Bede
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Herausgeber: Latham, Ronald / Übersetzer: Sherley-Price, Leo
16,99 €
inkl. MwSt.
Versandfertig in 2-4 Wochen
Bede
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Herausgeber: Latham, Ronald / Übersetzer: Sherley-Price, Leo
- Broschiertes Buch
- Merkliste
- Auf die Merkliste
- Bewerten Bewerten
- Teilen
- Produkt teilen
- Produkterinnerung
- Produkterinnerung
'With God's help, I, Bede ... have assembled these facts about the history of the Church in Britain ... from the traditions of our forebears, and from my own personal knowledge' Written in AD 731, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written, and remains our single most valuable source for this period. It begins with Julius Caesar's invasion in the first century BC and goes on to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and convert the people to Christianity during these crucial formative…mehr
Andere Kunden interessierten sich auch für
- The Apocryphal Gospels15,99 €
- Cunningham GeikieThe English Reformation35,90 €
- VariousThe Desert Fathers14,99 €
- Edward Lewes CuttsParish Priests and their People in the Middle Ages in England39,90 €
- Edward Lewes CuttsParish Priests and their People in the Middle Ages in England39,90 €
- Peter BayneThe Free church of Scotland26,90 €
- Peter BayneThe Free Church of Scotland26,90 €
-
-
-
'With God's help, I, Bede ... have assembled these facts about the history of the Church in Britain ... from the traditions of our forebears, and from my own personal knowledge' Written in AD 731, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written, and remains our single most valuable source for this period. It begins with Julius Caesar's invasion in the first century BC and goes on to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and convert the people to Christianity during these crucial formative years. Relating the deeds of great men and women but also describing landscape, customs and ordinary lives, this is a rich, vivid portrait of an emerging church and nation by the 'Father of English History'. Leo Sherley-Price's translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and readable version of Bede's History. This edition includes Bede's Letter to Egbert, denouncing false monasteries; and The Death of Bede, an admirable eye-witness account by Cuthbert, monk and later Abbot of Jarrow, both translated by D. H. Farmer. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Hinweis: Dieser Artikel kann nur an eine deutsche Lieferadresse ausgeliefert werden.
Hinweis: Dieser Artikel kann nur an eine deutsche Lieferadresse ausgeliefert werden.
Produktdetails
- Produktdetails
- Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group
- Revised edition
- Seitenzahl: 400
- Erscheinungstermin: 1. Mai 1991
- Englisch
- Abmessung: 197mm x 129mm x 25mm
- Gewicht: 320g
- ISBN-13: 9780140445657
- ISBN-10: 014044565X
- Artikelnr.: 21590393
- Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group
- Revised edition
- Seitenzahl: 400
- Erscheinungstermin: 1. Mai 1991
- Englisch
- Abmessung: 197mm x 129mm x 25mm
- Gewicht: 320g
- ISBN-13: 9780140445657
- ISBN-10: 014044565X
- Artikelnr.: 21590393
Bede (c. 672 or 673 – May 25, 735), was a Benedictine monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow (see Wearmouth-Jarrow), both in the English county of Durham (now Tyne and Wear). He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The father of English history". D.H. Farmer was Reader in History at Reading University until 1988. He is author and editor of several books on ecclesiastical and monastic history such as The Oxford Dictionary of Saints.
Ecclesiastical History of the English PeopleAcknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Notes to the Introduction
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Author's Preface: To the Most Glorious King Ceolwulf
Book One
1. The situation of Britain and Ireland: their earliest inhabitants
2. On Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain
3. Claudius, the second Roman to reach Britan, annexes the Isles of Orkney
to the Roman Empire: under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of
Wight
4. Lucius, a British king, writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a
Christian
5. Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work
6. The reign of Diocletian: his persecution of the Christian Church
7. The martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions, who shed their
life-blood for Christ at this time
8. The Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution
until the time of the Arian heresy
9. During the reign of Gratian, Maximus is created Emperor in Britain, and
returns to Gaul with a large army
10. During the reign of Arcadius, the Briton Pelagius presumptuously
belittles the grace of God
11. During the reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine set up as despots
in Britain: the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain, and the
latter in Gaul
12. The Britons, harassed by the Irish and Picts, seek help from the
Romans, who come and build a second wall across the island.
Notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to
worse straits
13. During the reign of Theodoius the Younger, Palladius is sent to the
Christians among the Irish. The Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the
Consul Aëtius
14. The Britons, made desperate by famine, drive the Barbarians out of
their land. There soon follows an abundance of corn, luxury, plague, and
doom on the nation
15. The Angles are invited into Britain. At first they repel the enemy, but
soon come to terms with them, and turn their weapons against their own
allies
16. Under the leadership of Ambrosius, a Roman, the Britons win their first
victory against the Angles
17. Bishop Germanus sails to Britain with Lupus: with God's help he quells
two storms, one of the sea, the other of the Pelagians
18. Germanus gives sight to the blind daughter of a tribune. He takes some
relics from the tomb of Saint Alban, and deposits relics of the Apostles
and other Martyrs
19. Germanus is detained by illness. He puts out a fire among houses by his
prayer, and is healed of his sickness by a vision
20. The two bishops obtain God's help in battle, and return home
21. The Pelagian heresy revives, and Germanus returns to Britain with
Severus. He heals a lame youth, and after denouncing or converting the
heretics, restores the British Church to the Catholic Faith
22. The Britons enjoy a respite from foreign invasions, but exhaust
themselves in civil wars and plunge into worse crimes
23. The holy Pope Gregory sends Augustine and other monks to preach to the
English nation, and encourages them in a letter to persevere in their
mission
24. Pope Gregory writes commending them to the Bishop of Arles
25. Augustine reaches Britain, and first preaches in the Isle of Thanet
before King Ethelbert, who grants permission to preach in Kent
26. The life and doctrine of the primitive Church are followed in Kent:
Augustine establishes his episcopal see in the king's city
27. Augustine is consecrated bishop: he sends to inform Pope Gregory what
has been achieved, and receives replies to his questions
28. Pope Gregory writes to the Bishop of Arles, asking him to help
Augustine in his work for God
29. Gregory sends Augustine the pallium, a letter, and several clergy
30. A copy of the letter sent by Pope Gregory to Abbot Mellitus on his
departure for Britain
31. Pope Gregory writes to Augustine, warning him not to boast of his
achievements
32. Pope Gregory sends letters and gifts to King Ethelbert
33. Augustine repairs the Church of Our Saviour and builds a monastery of
Saint Peter the Apostle. A note on Peter, its first Abbot
34. Ethelfrid, King of the Northumbrians, defeats the Irish and drives them
out of England
Book Two
1. On the death of Pope Gregory
2. Augustine urges the British bishops to cement Catholic unity, and
performs a miracle in their presence. Retribution follows their refusal
3. Augustine consecrates Mellitus and Justus as bishops: his own death
4. Laurence and his fellow-bishops urge the Irish to maintain the unity of
the Church, particularly in the observance of Easter: Mellitus visits Rome
5. At the deaths of Ethelbert and Sabert their successors revive idolatry:
on this account, both Mellitus and Justus leave Britain
6. Laurence is reproved by Saint Peter, and converts King Eadbald to
Christ. Mellitus and Justus are recalled
7. The prayers of Bishop Mellitus put out a fire in his city
8. Pope Boniface sends the pallium with a letter to Justus, Mellitus'
successor
9. The reign of King Edwin: Paulinus comes to preach the Gospel to him, and
first administers the Sacrament of Baptism to his daughter and others
10. Pope Boniface writes to the king, urging him to accept the Faith
11. The Pope writes to the Queen, urging her to exert her influence to
obtain the king's salvation
12. King Edwin is moved to accept the Faith by a vision seen during his
exile
13. Edwin holds a council with his chief men about accepting the Faith of
Christ. The high priest destroys his own altars
14. Edwin and his people accept the Faith, and are baptized by Paulinus
15. The Province of the East Angles accepts the Christian faith
16. Paulinius preaches the Word of God in the Province of Lindsey. The
reign of King Edwin
17. Pope Honorius sends a letter of encouragement to King Edwin, and the
pallium to Paulinus
18. On succeeding Justus in the See of Canterbury, Honorius receives the
pallium and a letter from Pope Honorius
19. Pope Honorius, and later Pope John, write letters to the Irish about
Easter and the Pelagian heresy
20. King Edwin is killed, and Paulinus returns to Kent, where he receives
the Bishopric of Rochester
Book Three
1. King Edwin's immediate successors abandon their people's Faith and lose
their kingdom: the most Christian King Oswald restores both
2. Before engaging the heathen in battle, King Oswald sets up a wooden
cross: a young man is later healed by a portion of it, and innumerable
other miracles take place
3. Oswald asks the Irish to send him a bishop: when Aidan arrives, he
grants him the island of Lindisfarne as his episcopal see
4. How the Picts received the Faith of Christ
5. The Life of Bishop Aidan
6. The wonderful devotion and piety of King Oswald
7. The West Saxons accept the Faith through the teaching of Birinus and his
successors Agilbert and Leutherius
8. Earconbert, King of Kent, orders the destruction of idols. His daughter
Earcongota and his kinswoman Ethelberga dedicate themselves to God as nuns
9. Miraculous cures take place at the site of Oswald's death. A traveller's
horse is cured, and a paralytic girl healed
10. How the earth from this place has power over fire
11. A heavenly light appears all night over Oswald's tomb, and folk are
healed from demonic possession
12. A little boy is cured of ague at Saint Oswald's tomb
13. A man in Ireland is recalled from death's door by means of Oswald's
relics
14. On the death of Paulinus, Ithamar succeeds to his Bishopric of
Rochester. An account of the wonderful humility of King Oswin, who was
treacherously murdered by Oswy
15. Bishop Aidan foretells a coming storm, and gives seafarers holy oil to
calm the waves
16. Aidan's prayers save the royal city when fired by the enemy
17. The wooden buttress of the church against which Aidan leaned as he died
is untouched when the rest of the church is burned down. His spiritual life
18. The life and death of the devout King Sigbert
19. Fursey establishes a monastery among the East Angles: the incorruption
of his body after death attests to his visions and holiness
20. On the death of Honorius, Deusdedit succeeds him as Archibishop of
Canterbury. The succession of the bishops of the East Angles and of
Rochester
21. The Province of the Middle Angles, under its king Peada, becomes
Christian
22. The East Saxons, who had apostatized from the Faith under King Sigbert,
are re-converted by the preaching of Cedd
23. Cedd receives the site for a monastery from King Ethelwald, and hallows
it to our Lord with prayer and fasting: his death
24. On the death of Penda, the Province of the Mercians accepts the Faith
of Christ: in gratitude for his victory, Oswy gives endowments and lands to
God for the building of monasteries
25. Controversy arises with the Irish over the date of Easter
26. After his defeat Colman returns home and Tuda succeeds to his
bishopric: the condition of the Church under these teachers
27. Egbert, an Englishman of holy life, becomes a monk in Ireland
28. On Tuda's death, Wilfrid is consecrated bishop in Gaul and Chad among
the West Saxons, to be bishops in the Province of the Northumbrians
29. The priest Wighard is sent from Britain to Rome to be made archbishop:
letters from the apostolic Pope tell of his death there
30. During a plague the East Saxons lapse into idolatry, but are quickly
recalled from their errors by Bishop Jaruman
Book Four
1. On the death of Archbishop Deusdedit, Wighard is sent to Rome to be
consecrated in his stead: on the latter's death there, Theodore is
consecrated Archbishop and sent to Britain with Abbot Hadrian
2. Theodore makes a general visitation: the English churches begin to
receive instruction in Catholic truth, and sacred study is fostered. Putta
succeeds Damian as Bishop of Rochester
3. Chad is appointed Bishop of the Mercians: his life, death, and burial
4. Bishop Colman leaves Britain, and founds two monasteries in the land of
the Irish, one for the Irish, and another for the English whom he had taken
with him
5. The death of King Oswy and King Egbert. Archbishop Theodore presides
over a Synod held at Hertford
6. Wynfrid is deposed, and Sexwulf appointed to his see: Earconwald is made
Bishop of the East Saxons
7. A heavenly light indicates where the bodies of the nuns of Barking
should be buried
8. A little boy, dying in the convent, announces the approaching death of
one of the sisters. A nun, about to depart this life, sees a glimpse of
future glory
9. Signs from heaven appear when the Mother of the Community departs this
life
10. A blind woman regains her sight while praying in the convent
burial-ground
11. Sebbi, King of the East Saxons, ends his days as a monk
12. Haeddi succeeds Leutherius as Bishop of the West Saxons: Cuichelm
succeeds Putta in the See of Rochester, and is himself succeeded by
Gebmund. The succession of the Northumbrian bishops
13. Wilfrid converts the Province of the South Saxons to Christ
14. A fatal epidemic is halted by the intercession of King Oswald
15. King Cadwalla of the Gewissae kills King Ethelwalh and devastates his
province with plundering and slaughter
16. The Isle of Wight receives Christian settlers. Two young princes of the
island are killed immediately after Baptism
17. Theodore presides over a Synod held in the Plain of Haethfeld
(Hatfield)
18. John, Arch-cantor of the apostolic see, comes to teach in Britain
19. Queen Etheldreda preserves her virginity, and her body remains
incorrupt in the grave
20. A hymn in honour of Etheldreda
21. Archbishop Theodore makes peace between King Egfrid and King Ethelred
22. A prisoner's chains fall off when Masses are sung on his behalf
23. The life and death of Abbess Hilda
24. A brother of the monastery is found to possess God's gift of poetry
25. A man of God sees a vision portending the destruction of Coldingham
monastery by fire
26. On the death of King Egfrid and King Hlothere
27. Cuthbert, a man of God, is made bishop: his life and teaching as a monk
28. Cuthbert becomes a hermit: his prayers obtain a spring from dry ground,
and a crop from seeds sown out of season
29. Cuthbert foretells his own death to the hermit Herebert
30. After eleven years in the grave, Cuthbert's body is found incorrupt.
His successor departs this life soon afterwards
31. A brother is cured of paralysis at Cuthbert's tomb
32. The relics of Saint Cuthbert heal another brother's diseased eye
Book Five
1. The hermit Ethelwald, Cuthbert's successor, calms a storm by his prayer
when some brethren are in danger at sea
2. The blessing of Bishop John cures a dumb man
3. Bishop John heals a sick girl by his prayers
4. The Bishop cures a thegn's wife with holy water
5. The Bishop's prayers recall the servant of a thegn from death's door
6. By his prayers and blessing, Bishop John saves from death one of his
clergy who had been bruised in a fall
7. Cadwalla, King of the West Saxons, goes to Rome for Baptism: his
successor Ini also makes a pilgrimage of devotion to the shrine of the
Apostles
8. On the death of Theodore, Bertwald becomes Archbishop: among bishops
consecrated by him is Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, a man of great learning
9. Egbert, a holy man, plans to travel to Germany and preach, but is
prevented. Subsequently Wictbert goes, but meeting with no success, returns
to his native Ireland
10. Willibrord preaches in Frisia and converts many to Christ: his
companions the Hewalds suffer martyrdom
11. The venerable Swidbert in Britain; and Willibrord in Rome, are
consecrated bishops for Frisia
12. A man in the Province of the Northumbrians returns from the dead, and
tells of the many dreadful and many desirable things that he saw
13. Devils show another man a record of his sins before his death
14. Another man about to die sees the place of punishment reserved for him
in Hell
15. Under Adamnan's influence, many churches of the Irish adopt the
Catholic Easter. He writes a book on the Holy Places
16. Descriptions from this book of the sites of our Lord's Birth, Passion,
and Resurrection
17. The site of our Lord's Ascension, and the tombs of the patriarchs
18. The South Saxons receive as their bishops Eadbert and Ealla, and the
West Saxons Daniel and Aldhelm. The writings of Aldhelm
19. Coenred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, King of the East Saxons, end
their days in Rome as monks. The life and death of Bishop Wilfrid
20. Albinus succeeds the devout Abbot Hadrian, and Acca succeeds to
Wilfrid's bishopric
21. Abbot Ceolfrid sends church architechts to the King of the Picts, and
with them a letter about the Catholic Easter and tonsure
22. The monks of Iona and the monasteries under its jurisdiction begin to
adopt the canonical Easter at the preaching of Egbert
23. The present state of the English nation and the rest of Britain
24. A chronological summary of the whole book, and a personal note on the
author
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Introductory Note
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Introductory Note
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Notes:
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Genealogies of English Kings
Further Reading
Maps:
The British Isles at the Time of Bede
Western Europe
Index
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Notes to the Introduction
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Author's Preface: To the Most Glorious King Ceolwulf
Book One
1. The situation of Britain and Ireland: their earliest inhabitants
2. On Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain
3. Claudius, the second Roman to reach Britan, annexes the Isles of Orkney
to the Roman Empire: under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of
Wight
4. Lucius, a British king, writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a
Christian
5. Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work
6. The reign of Diocletian: his persecution of the Christian Church
7. The martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions, who shed their
life-blood for Christ at this time
8. The Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution
until the time of the Arian heresy
9. During the reign of Gratian, Maximus is created Emperor in Britain, and
returns to Gaul with a large army
10. During the reign of Arcadius, the Briton Pelagius presumptuously
belittles the grace of God
11. During the reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine set up as despots
in Britain: the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain, and the
latter in Gaul
12. The Britons, harassed by the Irish and Picts, seek help from the
Romans, who come and build a second wall across the island.
Notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to
worse straits
13. During the reign of Theodoius the Younger, Palladius is sent to the
Christians among the Irish. The Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the
Consul Aëtius
14. The Britons, made desperate by famine, drive the Barbarians out of
their land. There soon follows an abundance of corn, luxury, plague, and
doom on the nation
15. The Angles are invited into Britain. At first they repel the enemy, but
soon come to terms with them, and turn their weapons against their own
allies
16. Under the leadership of Ambrosius, a Roman, the Britons win their first
victory against the Angles
17. Bishop Germanus sails to Britain with Lupus: with God's help he quells
two storms, one of the sea, the other of the Pelagians
18. Germanus gives sight to the blind daughter of a tribune. He takes some
relics from the tomb of Saint Alban, and deposits relics of the Apostles
and other Martyrs
19. Germanus is detained by illness. He puts out a fire among houses by his
prayer, and is healed of his sickness by a vision
20. The two bishops obtain God's help in battle, and return home
21. The Pelagian heresy revives, and Germanus returns to Britain with
Severus. He heals a lame youth, and after denouncing or converting the
heretics, restores the British Church to the Catholic Faith
22. The Britons enjoy a respite from foreign invasions, but exhaust
themselves in civil wars and plunge into worse crimes
23. The holy Pope Gregory sends Augustine and other monks to preach to the
English nation, and encourages them in a letter to persevere in their
mission
24. Pope Gregory writes commending them to the Bishop of Arles
25. Augustine reaches Britain, and first preaches in the Isle of Thanet
before King Ethelbert, who grants permission to preach in Kent
26. The life and doctrine of the primitive Church are followed in Kent:
Augustine establishes his episcopal see in the king's city
27. Augustine is consecrated bishop: he sends to inform Pope Gregory what
has been achieved, and receives replies to his questions
28. Pope Gregory writes to the Bishop of Arles, asking him to help
Augustine in his work for God
29. Gregory sends Augustine the pallium, a letter, and several clergy
30. A copy of the letter sent by Pope Gregory to Abbot Mellitus on his
departure for Britain
31. Pope Gregory writes to Augustine, warning him not to boast of his
achievements
32. Pope Gregory sends letters and gifts to King Ethelbert
33. Augustine repairs the Church of Our Saviour and builds a monastery of
Saint Peter the Apostle. A note on Peter, its first Abbot
34. Ethelfrid, King of the Northumbrians, defeats the Irish and drives them
out of England
Book Two
1. On the death of Pope Gregory
2. Augustine urges the British bishops to cement Catholic unity, and
performs a miracle in their presence. Retribution follows their refusal
3. Augustine consecrates Mellitus and Justus as bishops: his own death
4. Laurence and his fellow-bishops urge the Irish to maintain the unity of
the Church, particularly in the observance of Easter: Mellitus visits Rome
5. At the deaths of Ethelbert and Sabert their successors revive idolatry:
on this account, both Mellitus and Justus leave Britain
6. Laurence is reproved by Saint Peter, and converts King Eadbald to
Christ. Mellitus and Justus are recalled
7. The prayers of Bishop Mellitus put out a fire in his city
8. Pope Boniface sends the pallium with a letter to Justus, Mellitus'
successor
9. The reign of King Edwin: Paulinus comes to preach the Gospel to him, and
first administers the Sacrament of Baptism to his daughter and others
10. Pope Boniface writes to the king, urging him to accept the Faith
11. The Pope writes to the Queen, urging her to exert her influence to
obtain the king's salvation
12. King Edwin is moved to accept the Faith by a vision seen during his
exile
13. Edwin holds a council with his chief men about accepting the Faith of
Christ. The high priest destroys his own altars
14. Edwin and his people accept the Faith, and are baptized by Paulinus
15. The Province of the East Angles accepts the Christian faith
16. Paulinius preaches the Word of God in the Province of Lindsey. The
reign of King Edwin
17. Pope Honorius sends a letter of encouragement to King Edwin, and the
pallium to Paulinus
18. On succeeding Justus in the See of Canterbury, Honorius receives the
pallium and a letter from Pope Honorius
19. Pope Honorius, and later Pope John, write letters to the Irish about
Easter and the Pelagian heresy
20. King Edwin is killed, and Paulinus returns to Kent, where he receives
the Bishopric of Rochester
Book Three
1. King Edwin's immediate successors abandon their people's Faith and lose
their kingdom: the most Christian King Oswald restores both
2. Before engaging the heathen in battle, King Oswald sets up a wooden
cross: a young man is later healed by a portion of it, and innumerable
other miracles take place
3. Oswald asks the Irish to send him a bishop: when Aidan arrives, he
grants him the island of Lindisfarne as his episcopal see
4. How the Picts received the Faith of Christ
5. The Life of Bishop Aidan
6. The wonderful devotion and piety of King Oswald
7. The West Saxons accept the Faith through the teaching of Birinus and his
successors Agilbert and Leutherius
8. Earconbert, King of Kent, orders the destruction of idols. His daughter
Earcongota and his kinswoman Ethelberga dedicate themselves to God as nuns
9. Miraculous cures take place at the site of Oswald's death. A traveller's
horse is cured, and a paralytic girl healed
10. How the earth from this place has power over fire
11. A heavenly light appears all night over Oswald's tomb, and folk are
healed from demonic possession
12. A little boy is cured of ague at Saint Oswald's tomb
13. A man in Ireland is recalled from death's door by means of Oswald's
relics
14. On the death of Paulinus, Ithamar succeeds to his Bishopric of
Rochester. An account of the wonderful humility of King Oswin, who was
treacherously murdered by Oswy
15. Bishop Aidan foretells a coming storm, and gives seafarers holy oil to
calm the waves
16. Aidan's prayers save the royal city when fired by the enemy
17. The wooden buttress of the church against which Aidan leaned as he died
is untouched when the rest of the church is burned down. His spiritual life
18. The life and death of the devout King Sigbert
19. Fursey establishes a monastery among the East Angles: the incorruption
of his body after death attests to his visions and holiness
20. On the death of Honorius, Deusdedit succeeds him as Archibishop of
Canterbury. The succession of the bishops of the East Angles and of
Rochester
21. The Province of the Middle Angles, under its king Peada, becomes
Christian
22. The East Saxons, who had apostatized from the Faith under King Sigbert,
are re-converted by the preaching of Cedd
23. Cedd receives the site for a monastery from King Ethelwald, and hallows
it to our Lord with prayer and fasting: his death
24. On the death of Penda, the Province of the Mercians accepts the Faith
of Christ: in gratitude for his victory, Oswy gives endowments and lands to
God for the building of monasteries
25. Controversy arises with the Irish over the date of Easter
26. After his defeat Colman returns home and Tuda succeeds to his
bishopric: the condition of the Church under these teachers
27. Egbert, an Englishman of holy life, becomes a monk in Ireland
28. On Tuda's death, Wilfrid is consecrated bishop in Gaul and Chad among
the West Saxons, to be bishops in the Province of the Northumbrians
29. The priest Wighard is sent from Britain to Rome to be made archbishop:
letters from the apostolic Pope tell of his death there
30. During a plague the East Saxons lapse into idolatry, but are quickly
recalled from their errors by Bishop Jaruman
Book Four
1. On the death of Archbishop Deusdedit, Wighard is sent to Rome to be
consecrated in his stead: on the latter's death there, Theodore is
consecrated Archbishop and sent to Britain with Abbot Hadrian
2. Theodore makes a general visitation: the English churches begin to
receive instruction in Catholic truth, and sacred study is fostered. Putta
succeeds Damian as Bishop of Rochester
3. Chad is appointed Bishop of the Mercians: his life, death, and burial
4. Bishop Colman leaves Britain, and founds two monasteries in the land of
the Irish, one for the Irish, and another for the English whom he had taken
with him
5. The death of King Oswy and King Egbert. Archbishop Theodore presides
over a Synod held at Hertford
6. Wynfrid is deposed, and Sexwulf appointed to his see: Earconwald is made
Bishop of the East Saxons
7. A heavenly light indicates where the bodies of the nuns of Barking
should be buried
8. A little boy, dying in the convent, announces the approaching death of
one of the sisters. A nun, about to depart this life, sees a glimpse of
future glory
9. Signs from heaven appear when the Mother of the Community departs this
life
10. A blind woman regains her sight while praying in the convent
burial-ground
11. Sebbi, King of the East Saxons, ends his days as a monk
12. Haeddi succeeds Leutherius as Bishop of the West Saxons: Cuichelm
succeeds Putta in the See of Rochester, and is himself succeeded by
Gebmund. The succession of the Northumbrian bishops
13. Wilfrid converts the Province of the South Saxons to Christ
14. A fatal epidemic is halted by the intercession of King Oswald
15. King Cadwalla of the Gewissae kills King Ethelwalh and devastates his
province with plundering and slaughter
16. The Isle of Wight receives Christian settlers. Two young princes of the
island are killed immediately after Baptism
17. Theodore presides over a Synod held in the Plain of Haethfeld
(Hatfield)
18. John, Arch-cantor of the apostolic see, comes to teach in Britain
19. Queen Etheldreda preserves her virginity, and her body remains
incorrupt in the grave
20. A hymn in honour of Etheldreda
21. Archbishop Theodore makes peace between King Egfrid and King Ethelred
22. A prisoner's chains fall off when Masses are sung on his behalf
23. The life and death of Abbess Hilda
24. A brother of the monastery is found to possess God's gift of poetry
25. A man of God sees a vision portending the destruction of Coldingham
monastery by fire
26. On the death of King Egfrid and King Hlothere
27. Cuthbert, a man of God, is made bishop: his life and teaching as a monk
28. Cuthbert becomes a hermit: his prayers obtain a spring from dry ground,
and a crop from seeds sown out of season
29. Cuthbert foretells his own death to the hermit Herebert
30. After eleven years in the grave, Cuthbert's body is found incorrupt.
His successor departs this life soon afterwards
31. A brother is cured of paralysis at Cuthbert's tomb
32. The relics of Saint Cuthbert heal another brother's diseased eye
Book Five
1. The hermit Ethelwald, Cuthbert's successor, calms a storm by his prayer
when some brethren are in danger at sea
2. The blessing of Bishop John cures a dumb man
3. Bishop John heals a sick girl by his prayers
4. The Bishop cures a thegn's wife with holy water
5. The Bishop's prayers recall the servant of a thegn from death's door
6. By his prayers and blessing, Bishop John saves from death one of his
clergy who had been bruised in a fall
7. Cadwalla, King of the West Saxons, goes to Rome for Baptism: his
successor Ini also makes a pilgrimage of devotion to the shrine of the
Apostles
8. On the death of Theodore, Bertwald becomes Archbishop: among bishops
consecrated by him is Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, a man of great learning
9. Egbert, a holy man, plans to travel to Germany and preach, but is
prevented. Subsequently Wictbert goes, but meeting with no success, returns
to his native Ireland
10. Willibrord preaches in Frisia and converts many to Christ: his
companions the Hewalds suffer martyrdom
11. The venerable Swidbert in Britain; and Willibrord in Rome, are
consecrated bishops for Frisia
12. A man in the Province of the Northumbrians returns from the dead, and
tells of the many dreadful and many desirable things that he saw
13. Devils show another man a record of his sins before his death
14. Another man about to die sees the place of punishment reserved for him
in Hell
15. Under Adamnan's influence, many churches of the Irish adopt the
Catholic Easter. He writes a book on the Holy Places
16. Descriptions from this book of the sites of our Lord's Birth, Passion,
and Resurrection
17. The site of our Lord's Ascension, and the tombs of the patriarchs
18. The South Saxons receive as their bishops Eadbert and Ealla, and the
West Saxons Daniel and Aldhelm. The writings of Aldhelm
19. Coenred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, King of the East Saxons, end
their days in Rome as monks. The life and death of Bishop Wilfrid
20. Albinus succeeds the devout Abbot Hadrian, and Acca succeeds to
Wilfrid's bishopric
21. Abbot Ceolfrid sends church architechts to the King of the Picts, and
with them a letter about the Catholic Easter and tonsure
22. The monks of Iona and the monasteries under its jurisdiction begin to
adopt the canonical Easter at the preaching of Egbert
23. The present state of the English nation and the rest of Britain
24. A chronological summary of the whole book, and a personal note on the
author
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Introductory Note
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Introductory Note
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Notes:
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Genealogies of English Kings
Further Reading
Maps:
The British Isles at the Time of Bede
Western Europe
Index
Ecclesiastical History of the English PeopleAcknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Notes to the Introduction
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Author's Preface: To the Most Glorious King Ceolwulf
Book One
1. The situation of Britain and Ireland: their earliest inhabitants
2. On Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain
3. Claudius, the second Roman to reach Britan, annexes the Isles of Orkney
to the Roman Empire: under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of
Wight
4. Lucius, a British king, writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a
Christian
5. Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work
6. The reign of Diocletian: his persecution of the Christian Church
7. The martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions, who shed their
life-blood for Christ at this time
8. The Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution
until the time of the Arian heresy
9. During the reign of Gratian, Maximus is created Emperor in Britain, and
returns to Gaul with a large army
10. During the reign of Arcadius, the Briton Pelagius presumptuously
belittles the grace of God
11. During the reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine set up as despots
in Britain: the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain, and the
latter in Gaul
12. The Britons, harassed by the Irish and Picts, seek help from the
Romans, who come and build a second wall across the island.
Notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to
worse straits
13. During the reign of Theodoius the Younger, Palladius is sent to the
Christians among the Irish. The Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the
Consul Aëtius
14. The Britons, made desperate by famine, drive the Barbarians out of
their land. There soon follows an abundance of corn, luxury, plague, and
doom on the nation
15. The Angles are invited into Britain. At first they repel the enemy, but
soon come to terms with them, and turn their weapons against their own
allies
16. Under the leadership of Ambrosius, a Roman, the Britons win their first
victory against the Angles
17. Bishop Germanus sails to Britain with Lupus: with God's help he quells
two storms, one of the sea, the other of the Pelagians
18. Germanus gives sight to the blind daughter of a tribune. He takes some
relics from the tomb of Saint Alban, and deposits relics of the Apostles
and other Martyrs
19. Germanus is detained by illness. He puts out a fire among houses by his
prayer, and is healed of his sickness by a vision
20. The two bishops obtain God's help in battle, and return home
21. The Pelagian heresy revives, and Germanus returns to Britain with
Severus. He heals a lame youth, and after denouncing or converting the
heretics, restores the British Church to the Catholic Faith
22. The Britons enjoy a respite from foreign invasions, but exhaust
themselves in civil wars and plunge into worse crimes
23. The holy Pope Gregory sends Augustine and other monks to preach to the
English nation, and encourages them in a letter to persevere in their
mission
24. Pope Gregory writes commending them to the Bishop of Arles
25. Augustine reaches Britain, and first preaches in the Isle of Thanet
before King Ethelbert, who grants permission to preach in Kent
26. The life and doctrine of the primitive Church are followed in Kent:
Augustine establishes his episcopal see in the king's city
27. Augustine is consecrated bishop: he sends to inform Pope Gregory what
has been achieved, and receives replies to his questions
28. Pope Gregory writes to the Bishop of Arles, asking him to help
Augustine in his work for God
29. Gregory sends Augustine the pallium, a letter, and several clergy
30. A copy of the letter sent by Pope Gregory to Abbot Mellitus on his
departure for Britain
31. Pope Gregory writes to Augustine, warning him not to boast of his
achievements
32. Pope Gregory sends letters and gifts to King Ethelbert
33. Augustine repairs the Church of Our Saviour and builds a monastery of
Saint Peter the Apostle. A note on Peter, its first Abbot
34. Ethelfrid, King of the Northumbrians, defeats the Irish and drives them
out of England
Book Two
1. On the death of Pope Gregory
2. Augustine urges the British bishops to cement Catholic unity, and
performs a miracle in their presence. Retribution follows their refusal
3. Augustine consecrates Mellitus and Justus as bishops: his own death
4. Laurence and his fellow-bishops urge the Irish to maintain the unity of
the Church, particularly in the observance of Easter: Mellitus visits Rome
5. At the deaths of Ethelbert and Sabert their successors revive idolatry:
on this account, both Mellitus and Justus leave Britain
6. Laurence is reproved by Saint Peter, and converts King Eadbald to
Christ. Mellitus and Justus are recalled
7. The prayers of Bishop Mellitus put out a fire in his city
8. Pope Boniface sends the pallium with a letter to Justus, Mellitus'
successor
9. The reign of King Edwin: Paulinus comes to preach the Gospel to him, and
first administers the Sacrament of Baptism to his daughter and others
10. Pope Boniface writes to the king, urging him to accept the Faith
11. The Pope writes to the Queen, urging her to exert her influence to
obtain the king's salvation
12. King Edwin is moved to accept the Faith by a vision seen during his
exile
13. Edwin holds a council with his chief men about accepting the Faith of
Christ. The high priest destroys his own altars
14. Edwin and his people accept the Faith, and are baptized by Paulinus
15. The Province of the East Angles accepts the Christian faith
16. Paulinius preaches the Word of God in the Province of Lindsey. The
reign of King Edwin
17. Pope Honorius sends a letter of encouragement to King Edwin, and the
pallium to Paulinus
18. On succeeding Justus in the See of Canterbury, Honorius receives the
pallium and a letter from Pope Honorius
19. Pope Honorius, and later Pope John, write letters to the Irish about
Easter and the Pelagian heresy
20. King Edwin is killed, and Paulinus returns to Kent, where he receives
the Bishopric of Rochester
Book Three
1. King Edwin's immediate successors abandon their people's Faith and lose
their kingdom: the most Christian King Oswald restores both
2. Before engaging the heathen in battle, King Oswald sets up a wooden
cross: a young man is later healed by a portion of it, and innumerable
other miracles take place
3. Oswald asks the Irish to send him a bishop: when Aidan arrives, he
grants him the island of Lindisfarne as his episcopal see
4. How the Picts received the Faith of Christ
5. The Life of Bishop Aidan
6. The wonderful devotion and piety of King Oswald
7. The West Saxons accept the Faith through the teaching of Birinus and his
successors Agilbert and Leutherius
8. Earconbert, King of Kent, orders the destruction of idols. His daughter
Earcongota and his kinswoman Ethelberga dedicate themselves to God as nuns
9. Miraculous cures take place at the site of Oswald's death. A traveller's
horse is cured, and a paralytic girl healed
10. How the earth from this place has power over fire
11. A heavenly light appears all night over Oswald's tomb, and folk are
healed from demonic possession
12. A little boy is cured of ague at Saint Oswald's tomb
13. A man in Ireland is recalled from death's door by means of Oswald's
relics
14. On the death of Paulinus, Ithamar succeeds to his Bishopric of
Rochester. An account of the wonderful humility of King Oswin, who was
treacherously murdered by Oswy
15. Bishop Aidan foretells a coming storm, and gives seafarers holy oil to
calm the waves
16. Aidan's prayers save the royal city when fired by the enemy
17. The wooden buttress of the church against which Aidan leaned as he died
is untouched when the rest of the church is burned down. His spiritual life
18. The life and death of the devout King Sigbert
19. Fursey establishes a monastery among the East Angles: the incorruption
of his body after death attests to his visions and holiness
20. On the death of Honorius, Deusdedit succeeds him as Archibishop of
Canterbury. The succession of the bishops of the East Angles and of
Rochester
21. The Province of the Middle Angles, under its king Peada, becomes
Christian
22. The East Saxons, who had apostatized from the Faith under King Sigbert,
are re-converted by the preaching of Cedd
23. Cedd receives the site for a monastery from King Ethelwald, and hallows
it to our Lord with prayer and fasting: his death
24. On the death of Penda, the Province of the Mercians accepts the Faith
of Christ: in gratitude for his victory, Oswy gives endowments and lands to
God for the building of monasteries
25. Controversy arises with the Irish over the date of Easter
26. After his defeat Colman returns home and Tuda succeeds to his
bishopric: the condition of the Church under these teachers
27. Egbert, an Englishman of holy life, becomes a monk in Ireland
28. On Tuda's death, Wilfrid is consecrated bishop in Gaul and Chad among
the West Saxons, to be bishops in the Province of the Northumbrians
29. The priest Wighard is sent from Britain to Rome to be made archbishop:
letters from the apostolic Pope tell of his death there
30. During a plague the East Saxons lapse into idolatry, but are quickly
recalled from their errors by Bishop Jaruman
Book Four
1. On the death of Archbishop Deusdedit, Wighard is sent to Rome to be
consecrated in his stead: on the latter's death there, Theodore is
consecrated Archbishop and sent to Britain with Abbot Hadrian
2. Theodore makes a general visitation: the English churches begin to
receive instruction in Catholic truth, and sacred study is fostered. Putta
succeeds Damian as Bishop of Rochester
3. Chad is appointed Bishop of the Mercians: his life, death, and burial
4. Bishop Colman leaves Britain, and founds two monasteries in the land of
the Irish, one for the Irish, and another for the English whom he had taken
with him
5. The death of King Oswy and King Egbert. Archbishop Theodore presides
over a Synod held at Hertford
6. Wynfrid is deposed, and Sexwulf appointed to his see: Earconwald is made
Bishop of the East Saxons
7. A heavenly light indicates where the bodies of the nuns of Barking
should be buried
8. A little boy, dying in the convent, announces the approaching death of
one of the sisters. A nun, about to depart this life, sees a glimpse of
future glory
9. Signs from heaven appear when the Mother of the Community departs this
life
10. A blind woman regains her sight while praying in the convent
burial-ground
11. Sebbi, King of the East Saxons, ends his days as a monk
12. Haeddi succeeds Leutherius as Bishop of the West Saxons: Cuichelm
succeeds Putta in the See of Rochester, and is himself succeeded by
Gebmund. The succession of the Northumbrian bishops
13. Wilfrid converts the Province of the South Saxons to Christ
14. A fatal epidemic is halted by the intercession of King Oswald
15. King Cadwalla of the Gewissae kills King Ethelwalh and devastates his
province with plundering and slaughter
16. The Isle of Wight receives Christian settlers. Two young princes of the
island are killed immediately after Baptism
17. Theodore presides over a Synod held in the Plain of Haethfeld
(Hatfield)
18. John, Arch-cantor of the apostolic see, comes to teach in Britain
19. Queen Etheldreda preserves her virginity, and her body remains
incorrupt in the grave
20. A hymn in honour of Etheldreda
21. Archbishop Theodore makes peace between King Egfrid and King Ethelred
22. A prisoner's chains fall off when Masses are sung on his behalf
23. The life and death of Abbess Hilda
24. A brother of the monastery is found to possess God's gift of poetry
25. A man of God sees a vision portending the destruction of Coldingham
monastery by fire
26. On the death of King Egfrid and King Hlothere
27. Cuthbert, a man of God, is made bishop: his life and teaching as a monk
28. Cuthbert becomes a hermit: his prayers obtain a spring from dry ground,
and a crop from seeds sown out of season
29. Cuthbert foretells his own death to the hermit Herebert
30. After eleven years in the grave, Cuthbert's body is found incorrupt.
His successor departs this life soon afterwards
31. A brother is cured of paralysis at Cuthbert's tomb
32. The relics of Saint Cuthbert heal another brother's diseased eye
Book Five
1. The hermit Ethelwald, Cuthbert's successor, calms a storm by his prayer
when some brethren are in danger at sea
2. The blessing of Bishop John cures a dumb man
3. Bishop John heals a sick girl by his prayers
4. The Bishop cures a thegn's wife with holy water
5. The Bishop's prayers recall the servant of a thegn from death's door
6. By his prayers and blessing, Bishop John saves from death one of his
clergy who had been bruised in a fall
7. Cadwalla, King of the West Saxons, goes to Rome for Baptism: his
successor Ini also makes a pilgrimage of devotion to the shrine of the
Apostles
8. On the death of Theodore, Bertwald becomes Archbishop: among bishops
consecrated by him is Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, a man of great learning
9. Egbert, a holy man, plans to travel to Germany and preach, but is
prevented. Subsequently Wictbert goes, but meeting with no success, returns
to his native Ireland
10. Willibrord preaches in Frisia and converts many to Christ: his
companions the Hewalds suffer martyrdom
11. The venerable Swidbert in Britain; and Willibrord in Rome, are
consecrated bishops for Frisia
12. A man in the Province of the Northumbrians returns from the dead, and
tells of the many dreadful and many desirable things that he saw
13. Devils show another man a record of his sins before his death
14. Another man about to die sees the place of punishment reserved for him
in Hell
15. Under Adamnan's influence, many churches of the Irish adopt the
Catholic Easter. He writes a book on the Holy Places
16. Descriptions from this book of the sites of our Lord's Birth, Passion,
and Resurrection
17. The site of our Lord's Ascension, and the tombs of the patriarchs
18. The South Saxons receive as their bishops Eadbert and Ealla, and the
West Saxons Daniel and Aldhelm. The writings of Aldhelm
19. Coenred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, King of the East Saxons, end
their days in Rome as monks. The life and death of Bishop Wilfrid
20. Albinus succeeds the devout Abbot Hadrian, and Acca succeeds to
Wilfrid's bishopric
21. Abbot Ceolfrid sends church architechts to the King of the Picts, and
with them a letter about the Catholic Easter and tonsure
22. The monks of Iona and the monasteries under its jurisdiction begin to
adopt the canonical Easter at the preaching of Egbert
23. The present state of the English nation and the rest of Britain
24. A chronological summary of the whole book, and a personal note on the
author
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Introductory Note
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Introductory Note
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Notes:
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Genealogies of English Kings
Further Reading
Maps:
The British Isles at the Time of Bede
Western Europe
Index
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Notes to the Introduction
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Author's Preface: To the Most Glorious King Ceolwulf
Book One
1. The situation of Britain and Ireland: their earliest inhabitants
2. On Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain
3. Claudius, the second Roman to reach Britan, annexes the Isles of Orkney
to the Roman Empire: under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of
Wight
4. Lucius, a British king, writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a
Christian
5. Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work
6. The reign of Diocletian: his persecution of the Christian Church
7. The martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions, who shed their
life-blood for Christ at this time
8. The Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution
until the time of the Arian heresy
9. During the reign of Gratian, Maximus is created Emperor in Britain, and
returns to Gaul with a large army
10. During the reign of Arcadius, the Briton Pelagius presumptuously
belittles the grace of God
11. During the reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine set up as despots
in Britain: the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain, and the
latter in Gaul
12. The Britons, harassed by the Irish and Picts, seek help from the
Romans, who come and build a second wall across the island.
Notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to
worse straits
13. During the reign of Theodoius the Younger, Palladius is sent to the
Christians among the Irish. The Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the
Consul Aëtius
14. The Britons, made desperate by famine, drive the Barbarians out of
their land. There soon follows an abundance of corn, luxury, plague, and
doom on the nation
15. The Angles are invited into Britain. At first they repel the enemy, but
soon come to terms with them, and turn their weapons against their own
allies
16. Under the leadership of Ambrosius, a Roman, the Britons win their first
victory against the Angles
17. Bishop Germanus sails to Britain with Lupus: with God's help he quells
two storms, one of the sea, the other of the Pelagians
18. Germanus gives sight to the blind daughter of a tribune. He takes some
relics from the tomb of Saint Alban, and deposits relics of the Apostles
and other Martyrs
19. Germanus is detained by illness. He puts out a fire among houses by his
prayer, and is healed of his sickness by a vision
20. The two bishops obtain God's help in battle, and return home
21. The Pelagian heresy revives, and Germanus returns to Britain with
Severus. He heals a lame youth, and after denouncing or converting the
heretics, restores the British Church to the Catholic Faith
22. The Britons enjoy a respite from foreign invasions, but exhaust
themselves in civil wars and plunge into worse crimes
23. The holy Pope Gregory sends Augustine and other monks to preach to the
English nation, and encourages them in a letter to persevere in their
mission
24. Pope Gregory writes commending them to the Bishop of Arles
25. Augustine reaches Britain, and first preaches in the Isle of Thanet
before King Ethelbert, who grants permission to preach in Kent
26. The life and doctrine of the primitive Church are followed in Kent:
Augustine establishes his episcopal see in the king's city
27. Augustine is consecrated bishop: he sends to inform Pope Gregory what
has been achieved, and receives replies to his questions
28. Pope Gregory writes to the Bishop of Arles, asking him to help
Augustine in his work for God
29. Gregory sends Augustine the pallium, a letter, and several clergy
30. A copy of the letter sent by Pope Gregory to Abbot Mellitus on his
departure for Britain
31. Pope Gregory writes to Augustine, warning him not to boast of his
achievements
32. Pope Gregory sends letters and gifts to King Ethelbert
33. Augustine repairs the Church of Our Saviour and builds a monastery of
Saint Peter the Apostle. A note on Peter, its first Abbot
34. Ethelfrid, King of the Northumbrians, defeats the Irish and drives them
out of England
Book Two
1. On the death of Pope Gregory
2. Augustine urges the British bishops to cement Catholic unity, and
performs a miracle in their presence. Retribution follows their refusal
3. Augustine consecrates Mellitus and Justus as bishops: his own death
4. Laurence and his fellow-bishops urge the Irish to maintain the unity of
the Church, particularly in the observance of Easter: Mellitus visits Rome
5. At the deaths of Ethelbert and Sabert their successors revive idolatry:
on this account, both Mellitus and Justus leave Britain
6. Laurence is reproved by Saint Peter, and converts King Eadbald to
Christ. Mellitus and Justus are recalled
7. The prayers of Bishop Mellitus put out a fire in his city
8. Pope Boniface sends the pallium with a letter to Justus, Mellitus'
successor
9. The reign of King Edwin: Paulinus comes to preach the Gospel to him, and
first administers the Sacrament of Baptism to his daughter and others
10. Pope Boniface writes to the king, urging him to accept the Faith
11. The Pope writes to the Queen, urging her to exert her influence to
obtain the king's salvation
12. King Edwin is moved to accept the Faith by a vision seen during his
exile
13. Edwin holds a council with his chief men about accepting the Faith of
Christ. The high priest destroys his own altars
14. Edwin and his people accept the Faith, and are baptized by Paulinus
15. The Province of the East Angles accepts the Christian faith
16. Paulinius preaches the Word of God in the Province of Lindsey. The
reign of King Edwin
17. Pope Honorius sends a letter of encouragement to King Edwin, and the
pallium to Paulinus
18. On succeeding Justus in the See of Canterbury, Honorius receives the
pallium and a letter from Pope Honorius
19. Pope Honorius, and later Pope John, write letters to the Irish about
Easter and the Pelagian heresy
20. King Edwin is killed, and Paulinus returns to Kent, where he receives
the Bishopric of Rochester
Book Three
1. King Edwin's immediate successors abandon their people's Faith and lose
their kingdom: the most Christian King Oswald restores both
2. Before engaging the heathen in battle, King Oswald sets up a wooden
cross: a young man is later healed by a portion of it, and innumerable
other miracles take place
3. Oswald asks the Irish to send him a bishop: when Aidan arrives, he
grants him the island of Lindisfarne as his episcopal see
4. How the Picts received the Faith of Christ
5. The Life of Bishop Aidan
6. The wonderful devotion and piety of King Oswald
7. The West Saxons accept the Faith through the teaching of Birinus and his
successors Agilbert and Leutherius
8. Earconbert, King of Kent, orders the destruction of idols. His daughter
Earcongota and his kinswoman Ethelberga dedicate themselves to God as nuns
9. Miraculous cures take place at the site of Oswald's death. A traveller's
horse is cured, and a paralytic girl healed
10. How the earth from this place has power over fire
11. A heavenly light appears all night over Oswald's tomb, and folk are
healed from demonic possession
12. A little boy is cured of ague at Saint Oswald's tomb
13. A man in Ireland is recalled from death's door by means of Oswald's
relics
14. On the death of Paulinus, Ithamar succeeds to his Bishopric of
Rochester. An account of the wonderful humility of King Oswin, who was
treacherously murdered by Oswy
15. Bishop Aidan foretells a coming storm, and gives seafarers holy oil to
calm the waves
16. Aidan's prayers save the royal city when fired by the enemy
17. The wooden buttress of the church against which Aidan leaned as he died
is untouched when the rest of the church is burned down. His spiritual life
18. The life and death of the devout King Sigbert
19. Fursey establishes a monastery among the East Angles: the incorruption
of his body after death attests to his visions and holiness
20. On the death of Honorius, Deusdedit succeeds him as Archibishop of
Canterbury. The succession of the bishops of the East Angles and of
Rochester
21. The Province of the Middle Angles, under its king Peada, becomes
Christian
22. The East Saxons, who had apostatized from the Faith under King Sigbert,
are re-converted by the preaching of Cedd
23. Cedd receives the site for a monastery from King Ethelwald, and hallows
it to our Lord with prayer and fasting: his death
24. On the death of Penda, the Province of the Mercians accepts the Faith
of Christ: in gratitude for his victory, Oswy gives endowments and lands to
God for the building of monasteries
25. Controversy arises with the Irish over the date of Easter
26. After his defeat Colman returns home and Tuda succeeds to his
bishopric: the condition of the Church under these teachers
27. Egbert, an Englishman of holy life, becomes a monk in Ireland
28. On Tuda's death, Wilfrid is consecrated bishop in Gaul and Chad among
the West Saxons, to be bishops in the Province of the Northumbrians
29. The priest Wighard is sent from Britain to Rome to be made archbishop:
letters from the apostolic Pope tell of his death there
30. During a plague the East Saxons lapse into idolatry, but are quickly
recalled from their errors by Bishop Jaruman
Book Four
1. On the death of Archbishop Deusdedit, Wighard is sent to Rome to be
consecrated in his stead: on the latter's death there, Theodore is
consecrated Archbishop and sent to Britain with Abbot Hadrian
2. Theodore makes a general visitation: the English churches begin to
receive instruction in Catholic truth, and sacred study is fostered. Putta
succeeds Damian as Bishop of Rochester
3. Chad is appointed Bishop of the Mercians: his life, death, and burial
4. Bishop Colman leaves Britain, and founds two monasteries in the land of
the Irish, one for the Irish, and another for the English whom he had taken
with him
5. The death of King Oswy and King Egbert. Archbishop Theodore presides
over a Synod held at Hertford
6. Wynfrid is deposed, and Sexwulf appointed to his see: Earconwald is made
Bishop of the East Saxons
7. A heavenly light indicates where the bodies of the nuns of Barking
should be buried
8. A little boy, dying in the convent, announces the approaching death of
one of the sisters. A nun, about to depart this life, sees a glimpse of
future glory
9. Signs from heaven appear when the Mother of the Community departs this
life
10. A blind woman regains her sight while praying in the convent
burial-ground
11. Sebbi, King of the East Saxons, ends his days as a monk
12. Haeddi succeeds Leutherius as Bishop of the West Saxons: Cuichelm
succeeds Putta in the See of Rochester, and is himself succeeded by
Gebmund. The succession of the Northumbrian bishops
13. Wilfrid converts the Province of the South Saxons to Christ
14. A fatal epidemic is halted by the intercession of King Oswald
15. King Cadwalla of the Gewissae kills King Ethelwalh and devastates his
province with plundering and slaughter
16. The Isle of Wight receives Christian settlers. Two young princes of the
island are killed immediately after Baptism
17. Theodore presides over a Synod held in the Plain of Haethfeld
(Hatfield)
18. John, Arch-cantor of the apostolic see, comes to teach in Britain
19. Queen Etheldreda preserves her virginity, and her body remains
incorrupt in the grave
20. A hymn in honour of Etheldreda
21. Archbishop Theodore makes peace between King Egfrid and King Ethelred
22. A prisoner's chains fall off when Masses are sung on his behalf
23. The life and death of Abbess Hilda
24. A brother of the monastery is found to possess God's gift of poetry
25. A man of God sees a vision portending the destruction of Coldingham
monastery by fire
26. On the death of King Egfrid and King Hlothere
27. Cuthbert, a man of God, is made bishop: his life and teaching as a monk
28. Cuthbert becomes a hermit: his prayers obtain a spring from dry ground,
and a crop from seeds sown out of season
29. Cuthbert foretells his own death to the hermit Herebert
30. After eleven years in the grave, Cuthbert's body is found incorrupt.
His successor departs this life soon afterwards
31. A brother is cured of paralysis at Cuthbert's tomb
32. The relics of Saint Cuthbert heal another brother's diseased eye
Book Five
1. The hermit Ethelwald, Cuthbert's successor, calms a storm by his prayer
when some brethren are in danger at sea
2. The blessing of Bishop John cures a dumb man
3. Bishop John heals a sick girl by his prayers
4. The Bishop cures a thegn's wife with holy water
5. The Bishop's prayers recall the servant of a thegn from death's door
6. By his prayers and blessing, Bishop John saves from death one of his
clergy who had been bruised in a fall
7. Cadwalla, King of the West Saxons, goes to Rome for Baptism: his
successor Ini also makes a pilgrimage of devotion to the shrine of the
Apostles
8. On the death of Theodore, Bertwald becomes Archbishop: among bishops
consecrated by him is Tobias, Bishop of Rochester, a man of great learning
9. Egbert, a holy man, plans to travel to Germany and preach, but is
prevented. Subsequently Wictbert goes, but meeting with no success, returns
to his native Ireland
10. Willibrord preaches in Frisia and converts many to Christ: his
companions the Hewalds suffer martyrdom
11. The venerable Swidbert in Britain; and Willibrord in Rome, are
consecrated bishops for Frisia
12. A man in the Province of the Northumbrians returns from the dead, and
tells of the many dreadful and many desirable things that he saw
13. Devils show another man a record of his sins before his death
14. Another man about to die sees the place of punishment reserved for him
in Hell
15. Under Adamnan's influence, many churches of the Irish adopt the
Catholic Easter. He writes a book on the Holy Places
16. Descriptions from this book of the sites of our Lord's Birth, Passion,
and Resurrection
17. The site of our Lord's Ascension, and the tombs of the patriarchs
18. The South Saxons receive as their bishops Eadbert and Ealla, and the
West Saxons Daniel and Aldhelm. The writings of Aldhelm
19. Coenred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, King of the East Saxons, end
their days in Rome as monks. The life and death of Bishop Wilfrid
20. Albinus succeeds the devout Abbot Hadrian, and Acca succeeds to
Wilfrid's bishopric
21. Abbot Ceolfrid sends church architechts to the King of the Picts, and
with them a letter about the Catholic Easter and tonsure
22. The monks of Iona and the monasteries under its jurisdiction begin to
adopt the canonical Easter at the preaching of Egbert
23. The present state of the English nation and the rest of Britain
24. A chronological summary of the whole book, and a personal note on the
author
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Introductory Note
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Introductory Note
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Notes:
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Bede's Letter to Egbert
Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede
Genealogies of English Kings
Further Reading
Maps:
The British Isles at the Time of Bede
Western Europe
Index