A pair of monasteries founded by Benedict Biscop in 674 and 684 respectively in NorthumbriaNorthumbria Northumbria was an early medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now Northern England and South Scotland. (now in Co. DurhamDurham Durham Cathedral has its origins in the small church built in 995 to protect the relics of St Cuthbert. A century later, construction began on the church of the Benedictine Abbey, and Cuthbert's remains were transferred there and placed in a shrine in 1104. In 1242 the bones of Cuthbert were once again moved, this time to a shrine near the entrance of the Chapel of the Nine Altars.). The Venerable BedeBede, the Venerable (c.673-735) Anglo-Saxon historian and biblical scholar. Sent to study at the monastery of Wearmouth at seven; later transferred to Jarrow. Renowned in his lifetime for his learning, Bede wrote treatises on poetry, time and cosmography. Historical works include History of the Abbots, prose and verse versions of the Life of St Cuthbert and Ecclesiastical History of the English People. describes their history and their illustrious abbots most notably in his History of the Abbots, and his Ecclesiastical HistoryEcclesiastical History Full title: Ecclesiastical History of the English People. The best known work of the Venerable Bede (c.673-735), a five-book account written in Latin which covers the period from the Roman invasion of Britain to 731CE. It was later translated into Old English of the English People. In c.715 the combined houses were said to house over 600 brothers under the rule of a single abbotAbbot Head of an abbey of monks, Ceolfrid. SeeSee The seat or area of responsibility of a bishop. MonkwearmouthMonkwearmouth Dedicated to St Peter the monastery was founded by Benedict Biscop in 674, as a sister house of Jarrow, on land given to him by King Egfrith of Northumbria near the mouth of the River Wear (now in Co. Durham), after his return to England from Rome with Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury. Details of its foundation and activities are recorded by the Venerable Bede, most notably in his History of the Abbots, and his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. It was destroyed in c.867 and 1070; re-founded in 1074 and became a cell of the monastic cathedral of Durham in 1083 remaining so until 1536 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries and JarrowJarrow Dedicated to St Paul the monastery founded by Benedict Biscop in 684, as a sister house of Monkwearmouth, on land donated by king Egfrid of Northumbria by the River Tyne, after his return to England from Rome with Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury. Details of its foundation and activities are recorded by the Venerable Bede, most notably in his History of the Abbots, and his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Bede died here in 735. The monastery was destroyed in c. 867 and again in 973; but may not have been deserted since in 1022 the bones of Bede were carried from Jarrow to Durham cathedral. Re-established in 1074, it ultimately became a cell of the monastic cathedral of Durham in 1083 and remained so until 1536 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries