A History of the English Church and People

by Bede (Venerable Baeda)
Nonfiction, 338pp.


Bede was born in AD 673 a Northumbrian and died May 25 AD 735. He served his life as a Historian Monk writing numerous pamphlets and books on scriptural subjects as well as history of the early Catholic Church in England. He is thought to be an accurate historian by the historians who study his and other writings of the time. While it is obvious that the miracles he describes are from hearsay or popular belief, he does his best to accurately tell of these miracles and the stories surrounding them. It is a time when people believed in the hand of God in their everyday lives and his writings reflect those attitudes.




The translation I read was very readable and enjoyable. I dove right in with great interest and it only began to be monotonous for me towards the end. There were so many kings who seemed to be following the same patterns throughout the book and keeping them and their ancestral lines straight became a little tedious, mostly because it didn't hold a lot of meaning for me personally. If one is studying the period then it's a great historical read, but it's not exactly a book to recommend for reading pleasure.

This book is divided into 5 books or periods of history.
1. A Geographical survey drawn from other writers and the Roman Occupation until the death of Gregory the Great.
2. From the death of Gregory the Great until the death of King Edwin; overthrow of Northumbria by pagan chieftan Penda.
3. Church's struggle against heathenism in the North; church going to Mercians & East Saxons.
4. The appointment of Theodore the Greek to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, his reform and reorganization of the church; lives of Cuthbert and Wilfrid and church progress in the SE provinces.
5. From Bishop John of Beverley until the book was finished in AD 731.

~ Understanding who the initial groups of people on the island of Britain was the first thing I gained from reading this book. The tribes and peoples inhabiting Britain would only unite into larger groups much later in history, and only because of the unifying force of Christianity, claims Bede. I had never heard before the difference between the groups, their origins and why there are Scotch-Irish and also Scottish peoples. I'd never known who the Picts were.

~ Roman leadership and occupation of parts of Britain and their bringing of Christianity to the isles is laid out as well as the end of Roman occupation in Britain.

~Pope Gregory's role in bringing Christianity to Britain and his sending Augustine to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury. (I had heard the story of his seeing the Angle slaves in the market and remarking of their fairness and also wanting to know if they've received Christianity. He vowed to himself that he would bring them Christianity and later did so when he became Pope.) Pope Gregory the Great was really remarkable to me and I loved reading his letters in the book.

~ Some of the kings that were remarkable to me were King Ethelbert of Kent in 597 AD, King Ethelfrid of the Northumbrians in 603 AD, King Edwin of the Northumbrians in 625 AD, King Oswald The Christian in 635 AD.

~ There is a recurring theme of kings and queens, or their near relations, leaving their kingdoms and stations to live out pious lives of monks or sisters in monasteries. (This wasn't just happening in England, of course, but was a tool of protection and a motivation for many Emperor of Rome's relations and other important people in the empire.)

~ Monastic life is given highest admiration and people who adopt the monastic life of extreme discipline, enact penances on themselves, fast often, or live as hermits or in exhile on lonely islands are highly praised. People could expect miracles to take place around the bones of these most pious individuals. (even today) I think it's describing how cathedrals and churches first started to collect relics and why people started taking pilgrimages.

~ How Christianity came to the Picts, Mercians, and Scots is described as well as the initial kings who adopted Christianity of the Saxons, Angles, English, Mercians, and Northumbrians. Some kings adopted Christianity only to have their successors return to paganism and then repent and adopt Christianity again when paganism didn't do them any good.

~ There is a recurring debate over the worship of Easter. Scots and Picts are described as not being in accordance with the Church because they do not worship Easter at the correct date. This is talked about again and again, arguments are reported, and full description of why the church worships Easter as it does is given. (over and over)

~ In general, I learned that during this time period the Northumbrians were initially the greatest kingdom, the Britons were wimpy and mild, the Angles were strong and good looking but not loyal allies, the Mercians were bloodthirsty and slaughtered a ton of people, particularly the Britons and Northumbrians. After the Romans eventually crushed Boadicea and her people, the Celts weren't talked about. I still don't understand what happened to the Celts or I've forgotten.

~ The miracles in this book are numerous, though not as numerous as the kings. I grappled with my belief in their reality until I imagined how Christ works according to people's faith. Though there was clearly some idol worship and ignorance, the people had tremendous faith in God's power, particularly His ability to heal. I cannot doubt that God loved these poor people and healed them, likely in many of the accounts that Bede talked of.

~ There were some awesome names in this book: Swidhelm of Sexbald; Ethelberga, daughter of Ethelbert; Eadbald, Sabert, Sigburt, and Earpwald; Wynfrid and Sexwulf.