The Ecclesiastical History of Bede, The English People and the English Language

Bede, is considered the “…Venerable [and] the most learned writer of the Anglo-Saxon period, [and] was born in North Umbria around 673” (Black, 16). He is one of the most influential writers in the West and some have even described the period between ca. 600-800 as the Age of Bede (Madigan, 64). Bede’s many accomplishments during his incredible life include his manuscripts, popularizing the AD and BC system dividing principle and his historical work Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) (Black, 16). This history describes the very beginnings of England, the first inhabitants as well as the development of Christianity and the English language itself.

In The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede wrote a summary on his life, detailing his upbringing as a scholar in the church from a very early age:

I, Bede, servant of Christ and priest of the monastery of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, which is at Wearmouth and Jarrow…was born in the territory of that monastery. At the age of seven, I was given to the most reverend abbot Benedict to be educated …From that time, I have lived my whole life in the habit of that monastery, directing all my energy to the study of Scripture and, amid the observance of the regular discipline and daily duty of chanting in church, every happily applying myself to learning or teaching or writing.

(Madigan, 65)

He was able to create such incredible works and discoveries because of this early upbringing, which allowed him to focus on Christian theology along with the necessary scholarly pursuits of living in a monastery. He was the age of nineteen when he was made a deacon and then at age thirty, an ordained priest (Madigan, 64). Bede said, “From the time I entered the priesthood until my fifty-ninth year of age…I have devoted myself to annotating briefly Holy Scripture from the tracts of the Venerable Fathers, as I and my associates needed” (Madigan, 64). The Jarrow Monastary, where he was raised, was situated on the remote north eastern coast of England and was considered the most learned center due to the founder Benedict Biscop’s extensive traveling and thus creating a large library where the young Bede studied and became one of the greatest thinkers of the Medieval period (Black, 16).

Of all of his contributions from Christianity to astronomy and chronology (Black, 16), Bede’s most intriguing and popular piece of writing is undoubtedly The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. In it, he extensively describes England, its physical history and that of its people, tied together by a common thread of faith and Christianity (Black, 16). It describes Britain, formerly Albion, as “…rich in grain and trees, and is well adapted for feeding cattle and beasts of burden” (Black, 17) and it’s rivers, “…abounding in fish, particularly salmon and eels, and plentiful springs” (Black, 17-18). He makes a point to highlight its immense wealth in foods as well as “…metals, copper, iron, lead and silver” (Black, 18). He describes the languages at the time there to be English, British, Irish, Pictish and Latin, with Latin being a common tongue among all (Black, 18). The land of Britain, he said, “…had no other inhabitants [other] than the Britons, from whom it derived its name, and who coming over into Britain, so it is said, from Armonica” (Black, 18). The Picts then came to occupy the northern part of Britain, with the Britons to the south (Black, 18). Then, after the “Goths attacked Rome in 410, the Roman legions in Britain withdraw, leaving the British defenseless…[and] are immediately attacked” (Black, 19) by the Picts and the Irish from the North. Bede explains that when famine ravaged them, the attacks eventually ceased and there was:

…such an abundance of grain in the island as had never been known before…with abundance came an increase in luxury, which was immediately followed by every sort of crime; in particular, cruelty and hatred of truth and love of falsehood increased so much that if anyone among them happened to be milder than the rest and somewhat inclined to truth, all the rest heaped hatred and missiles upon them.

(Black, 20)

Bede makes a point to insist that their fate after this point was due to their irreligious behavior and was “ordained by the will of our Lord Himself so that evil might fall upon them for their wicked deeds” (Black, 20). The Britons then called upon the three most powerful tribes in Germany, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, for military help after several more attacks from the North (Black, 20). The tribes were granted land, accommodations and pay in exchange for “peace and safety of the country” (Black, 20). However, the tribes intention was not to help but to enslave the country and its people, and bringing more of their tribe over on many large ships:

…the just Judge ordained that the fire of these brutal conquerors should ravage all the neighboring cities and country-side from the east to the western sea, without opposition, until it covered almost every part of the doomed island. Public and private building fell into ruins; priests were everywhere slain before the altars; the prelates and people alike were destroyed with fire and sword regardless of their rank; and there was no one left to bury those who had died in such a cruel slaughter.

(Black, 21)

While he deemed the ravaged island and the deaths of its inhabitants to be just for their sins against God, Bede furthers his findings to be extended to the permanency of Christianity when the King of Northumbria converts. The backstory of the sins of Briton seems to only be necessary in furthering this objective, to establish the importance of Christianity to any and all established and civilized nations of the world. In 616, King Edwin took the crown and married the daughter of a Christian King of Kent, under the condition that he “…put no obstacles in the way of Christian worship in his kingdom, and to promise to consider becoming a Christian himself” (Black, 21). His conversion is unsuccessful for a long period of time, however after an experience with a spirit which saved him from death and raised him to the throne, he was approached by a “man of God” (Black, 23) who told him:

Behold, with God’s help you have escaped the hands of the enemies you feared, behold, you have obtained by His gift the kingdom you desired; take heed not to delay what you promised to do—receive the faith and keep the commandments of Him who rescued you from earthly adversity and has raised you to the honor of an earthly kingdom. If, from this time forward, you are willing to follow his will…He will not only deliver you from the everlasting torments of the wicked, but also make you a partaker with Him of His eternal kingdom in heaven.

(Black, 23)

After taking counsel from his trusted advisors, he agreed and all of them were “cleansed in Christ, the fountain of life” (Black, 23).

Along with establishing Christianity as the religion of Britain, this period in history that Bede describes is the foundation of the English language. The Germanic tribes that invaded and conquered were “…unlike the Romans, [they] did not simply conquer and subjugate: they forever changed the island’s cultural, linguistic, and political contours by driving the native inhabitants to what would later become Wales and Ireland…and by bringing their families over from the continent to settle in England’s more hospitable climate” (Amodio, 25). The English language is the combination of many different languages and Bede explains this in his history of the English people, why and how this is so today.

Although Bede’s work is considered Anglo-Saxon and is included in Old English anthological works, his writings were written entirely in Latin and were primarily for an audience consisting of “educated members of the clergy” (Old English Literature, 47). In a famous painting by William Bell Scott circa 1855, called The Death of the Venerable Bede in Jarrow Priory, it shows Bede surrounded by his monastic brethren, his soul leaving his body (Niles, 321). He lived his life upholding his truth and beliefs, that of Christianity, and his great historical work of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People has helped modern researchers grasp the complexities of the history of England, the establishment of Christianity in Britain as well as the development of the English language.

Works Cited

Amodio, Mark C.. Anglo Saxon Literature Handbook, Wiley, 2013.

Black, Joseph. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, The Medieval Period, Third Edition. Toronto, Canada. Broadview Press, 1985.

Madigan, Kevin. Medieval Christianity : A New History, Yale University Press, 2015.

Niles, John D.. The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901 : Remembering, Forgetting, Deciphering, and Renewing the Past, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015.

Old English Literature : A Guide to Criticism with Selected Readings, edited by John D. Niles, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016.

© 2020-2021 Christina Valentine. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or cite in whole or in part without written permission from the author. For permission, contact the author via contact link in site menu.