The Venerable Bede, the Father of English History

Venerable Bede was born in 672 AD in Northumbria, a medieval kingdom of Anglos in northeast England.

He was a scholar, teacher, and the most prolific writer during the 7th and 8th centuries and is known as the “Father of English History.” The title “Venerable,” meaning honorable or worthy of veneration, was added to his name only two centuries after his death. At that time in history boys of superior intelligence were often sent away from home to be educated, so at the early age of seven, Bede entered St. Peter's Monastery at Monkwearmouth where he was entrusted to Abbot Benedict for his tutelage. 

He took his studies seriously and was soon able to read the Bible in both Latin and Greek and became very influential in the church through his Latin writings. Because he believed that even the “unlearned” should have the scriptures available to them in their own language, he also translated the Gospel of John into Old English.

Bede believed education to be an important part of every boy’s life; therefore, many of the early books he wrote were intended to be used in the classroom. Always striving for accuracy, he was known to labor night and day, explaining his unrelentless behavior this way: “I don't want my boys to read a lie or to work to no purpose after I am gone.” 

He compiled a book on metrics titled, De Arte Metrica; he wrote an appendix called De Schematibus et Tropis describing rhetorical figures and illustrating them with Biblical examples; and he recorded a book on the accepted knowledge of planets and eclipses called De Natura Rerum.

In the writings for his students, he included examples from Christian poets instead of Latin authors to make the reading more appropriate for boys being educated to serve the church.

Bede was also interested in ecclesiastical arithmetic and wrote Bede’s On the Reckoning of Time in 725 AD, a book explaining the rules used for calculating the Christian holidays and the accuracy of those dates. The Irish and Roman churches had different methods for ascertaining the date for Easter, so the churches were in constant debate about the exact time for its celebration. Frequently, the two churches celebrated Easter on different days, which to Bede was a shocking sign of disunity. Bede attempted to rectify this disparity by adding a chapter in his book explaining how early Christians had designed the calendar. Today his book is considered a reliable source for studying the pre-Christian English calendar. Bede was also responsible for the use of BC and AD when recording dates.

Of the more than 600 books Bede wrote, his most notable work is Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, written in 731 AD. 

It is a book about the history of England, beginning in 55 BC with Julius Caesar and continuing through the 8th century. It is the first account written about Anglo-Saxon England. The book contains geographical descriptions, and overviews of political events, as well as the outcomes of battles and invasions, all woven into a coherent narrative. However, the main reason Bede wrote this book was to describe the Christian Church in England, its founding and subsequent growth. When the writing was completed, Bede said, “With God’s help, I, Bede … have assembled these facts about the history of the Church in Britain … so far as I have been able to ascertain them from ancient writings, from the tradition of our forebears, and from my own personal knowledge.” Scholars in the following centuries have been gratified for his commitment to researching and writing this tome on England.

Students of both secular and religious history are indebted to Bede for his determination to accurately record much of the information known to man in the 8th century. His hundreds of books provide a window into understanding a period in history and the people of that time. Bede certainly earned the title “Venerable.” (659)