the fourth. ” Intellectual
power commands his homage, but his mind is open to the appreciation of all
forms of excellence. It is the unlearned brother, unfit for study and
occupied in manual labour, to whom, in his story, it is vouchsafed to hear
the singing of the angels who came to summon Ceadda to his rest. The life
of devotion ranks highest in his estimation, but he records with approval
how St. Cuthbert thought “that to afford the weak brethren the help of his
exhortation stood in the stead of prayer, knowing that He Who said ‘Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God,’ said likewise, ‘Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. ’ ” He tells us how St. Gregory bewailed his own loss
in being forced by his office to be entangled in worldly affairs. “But,”
adds the human-hearted biographer, “it behoves us to believe that he lost
nothing of his monastic perfection by reason of his pastoral charge, but
rather that he gained greater profit through the labour of converting
many, than by the former calm of his private life. ” Yet he holds that this
immunity from the evil influence of the world was chiefly due to Gregory’s
care in organizing his house like a monastery and safeguarding the
opportunities for prayer and devotional study, even while he was immersed
in affairs at the court of Constantinople, and afterwards, when he held
the most onerous office in the Church.
This quality of sanity shows itself again in an unusual degree of fairness
to opponents. The Paschal error, indeed, moves his indignation in a manner
which is incomprehensible and distasteful to the modern reader, but even
in the perverse and erring Celts he can recognize “a zeal of God, though
not according to knowledge. ” Aidan’s holiness of life wins from him a warm
tribute of admiration. In the monks of Iona, the stronghold of the Celtic
system, he can perceive the fruit of good works and find an excuse for
their error in their isolated situation. In the British Church it is the
lack of missionary zeal, rather than their attitude towards the Easter
question, which calls forth his strongest condemnation.
A characteristic akin to this is his love of truth. As a historian, it
shows itself in his scrupulous care in investigating evidence and in
acknowledging the sources from which he draws. Nowhere is his intellectual
honesty more apparent than in dealing with what he believes to be the
miraculous element in his history. In whatever way we may regard these
anecdotes, there can be no doubt that Bede took the utmost pains to assure
himself of their authenticity. He is careful to acquire, if possible,
first-hand evidence; where this cannot be obtained, he scrupulously
mentions the lack of it. He admits only the testimony of witnesses of high
character and generally quotes them by name.
These are but a few of the glimpses afforded us of the personality of
Bede, a personality never obtruded, but everywhere unconsciously revealed
in his work. Everywhere we find the impress of a mind of wide intellectual
grasp, a character of the highest saintliness, and a gentle refinement of
thought and feeling. The lofty spirituality of Bede, his great learning
and scholarly attainment are the more striking when we reflect how
recently his nation had emerged from barbarism and received Christianity
and the culture which it brought with it to these shores.
The letter in which he declines Egbert’s invitation on the plea of illness
is dated November, 734. If we may assume that his death took place on the
eve of Ascension Day in 735, no long period of enfeebled health clouded
the close of his life, and weakness never interrupted his work. His death
has been described by his pupil, Cuthbert, who afterwards became Abbot of
Wearmouth and Jarrow in succession to Huaetbert, in the letter quoted
below. He was first buried at Jarrow but, according to Simeon of Durham,
his relics were stolen by the priest, Elfred, and carried to Durham. In
1104, when the bones of Cuthbert were translated to the new Cathedral,
those of Bede were found with them. Not long after, Hugh de Puisac erected
a shrine of gold and silver, adorned with jewels, in which he placed them,
along with the relics of many other saints. The shrine disappeared at the
Reformation, and only the stone on which it rested remains. (3)
Letter of Cuthbert to Cuthwin.
“To his fellow-lector, Cuthwin, beloved in Christ, Cuthbert, his
fellow-student, greeting and salvation for ever in the Lord. I have very
gladly received the gift which thou sentest to me, and with much joy have
read thy devout and learned letter, wherein I found that which I greatly
desired, to wit, that masses and holy prayers are diligently offered by
you for our father and master Bede, beloved of God. Wherefore I rejoice,
rather for love of him than from confidence in my own power, to relate in
few words after what manner he departed out of this world, understanding
also that thou hast desired and asked this of me. He was troubled with
weakness and chiefly with difficulty in breathing, yet almost without
pain, for about a fortnight before the day of our Lord’s Resurrection; and
thus he afterwards passed his time, cheerful and rejoicing, giving thanks
to Almighty God every day and night, nay, every hour, till the day of our
Lord’s Ascension, to wit, the twenty-sixth day of May, and daily gave
lessons to us, his disciples; and whatsoever remained of the day he spent
in singing psalms, as far as he was able; he also strove to pass all the
night joyfully in prayer and thanksgiving to God, save only when a short
sleep prevented it; and then he no sooner awoke than he straightway began
again to repeat the well-known sacred songs, and ceased not to give thanks
to God with uplifted hands. I declare with truth that I have never seen
with my eyes, or heard with my ears, any man so earnest in giving thanks
to the living God. O truly blessed man! He repeated the words of St. Paul
the Apostle, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God,’ and much more out of Holy Scripture; wherein also he admonished us
to think of our last hour, and to arise out of the sleep of the soul; and
being learned in our native poetry, he said also in our tongue, concerning
the dread parting of souls from the body:
Fore then neidfaerae
naenig uiuurthit
thonc suotturra
than him tharf sie
to ymb hycggannae
aer his hin iongae
huaet his gastae
godaes aeththa yflaes
aefter deothdaege
doemid uueorthae.
Which being interpreted is: “Before the inevitable journey hence, no man
is wiser than is needful that he may consider, ere the soul departs, what
good or evil it hath done and how it shall be judged after its departure. ”
“He also sang antiphons for our comfort and his own. One of these is, ‘O
King of Glory, Lord of all power, Who, triumphing this day, didst ascend
above all the heavens, leave us not comfortless, but send to us the
promise of the Father, even the Spirit of Truth—Hallelujah. ’ And when he
came to the words, ‘leave us not comfortless,’ he burst into tears and
wept much. And an hour after, he fell to repeating what he had begun. And
this he did the whole day, and we, hearing it, mourned with him and wept.
Now we read and now we lamented, nay, we wept even as we read. In such
rapture we passed the fifty days’ festival(4) till the aforesaid day; and
he rejoiced greatly and gave God thanks, because he had been accounted
worthy to suffer such weakness. And he often said, ‘God scourgeth every
son whom He receiveth’; and the words of St. Ambrose, ‘I have not so lived
as to be ashamed to live among you; but neither do I fear to die, because
we have a merciful Lord. ’ And during those days, besides the lessons we
had daily from him, and the singing of the Psalms, there were two
memorable works, which he strove to finish; to wit, his translation of the
Gospel of St. John, from the beginning, as far as the words, ‘But what are
they among so many? ’ into our own tongue, for the benefit of the Church of
God; and some selections from the books of Bishop Isidore, saying, ‘I
would not have my boys read a lie, nor labour herein without profit after
my death. ’
“When the Tuesday before the Ascension of our Lord came, he began to
suffer still more in his breathing, and there was some swelling in his
feet. But he went on teaching all that day and dictating cheerfully, and
now and then said among other things, ‘Learn quickly, I know not how long
I shall endure, and whether my Maker will not soon take me away. ’ But to
us it seemed that haply he knew well the time of his departure; and so he
spent the night, awake, in giving of thanks. And when the morning dawned,
that is, on the Wednesday, he bade us write with all speed what we had
begun. And this we did until the third hour. And from the third hour we
walked in procession with the relics of the saints, according to the
custom of that day. (5) And there was one of us with him who said to him,
‘There is still one chapter wanting of the book which thou hast been
dictating, but I deem it burdensome for thee to be questioned any
further. ’ He answered, ‘Nay, it is light, take thy pen and make ready, and
write quickly. ’ And this was done. But at the ninth hour he said to me, ‘I
have certain treasures in my coffer, some spices, napkins and incense; run
quickly and bring the priests of our monastery to me, that I may
distribute among them the gifts which God has bestowed on me. ’ And this I
did trembling, and when they were come, he spoke to every one of them,
admonishing and entreating them that they should diligently offer masses
and prayers for him, and they promised readily. But they all mourned and
wept, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, because they
thought that they should see his face no long time in this world. But they
rejoiced for that he said, ‘It is time for me, if it be my Maker’s will,
to be set free from the flesh, and come to Him Who, when as yet I was not,
formed me out of nothing. I have lived long; and well has my pitiful judge
disposed my life for me; the time of my release is at hand; for my soul
longs to see Christ my King in His beauty. ’ Having said this and much more
for our profit and edification, he passed his last day in gladness till
the evening; and the aforesaid boy, whose name was Wilbert, still said,
‘Dear master, there is yet one sentence not written. ’ He answered, ‘It is
well, write it. ’ Soon after, the boy said, ‘Now it is written. ’ And he
said, ‘It is well, thou hast said truly, it is finished.
after being sold by auction in the reign of William III, it came into the
possession of Bishop Moore, who bequeathed it to the University of
Cambridge; Cotton, Tiberius A, xiv; Cotton, Tiberius C, ii; and the Namur
MS. A detailed account of these, as well as of a great number of other
manuscripts, will be found in Mr. Plummer’s Introduction to his edition of
Bede’s Historical Works. He has been the first to collate the four oldest
MSS. , besides examining numerous others and collating them in certain
passages. He has pointed out that two of the MSS. dating from the eighth
century (the century in which Bede died), the Moore MS. and Cotton,
Tiberius A, xiv, point to a common original which cannot be far removed
from Bede’s autograph. We are thus brought very near to our author, and
may have more than in most cases the assurance that we have before us what
he actually meant to say.
The earliest editions were printed on the Continent; the “editio princeps”
is believed to date from 1475. A number of editions followed in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the first in England was published by
Abraham Whelock at Cambridge in 1643-4. Smith’s edition in 1722 marked a
new era in the history of the book. It was the first critical edition, the
text being based on the Moore MS. collated with three others, of which two
were eighth century MSS. ; and succeeding editors, Stevenson (1841), Giles
(1842), Hussey (1846), the editor in the “Monumenta Historica Britannica”
(1848), Moberly (1869), Holder (1882), base their work mainly on Smith’s.
Mr. Mayor and Mr. Lumby together edited Books III and IV with excellent
notes in 1878. Their text “reproduces exactly the Moore MS. ” which they
collated with some other Cambridge MSS. (cf. Mayor and Lumby, Excursus
II). In 1896 the Rev. C. Plummer published his edition of Bede’s
Historical Works, the first critical edition since Smith’s, and “the very
first which exhibits in an _apparatus criticus_ the various readings of
the MSS. on which the text is based. ” For the student of Bede this
admirable book is of the highest value, and the labours of all succeeding
editors are made comparatively light. Besides the most minute and accurate
work on the text, it contains a copious and interesting commentary and the
fullest references to the various sources upon which the editor has drawn.
The first translation of the “Ecclesiastical History” is the Anglo-Saxon
version, executed either by Alfred himself or under his immediate
supervision. Of this version Dr. Hodgkin says: “As this book had become a
kind of classic among churchmen, Alfred allowed himself here less liberty
than in some of his other translations. Some letters, epitaphs, and
similar documents are omitted, and there is an almost complete erasure of
the chapters relating to the wearisome Paschal controversy. In other
respects the king’s translation seems to be a fairly accurate reproduction
of the original work. ” Mr. Plummer, however, finds it “very rarely
available for the settlement of minute differences of reading. ”
The first modern English translation is Thomas Stapleton’s (1565),
published at Antwerp. It is a controversial work, intended to point out to
Queen Elizabeth “in how many and weighty pointes the pretended refourmers
of the Church . . . have departed from the patern of that sounde and
Catholike faith planted first among Englishmen by holy S. Augustin, our
Apostle, and his vertuous company, described truly and sincerely by
Venerable Bede, so called in all Christendom for his passing vertues and
rare lerning, the Author of this History. ” To save Elizabeth’s time “in
espying out the particulars,” the translator has “gathered out of the
whole History a number of diversities between the pretended religion of
Protestants and the primitive faith of the english Church. ” If charm and
appropriateness of style were the only qualities to be aimed at in a
translation, we might well content ourselves with this rendering, which
fills with despair the translator of to-day, debarred by his date from
writing Elizabethan English.
The work was again translated by John Stevens (1723), and a third time
(with some omissions) by W. Hurst in 1814. In 1840 Dr. Giles published a
new edition of Stevens’s translation with certain alterations; and a
second edition of the same volume was published in 1842, and incorporated
in the collected works of Bede, edited by Dr. Giles. In 1870 a literal
translation by the Rev. L. Gidley was published. The present volume is a
revision of the translation of Dr. Giles.
A brief analysis of the work may be of some use to the student in keeping
distinct the different threads of the narrative, as owing to the variety
of subjects introduced, and the want of strict chronological order, it is
difficult to grasp the sequence of events as a coherent whole.
The sources from which Bede draws his material are briefly indicated in
the dedication to King Ceolwulf which forms the Preface, and in it he
acknowledges his obligations to the friends and correspondents who have
helped and encouraged him. For the greater part of Book I (cc. 1-22),
which forms the introduction to his real subject, he depends on earlier
authors. Here he does not specify his sources, but indicates them
generally as _priorum scripta_. These authors are mainly Pliny, Solinus,
Orosius, Eutropius, and the British historian Gildas. In the story of
Germanus and Lupus he follows closely the Life of Germanus by Constantius
of Lyons. Prosper of Aquitaine also supplies him with some materials. When
he comes to his main subject, the History of the English Church, he
appears to rely but little upon books. Only a very few are referred to
here and there, _e. g. _, The Life of St. Fursa, The Life of St. Ethelburg,
Adamnan’s work on the Holy Places, and the Anonymous Life of St. Cuthbert.
That some form of annalistic records existed before his time, and that
these were consulted by him, we may infer from some of his chronological
references (cf. iii, 1, 9). Local information with regard to provinces
other than Northumbria he obtains from his correspondents in various parts
of England, and these are expressly mentioned in the Preface.
For the history of the Roman mission and of Kent generally, as well as
some particulars with regard to the conversion of other provinces, his
chief source is the Church of Canterbury, which apparently possessed,
besides oral tradition, written documents relating to the first beginnings
of the Church. Moreover, Nothelm, who was the bearer of much important
material, had been to Rome and had permission to search the papal
archives. But it is in dealing with the history of Northumbria, as is
natural, that Bede’s information is most varied and copious. Much of it is
apparently obtained directly from eye-witnesses of the events, much would
doubtless be preserved in the records of the Church of Lindisfarne, to
which he had access, perhaps also in his own monastery. We know that the
monasteries kept calendars in which the death-days of saints and others
were entered, and other records of similar nature (cf. iv, 14), and that
these were used as materials for history.
Passing to the history itself, we may trace a division of subjects or
periods roughly analogous to the division into books. Book I contains the
long introduction, the sending of the Roman mission, and the foundation of
the Church; Books II and III, the period of missionary activity and the
establishment of Christianity throughout the land. Book IV may be said to
describe the period of organization. In Book V the English Church itself
becomes a missionary centre, planting the faith in Germany, and drawing
the Celtic Churches into conformity with Rome.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
BOOK I. —In Book I, cc. 1-22, Bede sketches the early history of Britain,
describing the country and giving some account of the various races by
whom it was inhabited. The story of the Roman occupation is narrated at
some length, the invasions of the Picts and Scots and consequent miseries
of the Britons, their appeals for help to the Romans, the final departure
of their protectors, and the coming of the Saxons are described. We have
some shadowy outlines of British Church History in the legendary account
of the conversion of King Lucius, in the story of St. Alban, affording
evidence of a great persecution of Christians during the Roman occupation,
in the allusions to the Arian and Pelagian heresies, and in the mission of
Germanus and Lupus. A brief allusion to the mission of Palladius is all
that we hear of the Irish Church at this period.
These chapters are introductory to the main subject, the History of the
English Church, which begins in Chapter 23 with the mission of St.
Augustine in 597 A. D. The reception of the Christian faith in the kingdom
of Kent and the foundation of a national Church occupy the remaining
chapters of the book. Various letters of Pope Gregory relating to the
mission and his answers to the questions of Augustine are given at length;
and the Book concludes with a piece of Northumbrian history, Ethelfrid’s
conquests of the Britons and the defeat of Aedan, king of the Dalriadic
Scots, at Degsastan in 603 A. D.
BOOK II. —Book II opens with a biographical sketch of Gregory the Great,
the founder of the Mission. This is followed by an account of Augustine’s
negotiations with the leaders of the British Church with regard to the
Paschal question and some other matters, his failure to win them over (a
failure apparently largely due to his own want of tact in dealing with the
susceptible Celtic temperament), his alleged prophecy of disaster and its
fulfilment some time after at the battle of Chester. Then we have the
consecration of Mellitus to London, as Bishop of the East Saxons, and
Justus to Rochester (604 A. D. ); the evangelization of the East Saxons by
Mellitus; the death of Augustine and succession of Laurentius as
Archbishop (no date is given; it may have been in 605); fresh attempts at
union with the Celtic Churches, in which again we can perceive a failure
of courtesy on the one side met by an obstinate pride on the other. The
death of Ethelbert in Kent (616 A. D. ) and that of Sabert in Essex, soon
after, lead to a pagan reaction in both provinces; Mellitus and Justus
take refuge on the Continent; Laurentius, intending to follow them, is
stopped by a vision which leads to the conversion of King Eadbald and the
recovery of Kent for Christianity. Essex, however, continues to be pagan.
On the death of Laurentius (619 A. D. ), Mellitus succeeds to Canterbury and
is himself succeeded by Justus (in 624). In Chapter 9 we enter upon a new
development of the highest importance in the work of the mission. The
marriage of Edwin, king of Northumbria, and the Kentish princess,
Ethelberg, brings about the conversion of Northumbria through the
preaching of Paulinus. The story is told in detail. Letters from Pope
Boniface to Edwin and his consort are quoted at length, Edwin’s early
history with its bearing on the great crisis of his life is related;
finally we have the decisive debate in the Witenagemot at Goodmanham and
the baptism of the king at Easter, 627 A. D. Through the influence of Edwin
on Earpwald, king of East Anglia, that province is next converted, but on
the death of Earpwald the people lapse into paganism for three years, till
Christianity is finally established by the labours of Bishop Felix, under
the enlightened King Sigbert, who had himself been drawn to the faith in
Gaul.
Meanwhile, peace and prosperity reign in Northumbria, and Paulinus extends
his preaching to Lindsey. He re-receives the pall from Pope Honorius, in
accordance with the original intention of Gregory that the Bishop of York
should rank as a metropolitan. At Canterbury, Justus is succeeded by
Archbishop Honorius. Parenthetically we have extracts from letters,
probably of the year 640 A. D. , addressed by the Roman see to the Irish
clergy on the Paschal question and the Pelagian heresy.
In Chapter 20 we have a dramatic climax to the book in the overthrow and
death of Edwin at the battle of Hatfield in 633 A. D. ; the devastation of
Northumbria by the British king, Caedwalla, and Penda of Mercia; and the
flight of Paulinus, taking with him Ethelberg and Eanfled to Kent, where
he ends his life in charge of the Church of Rochester. His work in
Northumbria seems for the time, at least, wholly overthrown. Only James
the Deacon remains heroically at his post to keep alive the smouldering
embers of the faith.
BOOK III. —Book III opens with the story of the apostasy of the
Northumbrian kings and the miseries of the “Hateful Year,” terminated by
the victory of Oswald at Heavenfield in 634 A. D. Christianity is brought
again to Northumbria (635 A. D. ) by the Celtic Mission, sent from Iona at
the request of Oswald, who nobly co-operates with Aidan in the work of
evangelization. Aidan fixes his see at Lindisfarne. The mention of Iona
leads to a short account of the mission of St. Columba to the Northern
Picts in 565 A. D. , and incidentally of St. Ninian’s mission to the
Southern Picts “long before”; the grant of Iona to St. Columba, and its
constitution, the character of its monks and their error with regard to
Easter. The characters of Aidan and Oswald are described; and the union of
Deira and Bernicia under Oswald is briefly mentioned.
In Chapter 7 we pass to a fresh missionary enterprise. Birinus, sent to
Britain by Pope Honorius, converts the West Saxons. Their king, Cynegils,
is baptized, and a see is established at Dorchester, in Oxfordshire. Under
Coinwalch, the successor of Cynegils, the province passes through various
vicissitudes, political and ecclesiastical, and finally the West Saxon see
is fixed at Winchester.
In Kent, Earconbert succeeds Eadbald in 640 A. D. , and takes vigorous
measures for the suppression of idolatry. His daughter, Earcongota, and
many other high-born English ladies enter the religious life in Gaul, for
convents are still scarce in England.
In Chapter 9, reverting to the history of Northumbria, Bede tells us of
the death of Oswald at Maserfelth in 642, and relates at length various
miracles wrought by his relics. Oswald is succeeded by Oswy in Bernicia
and in Deira by Oswin. The latter is treacherously murdered by Oswy; his
character is described. The death of Aidan (in 651) immediately follows
that of his beloved king; Aidan’s miracles are related, and a warm tribute
is paid to his character, in spite of the inevitable error with regard to
Easter, which is severely condemned.
In Chapter 18, passing again to East Anglian history, we hear of King
Sigbert’s services to education, and of his retirement to a monastery from
which he was forcibly drawn to fall in battle against the Mercians. (The
chronology is here very vague. ) A vision of the Irish St. Fursa, who
founded the monastery of Cnobheresburg in East Anglia is told in detail.
Changes in the episcopate in East Anglia and elsewhere are mentioned.
Deusdedit succeeds Honorius as Archbishop of Canterbury in 654.
Again, a Northumbrian prince gives a fresh impulse to the spread of
Christianity. In 653 the Middle Angles (who occupied a part of Mercia) are
converted, their prince, Peada, being persuaded chiefly by his
brother-in-law, Alchfrid, a son of Oswy. Four priests are sent to them to
preach and baptize, Cedd, Adda, Betti, and Diuma, and Diuma becomes bishop
of the Middle Angles and Mercians. Similarly, at this time, King Sigbert
of Essex listens to the exhortations of his friend, King Oswy, and, at the
preaching of Cedd, the East Saxons receive the faith a second time. Cedd
becomes their bishop. Sigbert’s tragic death is related. His successor,
Suidhelm, receives baptism at the hands of Cedd. The foundation of
Lastingham by Ethelwald of Deira and its consecration by Cedd are
described. Cedd dies of the plague of 664.
Meanwhile, important political changes have taken place in the north: the
defeat and death of Penda at the Winwaed in 655 are followed by Oswy’s
rule, which established Christianity in Mercia, in spite of a successful
rebellion after three years, when the Mercians threw off the yoke of
Northumbria and set up Penda’s son, Wulfhere, as their king.
In Chapter 25 we come to the Synod of Whitby (664 A. D. ), which settled the
Easter question for the English Church. Wilfrid comes to the front as a
champion of the Catholic rules. The opposing party either retire or
conform. The self-denial and devotion of the Celtic missionaries are
highly praised, and some account of the life led by English students in
Ireland follows, with the story of the self-dedication of Egbert, who is
destined to play a prominent part afterwards in the history of the Church.
The consecration of both Wilfrid and Ceadda (664 A. D. ), as bishops of
Northumbria leads to complications in the episcopate. An important step
towards the unity of the English nation in ecclesiastical matters is taken
when Wighard is sent to Rome by the kings Oswy and Egbert, acting in
concert, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury (667 A. D. ). Wighard
dies there, and Pope Vitalian undertakes to find an archbishop for the
English Church.
The book ends with a fresh apostasy in Essex during the miseries of the
great plague of 664. Mercia, so lately itself evangelized, becomes a new
missionary centre, King Wulfhere sending Bishop Jaruman to recall the East
Saxons to the faith.
BOOK IV. —In all but one of the kingdoms of England Christianity is now, at
least in name, established, and the Church settles down to the work of
organization. The man for this task is found in Theodore of Tarsus,
consecrated Archbishop of the English in 668. He arrives at Canterbury in
669. We hear at once of the vigorous impulse given by him and Abbot
Hadrian to the various departments of education there. Finding an
irregularity in Ceadda’s orders, he completes his ordination and makes him
Bishop of the Mercians (probably in 669), with his see at Lichfield.
Ceadda’s death (672 A. D. ), his character, and the miracles and visions
connected with him are described. Parenthetically we get an account of
Colman’s activity in Ireland after his retirement, in consequence of the
decision at Whitby. The most important political events at this time are
the death of Oswy and succession of Egfrid in Northumbria in 670 or 671,
and the death of Egbert and succession of Hlothere in Kent in 673.
In the same year the Council of Hertford, the first English provincial
council, is held, and marks the strength and independence of the Church.
Theodore proceeds with his reforms in the episcopate. Various events of
ecclesiastical importance follow; the East Anglian diocese is divided
about this time, and other changes are effected.
Essex, so long prone to lapses into paganism, becomes at this time a
centre of religious life under its Bishop Earconwald and its king Sebbi.
Earconwald, whose holiness is attested by many miraculous circumstances,
was the founder of the monasteries of Chertsey and Barking, the latter of
which was ruled by his sister, the saintly Ethelburg. Various miracles are
related in connection with her and her monastery. The king of the East
Saxons, Sebbi, is a man of unusual piety who resigns his kingdom and
receives the tonsure.
After a brief allusion to West Saxon history, the devastation of Kent by
Ethelred of Mercia in 676, and certain changes in the episcopate, we come
to an important step in the organization of the Church taken by Theodore.
In pursuance of his policy of increasing the number of bishops, he
subdivides the great Northumbrian diocese. Wilfrid is expelled (678 A. D. ).
From these events we pass summarily to the evangelization of the South
Saxons by Wilfrid, who extends his labours to the Isle of Wight, and thus
the last of the English provinces is won for the faith.
In the Council of Hatfield (680 A. D. ) the English Church asserts its
orthodoxy and unites with the continental Churches in repudiating the
heresy of the Monothelites. Turning to Northumbrian history, we have the
story of Egfrid’s queen, Ethelthryth, and a hymn composed in her honour by
Bede. The war between Mercia and Northumbria in 679 is ended by the
mediation of Theodore, and a miracle in connection with the battle of the
Trent is related.
The remainder of the book is occupied mainly with Northumbrian history,
the life and death of Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, the story of the poet
Caedmon, the destruction of Coldingham, prophesied by the monk Adamnan,
Egfrid’s invasion of Ireland (684 A. D. ) and of the country of the Picts
(685 A. D. ), his defeat and death in that year, the decline of Northumbria,
the flight of Bishop Trumwine from Abercorn, and the succession of Aldfrid
to the kingdom. The death of Hlothere of Kent (685 A. D. ) is followed by
anarchy in that province, till Wictred succeeds and restores peace.
In Chapters 27-32 we have an account of the life of St. Cuthbert and
stories of the miracles wrought by his relics.
BOOK V. —Book V opens with the story of the holy Ethelwald, who succeeded
Cuthbert as anchorite at Farne, and a miracle wrought through his
intercession. This is followed (cc. 2-6) by an account of John of
Beverley, Bishop of Hexham, and the miracles attributed to him. In Chapter
7 we have a piece of West Saxon history: Caedwalla, King of Wessex, after
a life of war and bloodshed, goes to Rome to receive baptism there, and
dies immediately after his admission into the Church (689 A. D. ). He is
succeeded by Ini, who in 725 likewise ended his days at Rome.
In 690 Theodore dies, after an episcopate of twenty-two years. Bertwald
succeeds him at Canterbury in 693.
At this time Englishmen begin to extend their missionary enterprise
abroad. Various missions are undertaken by men who have lived long in
Ireland and caught the Celtic zeal for the work of evangelization. The
story is told of the attempted mission of Egbert to Germany and the
unsuccessful venture of Witbert. Wilbrord (in 690) and others plant the
faith among the German tribes.
The vision of Drythelm is inserted here, probably on chronological grounds
(“his temporibus”), and other visions of the future world follow.
Apparently about the same time a change is effected in the attitude of the
greater part of the Celtic Church towards the Paschal question. The
Northern Irish are converted to the Roman usages by Adamnan, Abbot of
Iona, whose book on the “Holy Places” is here described (cc. 16-17).
The death of Aldfrid and succession of Osred in Northumbria in 705 are the
next events narrated.
About this time the division of the West Saxon diocese is carried out,
Aldhelm being appointed to Sherborne and Daniel to Winchester; the South
Saxons receive a bishop of their own for the first time. In 709 A. D.
Coenred of Mercia and Offa of Essex receive the tonsure at Rome, and in
the same year Bishop Wilfrid dies. The story of his life is told.
Not long after, Hadrian dies and is succeeded by Albinus as Abbot of St.
Augustine’s. Bede’s friend, Acca, succeeds Wilfrid as Bishop of Hexham.
His services to the Church are enumerated.
An important step is taken at this time by the Northern Picts in the
acceptance of the Roman rules with regard to Easter and the tonsure. The
letter of Abbot Ceolfrid of Wearmouth and Jarrow to the Pictish king
Naiton on this subject is quoted at length. Soon after, Iona yields to the
preaching of Egbert, and receives the Catholic usages. Egbert dies in 729.
In Chapter 23 a number of events are briefly mentioned; the death of
Wictred of Kent in 725, and the succession of his sons, the death of the
learned Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, in 726, the appearance of two comets
in 729, followed by the devastation of Gaul by the Saracens, the death of
the Northumbrian king Osric, and succession of Ceolwulf in 729; finally,
the death of Archbishop Bertwald in 731 and the succession of Tatwine.
Then follows an account of the state of the English episcopate in 731, the
year in which Bede finished the History. The relations of the English with
Picts, Scots, and Britons are described, and some allusion is made to the
growth of monasticism in this time of external peace.
The book closes in Chapter 24 with a chronological summary of the whole
work, an autobiographical sketch of the author, and a list of his works.
LIFE OF BEDE
Few lives afford less material for the biographer than Bede’s; few seem to
possess a more irresistible fascination. Often as the simple story has
been told, the desire to tell it afresh appears to be perennial. And yet
it is perhaps as wholly devoid of incident as any life could be. The short
autobiographical sketch at the end of the “Ecclesiastical History” tells
us practically all: that he was born in the territory of the twin
monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow; that at the age of seven he was sent by
his kinsfolk to be brought up, first under the Abbot Benedict, afterwards
under Ceolfrid; that in his nineteenth year (the canonical age was
twenty-five) he was admitted to the diaconate, and received priest’s
orders in his thirtieth year, in both instances at the hands of John,
Bishop of Hexham, and by order of the Abbot Ceolfrid; that he spent his
whole life in the monastery in learning, in teaching, and in writing, and
in the observance of the monastic rule and attendance at the daily
services of the Church. Of his family we know nothing; the name Beda
appears to have been not uncommon. The fact that he was handed over by
kinsmen (“cura propinquorum”) to Abbot Benedict would seem to imply that
he was an orphan when he entered the monastery at the age of seven, but it
was not unusual for parents to dedicate their infant children to the
religious life, in many cases even at an earlier age than Bede’s. We may
compare the story of the little boy, Aesica, at Barking, related by Bede,
and of Elfled, the daughter of Oswy, dedicated by her father before she
was a year old.
The epithet “Venerable,” commonly attached to his name, has given rise to
more than one legend. It was apparently first applied to him in the ninth
century, and is said to have been an appellation of priests. The best
known of these legends is Fuller’s story of a certain “dunce monk” who set
about writing Bede’s epitaph, and being unable to complete the verse, “Hic
sunt in fossa Bedae . . . ossa,” went to bed with his task unfinished.
Returning to it in the morning, he found that an angel had filled the gap
with the word “venerabilis. ” Another account tells how Bede, in his old
age, when his eyes were dim, was induced by certain “mockers” to preach,
under the mistaken belief that the people were assembled to hear him. As
he ended his sermon with a solemn invocation of the Trinity, the angels
(in one version it is the stones of a rocky valley) responded “Amen, very
venerable Bede. ”
The land on which Bede was born was granted by Egfrid to Benedict Biscop
for the foundation of the monasteries a short time after the birth of
Bede. Wearmouth was founded in 674, Jarrow in 681 or 682. Bede was among
those members of the community who were transferred to Jarrow under Abbot
Ceolfrid, and under his rule and that of his successor, Huaetbert, he
passed his life. With regard to the chief dates, the authorities differ,
Simeon of Durham and others placing his birth as late as 677. Bede himself
tells us that he was in his fifty-ninth year when he wrote the short
autobiography at the end of the History. That work was finished in 731,
and there seems to be no good reason to suppose that the autobiographical
sketch was written at a later time. We may infer then that he was born in
673, that he was ordained deacon in 691 and priest in 702. For his death,
735, the date given in the “Continuation,” seems to be supported by the
evidence of the letter of Cuthbert to Cuthwin (_v. infra_). From this it
appears that he died on a Wednesday, which nevertheless is called
Ascension Day, implying, doubtless, that his death occurred on the eve,
after the festival had begun, according to ecclesiastical reckoning. It is
further explained that Ascension Day was on the 26th of May (“VII Kal.
Junii”),(1) which was actually the case in the year 735.
Beyond the testimony borne to his exceptional diligence as a student in a
letter from Alcuin to the monks of Wearmouth and Jarrow, we hear nothing
of his childhood and early youth. One anecdote in the Anonymous History of
the Abbots may perhaps refer to him, though no name is given. It tells
how, when the plague of 686 devastated the monastery, the Abbot Ceolfrid,
for lack of fit persons to assist at the daily offices, decided to recite
the psalms without antiphons, except at vespers and matins. But after a
week’s trial, unable to bear it any longer, he restored the antiphons to
their proper place, and with the help of one little boy carried on the
services in the usual manner. This little boy is described as being, at
the time the History was written, a priest of that monastery who “duly,
both by his words and writings, commends the Abbot’s praiseworthy deeds to
all who seek to know them,” and he has generally been supposed to be Bede.
In the “Ecclesiastical History” (IV, 3) there is an allusion to Bede’s
teachers, one of whom, Trumbert, educated at Lastingham under Ceadda, is
mentioned by name. The monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow must have offered
exceptional facilities for study. Benedict had enriched it with many
treasures which he brought with him from his travels. Chief among these
was the famous library which he founded and which was enlarged by Abbot
Ceolfrid. Here Bede acquired that wide and varied learning revealed in his
historical, scientific, and theological works. He studied with particular
care and reverence the patristic writings; his theological treatises were,
as he says, “compiled out of the works of the venerable Fathers. ” He must
have had a considerable knowledge of Greek, probably he knew some Hebrew.
Though he is not wholly free from the mediaeval churchman’s distrust of
pagan authors, he constantly betrays his acquaintance with them, and the
sense of form which must unconsciously influence the student of classical
literature has passed into his own writings and preserved him from the
barbarism of monkish Latin. His style is singularly clear, simple, and
fluent, as free from obscurity as from affectation and bombast.
Thus was the foundation laid of that sound learning upon which his
widespread influence both as a teacher and writer was reared. “I always
took delight,” he tells us, “in learning, or teaching, or writing. ”
Probably his writing was, as is so often the case, the outcome of his
teaching; his object in both is to meet “the needs of the brethren. ” One
of his pupils was Archbishop Egbert, the founder of the school of York,
which gave a fresh impulse to learning, not only in England, but through
Alcuin in France, at a time when a revival was most to be desired.
It was to Egbert that he paid one of the only two visits which he records.
In the “Epistola ad Ecgbertum” he alludes to a short stay he had made with
him the year before, and declines, on account of the illness which proved
to be his last, an invitation to visit him again. He visited Lindisfarne
in connection with his task of writing the life of Cuthbert. Otherwise we
have no authentic record of any absence from the monastery. The story that
he went to Rome at the request of Pope Sergius, founded on a statement of
William of Malmesbury, is now regarded as highly improbable. The oldest
MS. of the letter of Sergius, requesting Ceolfrid to send one of his monks
to Rome, has no mention of the name of Bede. If such an event had ever
disturbed his accustomed course of life, it is inconceivable that he
should nowhere allude to it. Still less is the assertion that he lived and
taught at Cambridge one which need be seriously debated by the present
generation.
We may fairly assume that, except for a few short absences such as the
visits to York and Lindisfarne, his whole life was spent in the monastery.
It must have been a life of unremitting toil. His writings, numerous as
they are, covering a wide range of subjects and involving the severest
study, can only have been a part of his work; he had, besides, his duties
as priest, teacher, and member of a religious community to fulfil. Even
the manual labour of his literary work must have been considerable. He did
not employ an amanuensis, and he had not the advantages with regard to
copyists which a member of one of the larger monasteries might have had.
“Ipse mihi dictator simul notarius (= shorthand writer) et librarius (=
copyist),” he writes. Yet he never flags. Through all the outward monotony
of his days his own interest remains fresh. He “takes delight” (“dulce
habui”) in it all. It is a life full of eager activity in intellectual
things, of a keen and patriotic interest in the wider life beyond the
monastery walls, which shows itself sadly enough in his reflections on the
evils of the times, of the ardent charity which spends itself in labour
for the brethren, and, pervading the whole, that spirit of quiet obedience
and devotion which his own simple words describe as “the observance of
monastic rule and the daily charge of singing in the Church. ” We can
picture him, at the appointed hours, breaking off his absorbing
occupations to take his place at the daily offices, lest, as he believed,
he should fail to meet the angels there. Alcuin records a saying of his,
“I know that angels visit the canonical hours and the congregations of the
brethren. What if they do not find me among the brethren? May they not
say, ‘Where is Bede? ’ ”
It is probably here, in this harmony of work and devotion, that we may
find the secret of the fascination in the record of his uneventful days.
It reconciles the sharp antithesis between the active and the
contemplative life. It seems to attain to that ideal of “toil unsever’d
from tranquillity” which haunts us all, but which we have almost ceased to
associate with the life of man under present conditions. Balance,
moderation, or rather, that rare quality which has been well called “the
sanity of saintliness,”(2) these give a unity to the life of Bede and
preserve him from the exaggerations of the conventual ideal. With all his
admiration for the ascetic life, he recognizes human limitations. It is
cheering to find that even he felt the need of a holiday. “Having
completed,” he writes, “the third book of the Commentary on Samuel, I
thought I would rest awhile, and, after recovering in that way my delight
in study and writing, proceed to take in hand the fourth. ” Intellectual
power commands his homage, but his mind is open to the appreciation of all
forms of excellence. It is the unlearned brother, unfit for study and
occupied in manual labour, to whom, in his story, it is vouchsafed to hear
the singing of the angels who came to summon Ceadda to his rest. The life
of devotion ranks highest in his estimation, but he records with approval
how St. Cuthbert thought “that to afford the weak brethren the help of his
exhortation stood in the stead of prayer, knowing that He Who said ‘Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God,’ said likewise, ‘Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. ’ ” He tells us how St. Gregory bewailed his own loss
in being forced by his office to be entangled in worldly affairs. “But,”
adds the human-hearted biographer, “it behoves us to believe that he lost
nothing of his monastic perfection by reason of his pastoral charge, but
rather that he gained greater profit through the labour of converting
many, than by the former calm of his private life. ” Yet he holds that this
immunity from the evil influence of the world was chiefly due to Gregory’s
care in organizing his house like a monastery and safeguarding the
opportunities for prayer and devotional study, even while he was immersed
in affairs at the court of Constantinople, and afterwards, when he held
the most onerous office in the Church.
This quality of sanity shows itself again in an unusual degree of fairness
to opponents. The Paschal error, indeed, moves his indignation in a manner
which is incomprehensible and distasteful to the modern reader, but even
in the perverse and erring Celts he can recognize “a zeal of God, though
not according to knowledge. ” Aidan’s holiness of life wins from him a warm
tribute of admiration. In the monks of Iona, the stronghold of the Celtic
system, he can perceive the fruit of good works and find an excuse for
their error in their isolated situation. In the British Church it is the
lack of missionary zeal, rather than their attitude towards the Easter
question, which calls forth his strongest condemnation.
A characteristic akin to this is his love of truth. As a historian, it
shows itself in his scrupulous care in investigating evidence and in
acknowledging the sources from which he draws. Nowhere is his intellectual
honesty more apparent than in dealing with what he believes to be the
miraculous element in his history. In whatever way we may regard these
anecdotes, there can be no doubt that Bede took the utmost pains to assure
himself of their authenticity. He is careful to acquire, if possible,
first-hand evidence; where this cannot be obtained, he scrupulously
mentions the lack of it. He admits only the testimony of witnesses of high
character and generally quotes them by name.
These are but a few of the glimpses afforded us of the personality of
Bede, a personality never obtruded, but everywhere unconsciously revealed
in his work. Everywhere we find the impress of a mind of wide intellectual
grasp, a character of the highest saintliness, and a gentle refinement of
thought and feeling. The lofty spirituality of Bede, his great learning
and scholarly attainment are the more striking when we reflect how
recently his nation had emerged from barbarism and received Christianity
and the culture which it brought with it to these shores.
The letter in which he declines Egbert’s invitation on the plea of illness
is dated November, 734. If we may assume that his death took place on the
eve of Ascension Day in 735, no long period of enfeebled health clouded
the close of his life, and weakness never interrupted his work. His death
has been described by his pupil, Cuthbert, who afterwards became Abbot of
Wearmouth and Jarrow in succession to Huaetbert, in the letter quoted
below. He was first buried at Jarrow but, according to Simeon of Durham,
his relics were stolen by the priest, Elfred, and carried to Durham. In
1104, when the bones of Cuthbert were translated to the new Cathedral,
those of Bede were found with them. Not long after, Hugh de Puisac erected
a shrine of gold and silver, adorned with jewels, in which he placed them,
along with the relics of many other saints. The shrine disappeared at the
Reformation, and only the stone on which it rested remains. (3)
Letter of Cuthbert to Cuthwin.
“To his fellow-lector, Cuthwin, beloved in Christ, Cuthbert, his
fellow-student, greeting and salvation for ever in the Lord. I have very
gladly received the gift which thou sentest to me, and with much joy have
read thy devout and learned letter, wherein I found that which I greatly
desired, to wit, that masses and holy prayers are diligently offered by
you for our father and master Bede, beloved of God. Wherefore I rejoice,
rather for love of him than from confidence in my own power, to relate in
few words after what manner he departed out of this world, understanding
also that thou hast desired and asked this of me. He was troubled with
weakness and chiefly with difficulty in breathing, yet almost without
pain, for about a fortnight before the day of our Lord’s Resurrection; and
thus he afterwards passed his time, cheerful and rejoicing, giving thanks
to Almighty God every day and night, nay, every hour, till the day of our
Lord’s Ascension, to wit, the twenty-sixth day of May, and daily gave
lessons to us, his disciples; and whatsoever remained of the day he spent
in singing psalms, as far as he was able; he also strove to pass all the
night joyfully in prayer and thanksgiving to God, save only when a short
sleep prevented it; and then he no sooner awoke than he straightway began
again to repeat the well-known sacred songs, and ceased not to give thanks
to God with uplifted hands. I declare with truth that I have never seen
with my eyes, or heard with my ears, any man so earnest in giving thanks
to the living God. O truly blessed man! He repeated the words of St. Paul
the Apostle, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God,’ and much more out of Holy Scripture; wherein also he admonished us
to think of our last hour, and to arise out of the sleep of the soul; and
being learned in our native poetry, he said also in our tongue, concerning
the dread parting of souls from the body:
Fore then neidfaerae
naenig uiuurthit
thonc suotturra
than him tharf sie
to ymb hycggannae
aer his hin iongae
huaet his gastae
godaes aeththa yflaes
aefter deothdaege
doemid uueorthae.
Which being interpreted is: “Before the inevitable journey hence, no man
is wiser than is needful that he may consider, ere the soul departs, what
good or evil it hath done and how it shall be judged after its departure. ”
“He also sang antiphons for our comfort and his own. One of these is, ‘O
King of Glory, Lord of all power, Who, triumphing this day, didst ascend
above all the heavens, leave us not comfortless, but send to us the
promise of the Father, even the Spirit of Truth—Hallelujah. ’ And when he
came to the words, ‘leave us not comfortless,’ he burst into tears and
wept much. And an hour after, he fell to repeating what he had begun. And
this he did the whole day, and we, hearing it, mourned with him and wept.
Now we read and now we lamented, nay, we wept even as we read. In such
rapture we passed the fifty days’ festival(4) till the aforesaid day; and
he rejoiced greatly and gave God thanks, because he had been accounted
worthy to suffer such weakness. And he often said, ‘God scourgeth every
son whom He receiveth’; and the words of St. Ambrose, ‘I have not so lived
as to be ashamed to live among you; but neither do I fear to die, because
we have a merciful Lord. ’ And during those days, besides the lessons we
had daily from him, and the singing of the Psalms, there were two
memorable works, which he strove to finish; to wit, his translation of the
Gospel of St. John, from the beginning, as far as the words, ‘But what are
they among so many? ’ into our own tongue, for the benefit of the Church of
God; and some selections from the books of Bishop Isidore, saying, ‘I
would not have my boys read a lie, nor labour herein without profit after
my death. ’
“When the Tuesday before the Ascension of our Lord came, he began to
suffer still more in his breathing, and there was some swelling in his
feet. But he went on teaching all that day and dictating cheerfully, and
now and then said among other things, ‘Learn quickly, I know not how long
I shall endure, and whether my Maker will not soon take me away. ’ But to
us it seemed that haply he knew well the time of his departure; and so he
spent the night, awake, in giving of thanks. And when the morning dawned,
that is, on the Wednesday, he bade us write with all speed what we had
begun. And this we did until the third hour. And from the third hour we
walked in procession with the relics of the saints, according to the
custom of that day. (5) And there was one of us with him who said to him,
‘There is still one chapter wanting of the book which thou hast been
dictating, but I deem it burdensome for thee to be questioned any
further. ’ He answered, ‘Nay, it is light, take thy pen and make ready, and
write quickly. ’ And this was done. But at the ninth hour he said to me, ‘I
have certain treasures in my coffer, some spices, napkins and incense; run
quickly and bring the priests of our monastery to me, that I may
distribute among them the gifts which God has bestowed on me. ’ And this I
did trembling, and when they were come, he spoke to every one of them,
admonishing and entreating them that they should diligently offer masses
and prayers for him, and they promised readily. But they all mourned and
wept, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, because they
thought that they should see his face no long time in this world. But they
rejoiced for that he said, ‘It is time for me, if it be my Maker’s will,
to be set free from the flesh, and come to Him Who, when as yet I was not,
formed me out of nothing. I have lived long; and well has my pitiful judge
disposed my life for me; the time of my release is at hand; for my soul
longs to see Christ my King in His beauty. ’ Having said this and much more
for our profit and edification, he passed his last day in gladness till
the evening; and the aforesaid boy, whose name was Wilbert, still said,
‘Dear master, there is yet one sentence not written. ’ He answered, ‘It is
well, write it. ’ Soon after, the boy said, ‘Now it is written. ’ And he
said, ‘It is well, thou hast said truly, it is finished.
