St 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.
The Anglo-Saxon writer 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. was born less than 50 years after St PaulinusPaulinus, St Bishop of York 627-644. Sent to England with Saint Augustine. Accompanied Queen Ethelburga north on her marriage to King Edwin of Northumbria. Converted King Edwin and the Northumbrians in 627 and founded the first York Minster. arrived in NorthumbriaNorthumbria Northumbria was an early medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now Northern England and South Scotland. to teach the ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. faithFaith 1. Belief and trust in someone or something. 2. Acceptance of particular religious teachings.. He never travelled more than 80 miles from his birthplace. Yet, by his death, he was famous internationally for his knowledge of science, the arts, and the Bible. He had also popularised a single universal dating system (BC and AD), which is still in use today, and created the first history of the English.
Bede once described himself as living on the ‘uttermost edge of the world’. Yet from his base in Northumbria, his mind and imagination roamed the world. Thanks to the work of Benedict Biscop and AbbotAbbot Head of an abbey of monks CeolfrithCeolfrith (c.642-716) Abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow in the time of Bede. Commissioned the production of the Codex Amiatinus, the oldest surviving complete Latin Bible in one volume, Bede had access to books and to a network of information across England and beyond. He explored time, the cosmos, geography, and nature; he loved poetry and songs. In his History of the English Church and People, he recorded the stories of men and women, good and bad, opening a unique window onto the story of the formation of a nation. He translated the Lord’s Prayer and CreedCreed (Latin credo 'I believe') A brief summary of Christian belief. Three creeds are used in Western liturgy: the short Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, which originated at the Council of Constantinople in 381, and the longer Athanasian Creed which probably dates from c.500 and was used in the instruction of the laity. Of these the most important in the worship of the medieval church was the Nicene Creed, recited at the Eucharist on Sundays and feast days from Latin into Old EnglishOld English The language and vernacular (English) literature of the Anglo-Saxons in England between the fifth and eleventh centuries. to make them more accessible for ordinary people. He told the story of St Cuthbert to inspire others to faith and obedience. And above all he studied, translated, and taught others about the Bible. After his death, the Anglo-Saxon missionaryMissionary Someone sent out to share religious faith. Boniface, working in what is now called Germany, described Bede as ‘that most wise investigator of the Scriptures… who… lately shone in your midst in the house of God like a candle of the church’.
Bede’s life
Bede was born c. 672/3 on land donated by King Ecgfrith for the foundation of St Peter’s 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 St PaulPaul, St (d. c. 65) 'Apostle to the Gentiles'. Born Saul of Tarsus, a Jew and Roman citizen. His initial hostility to the early church was overcome by his conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 1-19). Using the Roman version of his name, Paul travelled through Asia Minor and into Europe preaching to both Jews and Gentiles. Eventually arrested and taken to Rome for trial. Tradition holds that he was executed during the persecution under Nero. The New Testament letters bearing his name stress that salvation is offered as a gift (by God's grace) through faith, as a result of the forgiveness won by Christ's death on the cross and is available to Jews and non-Jews alike (e.g. Ephesians 2)’s 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, the twin monasteries which would shape Bede’s life. At the age of seven, his family placed him in St Peter’s to be educated, and two years later he transferred to Jarrow. Bede spent the rest of his life there, joyfully absorbed in his calling to learn and teach:
‘On reaching seven years of age, I was entrusted by my family first to the most reverend Abbot Benedict and later to Abbot Ceolfrid for my education. I have spent all the remainder of my life in this monasteryMonastery The house of a religious community and devoted myself entirely to the study of the scriptures. And while I have observed the regular discipline and sung the choir offices daily in church, my chief delight has always been in study, teaching, and writing.’ (Bede, ‘History of the English Church and People’ V:24)
As the end of his life approached, Bede continued to sing the Psalms, to teach, and to translate the GospelGospel (Greek evangelion, Old English godspel 'good news') 1. The central message of the Christian faith concerning salvation. 2. Title given to the four New Testament books which describe the life of Christ i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 3. A reading taken from one of the four Gospels which has the place of honour in the Eucharist of John. He told his companions, ‘I have lived a long time, and well has the holyHoly Set apart, sacred, especially implying coming from or consecrated to God. Judge provided for me. The time of my release is near and my soul longs to see Christ my King in his beauty.’
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. CathedralCathedral (Latin cathedra' throne') Church which contains the throne of the bishop and hence the mother church of the diocese
Bede’s body was taken from Jarrow to Durham Cathedral around 1020 and placed in the tomb of St Cuthbert. In 1370 his relics were moved to a shrineShrine In origin a Germanic word meaning a chest or reliquary, this term describes something which contains a sacred object. It can thus be applied to an elaborate tomb around the body of a saint, a cabinet containing a relic or to the whole architectural complex where such a body or relic rest in the Galilee Chapel. This was destroyed at the Reformation, but his remains now rest in a 19th century tomb bearing the words below.
‘Christ is the morning star who, when the night of this world is past, brings to his saints the promise of the light of life and opens everlasting day.’
Bede, Commentary on the Book of RevelationRevelation 1. The idea that God reveals himself to humankind in various ways, including through Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Creation.2. The Book of Revelation, also called Apocalypse. The final book of the Bible which records the Apocalyptic visions of St John on the island of Patmos., Ch 2
St Paulinus
St Cuthbert
St Hild
