Introduction
A Historian is a person who writes on history after studying it. The person does this by writing compiling and narrating the History. Their concerns are in continuous events of the past, the research on this event relating to people, compile about them and then record. Historian started long ago and is not the matter of present.
Bede as a Historian has played major work in History by researching, studying compiling, and recording the History at that time.
Thesis
Bede was born in 672 AD in Jarrow, Northumbria, England, and died on 25th May 735 AD in Jarrow, Northumbria England with unspecified death. He was a Roman Catholic and a white.
Venerable Bede will always be remembered in generations to come because of the great works he did in the middle ages as a Scholar. He was a man who was devoted to what he meant to do. The brains he had showed that he was intelligent and he used this to open people’s minds about the creator and the universe. From the study, Bede is focused as a great historian evidenced by the theological writing about saints lives, narrated about the history of the British people, and he was considered to be an English historian as he participated in translating the scripture into Anglos axon or old English and finally, Bede is considered to be a great scientist in history for he worked on a calendar and opened eyes of many about the universe, seasons, year and different occasions occurring on the earth.
Venerable Bede was a great scholar as he spent a lot of time reading, writing, and researching different aspects of the earth. He was also known for his devotion to his God and his concern for others to transform their lives. He wrote hymns verses in the scripture, letters, worked on grammar, astronomy, and chronology.
Everything he wrote is shown with the special outlined character and temper telling that he was humble, gentle and he was sober. He showed that he was a devoted Christian and as a great historian, Bede participated in various aspects as mentioned below;
English History
Bede will be remembered for his great participation in English history. He wrote a book called A History of English Church and People. The book is unique because it contains material not found in other sources. The book shows the Anglo Saxon in England and the book explains everything about Anglos axon and that’s why he was called the father of English history.
Bede gathered information from ancient written documents, a tradition practiced bypassed generations, and also from his knowledge. The book shows that it was well researched, organized and it is presented in a truthful, objective style. He acknowledges Augustine of Canterbury, St. Cuthbert, Saints, and many great scholars of the early English church.
Bede was a great prolific author as he wrote his thoughts on different topics. He was an artist with the instinct of proportion; he had a sense of picturesque a unique sense of the pathetic. Venerable Bede had also a style modeled on that of his favorable author called Gregory. He showed in his writing that he was a unique conscientiousness gathering the information from the best sources.
He based his information on facts and not on rumors and this made his work taken seriously and made many scholars get information from his book.
Bede had a version of the tongue which was unusual in his poetic writings and it was one of the first to be printed, though there were some errors in spelling which he made. One of the people who inspired Bede was Caedmon who had unique poetic songs, this made Bede start writing poems and it inspired him in his work as English Historian.
Bede as a Devoted Christian
Venerable Bede is seen as one of the honored church historians. He played a major role in spreading Christianity. He did this through his major role in translating some books in the bible. Anglo-Saxon is an old English language that is a forerunner of the present English used nowadays. Bede used Anglo-Saxon to translate the scriptures because he was educated and had knowledge of the language. According to the pupils he was educated with, they saw him as a greater learner and someone who was fully dedicated to God and that’s why they called him venerable meaning great learning and dedication to God.
Bede is well known for his translation of the Gospel of John. After completing the work, Wilbert a young scribe raised him in a position where he faced the holy place where he had normally prayed facing, and then he praised his creator, prayed, and then breathed his last breath.
Bede was a devoted Christian because of the way he was brought up. At the age of seven years, he was superior in his classwork in Monastery. He lived in a monastery at Abort Benedict Biscop of Wear mouth Abbey in England, the local monastery elder was given the boy because of trust the parents of Bede had in him, and also there was a practice in that age where the parents who were not able to support all of their children were handed over to the local monastery hoping that they will help these children to secure a place in the church. This practice was given only to intelligent children.
He was then educated under Abbot Ceolfrid who lived in a monastery in Jarrow the place which was five miles from Wearmouth. Bede grew up doing other activities in life but was devoted to studying, teaching, and writing especially scripture reading. At the age of 19yrs, he was chosen as a Deacon in the church. He worked for eleven years afterward he was promoted to be a priest (at the age of 30).
During his priesthood, he was supported by Abbot Biscop. Bede loved books and he showed his scholarship power by reading careful writing. This is evidenced by some of his books brought to Jarrow and Wearmouth by Abbot Biscop from Rome, Canterbury, and Lindisfarne.
Venerable Bede had some interest in some of the authors who acted as his role model; these authors were Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great. These authors made Bede love the books so much and one of his favorite books was the Bible. He read the Bible aloud, memorized some of the chapters and verses in it, and made commentaries on these passages which were written in Old Latin, Vulgate, and Greek. For example, he wrote commentaries on the book of Acts.
These commentaries were later published by Cistercian publications in 1989. The power he had of education enabled him to read the Bible in Latin and Greek. He was also more concerned about his community language and his passion to help others know about Christ moved him a lot. The letter he wrote to Bishop Egbert, for example, who was the Archbishop of York was all about the concern of people with another tongue, that is, people who spoke another language. He asked the Archbishop if these people understood what he taught them. He then started translating the Gospel of John, the book in the Holy Bible which he finished writing on his deathbed.
Apart from translating the book of John and writing the commentaries, venerable Bede played a major role in Christian history by writing biographies about the life of Aborts and a book on martyrs.
Venerable Bede has also written about the lives of others. He wrote about Abort and the life of Cuthbert. In the history of Abort who lived in Wearmouth and Jarrow and the life of Cuthbert. He shows that their life was based on the earlier works which are still there. He wrote the history of Abort basing on facts and made far additional out of his findings. The prose life of Cuthbert, on the other hand, Bede didn’t base on the facts, or in other words, he didn’t extract original information.
The letter which Bede wrote to Egbert also played a role as a historian, though the letter itself is not historical in form, the information contained in the letter was valuable for the state of the Northumbria church. It is also the latest works he did as he died six months later after writing this letter.
The Caedmon Story
Bede wrote about the story of Caedmon of Whitby, a monastery that was glorified and honored because of his divine gift. Caedmon made songs basing on religion and virtue. He acquired knowledge from a scholar who taught him, he listened and then composed a song in a poetic language which attracted many and inspired them. Through his songs, many revived spiritually and made many focus on the heavenly world. Some of the people copied his lifestyle and started composing these poetic songs though they didn’t perform like him because he didn’t learn these songs from men but the aid was divinely from his creator. For these reasons, Caedmon didn’t sing lying or idle songs, but he sang the piety songs and those songs that God could instruct him to sing.
According to the venerable Bede writings, Caedmon lived a worldly life, and he didn’t compose or sing any song until when he was old. At the ceremonies or drinking gatherings, everyone was supposed to sing a song with a harp, when Caedmon saw that his turn was nearing he rose and went to his house to avoid the shame he will encounter as a poor singer, he continued with this habit until one day when he fell asleep at an Animal yard after escaping the occasion. An angel appeared to him in a dream where he instructed him to sing a song of praise to his creator of the universe. This was a turning point in Caedmon’s life, since that time, Caedmon began to sing poetic songs which lifted many peoples’ spirits. Caedmon was then taken to church to help with some functions in the church.
Looking at this story, it is Caedmon who inspired Bede in some ways. Caedmon’s poetic songs inspired Bede in his English works. Bede wrote part of Caedmon’s poetic song as shown below;-
George, F. (1936). The Venerable Bede, London, Oxford University Press, pp.62-98.
”Wow let me praise the keeper of heavens kingdom,
the might of the creator and his thought,
the work of the father of glory,
how each of wonders the external lord established,
in the beginning, he first created,
for the sons of men,
heaven as a roof, the holy creator,
then middle -earth the keeper of mankind, the lord,
afterwards made the earth for men, the almighty lord”.
Only nine of Caedmon’s work remains but according to the historian (Bede), he says that Caedmon sang major songs occurring in the bible. The songs were important because they taught people about the bible in the Angola Saxon language. Caedmon’s songs are also some of the factors which inspired the venerable Bede to translate the scripture. This is because Bede had a unique way of bringing the scriptures to their contemporaries.
The Calendar- Part of Historian Work
In 725, Bede the historian came up with a plan of a calendar. He reckoned the time by writing a book called reckoning of time. This book was written by venerable Bede to give other people knowledge with a theoretical outline. The book was intended to increase the learning with the understanding of computation and the calendar at large.
The text in the book starts with an initial ”d” in form of red, green, blue, yellow, and purple. The calendar is a nineteen-year cycle. It includes the chronicle entry for 1001. The calendar as written in the book by Bede has a seated representation of the author who is identified by the inscription ”S.BEDA-P” on the calendar we have the opening word, ”DE NATURA RERUM ET RATIONE TEMPORUM——-”.
This preface appears on the scroll he holds. The scrolls picture out the authoritative sign of antiquity and also provide enough space for the text than a volume of books would have done.
The text outlines the days, weeks and months afterward it explains the lunar and the seasons. It also talks about the solar movement and the entire year. In the book Bede discusses the variation in the shadow length which is seen by people on the face of the earth at different times of the year, he says that this happens because of the globular shape the earth has. He writes that the three dimensions of the earth have the explanation for these events. Bede tried to open the mind of the people about the shape of the earth; he explained that the earth was spherical not flat as the people thought at that time.
In the book, Bede played a major history by writing about the six ages of the world, a discussion that ends up with eternity which he says to be the great unit of time, the eighth age. The sixth age of the world is when people lived and will live on the earth at different levels but the eighth age is when people will live in a different world either in heaven or in hell. He then finished his work in sublime devotion which led to the greatest understanding of the bible.
Also in his manuscript is a letter, an epistle written to withdraw talking about the vernal equinox which was written in 725 and 731. he explains about the sun which is circular and how it moves around in the heavenly system, titling (23 1/2)0 to the north and (23 1/2)0 to the south of the equator and passing this point twice yearly, at this time everyone on the earth observes the sun because it is at the midpoint. At this point, the hours of daylight are the same as that of the night.
On the calendar, we can see that he was the first to propose a calendar that renown’s the years backward and forward from the birth of Christ. He borrowed the idea from Dionysus exiguous, a Roman monk who lived 6th century and a scholar. Bede divided history into two eras basing on the birth of Christ, the two eras were B.C (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini). the B.C era was the years back before the birth of Christ and the years were counted backward while the AD era years are counted forward. Basing on these facts, Bede tried to show that Christianity is a supreme organizational force because he did not base these ideas on the king’s reign or lunar cycles but based on Christ. The points about Bede’s calendar showing seasons opens our mind that he was a great scientist in history, though he may have not explained everything about the solar system due to limited knowledge he had, he gave the scientist a point to focus on where they (scientist) could start their work of research about the stars and planets.
Ecclesiastical History
Venerable Bede contributed much in writing the history of England people. The book which was called ”Historia Eccleastica Gentis Anglorum” which contains four hundred pages was very important in the historical research of the history of the English people. He wrote about the political party of Caesar to the political situation in 731, the book writes the history before Augustine, a mission at Canterbury. He compiles his work from the earlier scholars like Orosius, Gildas, Prosper, and the leadership of pope Gregory 1. In the book he gives his reference sources in documentary form or oral term, he wrote the book using similar work that of Anno Domini era this influenced many Western Europe to start using this era. Another uniqueness of the book is that Bede never used abbreviations as seen in current writers but he used full names in his writings.
Conclusion
Bede is seen as a historian who had a focused mind, he had goals to score from the time he was a child up to the time of this death. Most of the goals he set were accomplished before his death while other goals were completed by other scholars who admired his lifestyle.
In the first place, he was dedicated to learn, write and teach the goal he accomplished because in history he is called ENGLISH SPEAKING DOCTOR.
His idea of AD and BC is being used to date. Bede gave some hints about the past years and the future life to come. In other words, he set a church calendar that is being used to date. The terms AD and B.C have been used in day-to-day history writings and this gives him credit for this goal.
Looking in the church, Bede played a major role in honoring Mary the mother of Jesus, the son of God. The Catholic Church has based this idea of Bede to honor mother, Mary, as she is called, in the present church and thus accomplishing his ideas.
Bede also wanted to unite people. His work of translating the bible helped people to understand more about God. Reading his translation removed hatred between the people because he focused his God to be love. Through his spiritual, doctrinal, and cultural unity, he removed violence and brought in the theme of oneness to God. His book also contained the sacred truth, the small matters people ignore like water influenced many people when he wrote about the power of water, he said that water was sacred as it comes from above which is already blessed by God.
Venerable Bede has also influenced many people; for example, the title venerable began to be applied after his death. Many wanted to be called by his name as an example set by him. He has also influenced many in terms of his writings; he has made many people interested in poetry copy his style of presentation of their poems.
He has also an influence in the church, this is seen when Pope Leo x111 decreed venerable feast to be celebrated each year on 27 may although the date has been moved to 25 May.
On the other hand, Bede has influenced many historians; he has been awarded as a doctor of Ecclesiastes. He was the most learned man at that time in Britain or possibly the whole world. Historians have copied his style of writings and recording of references whenever they write their articles. He also encouraged those who copied and somehow edited his writing works to preserve his references though many have failed to follow.
Venerable Bede as everyone is had some limitations in his works, as no one is perfect. One of his limitations was his bias on other religions, Bede based his work on Christianity, example the Torrin of his calendar was based on the birth of Christ. The term BC (before Christ) and AD gives the evidence.
Also, his writings were only on Christian history example the ecclesiastical history of the English people has based on Christianity in England. The other thing was that his translation of parts of the bible was only an advantage to the Christian religion but, we are not told if he ever participated in translating other religions books like that of Muslims. Despite these limitations, Bede counted to be a great historian.
References
Bede, B. (1992).Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of English People. London, Oxford University Press, pp.16-112.
Bede (2007).The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. London, Lighting Source Inc, pp. 56-84.
George, B. (1987). Bede the Venerable. Newcastle, Twayne, pp. 23-45.
George, F. (1936). The Venerable Bede, London, Oxford University Press, pp.62-98.
Higham J, (2006). (Re-) reading Bede. London, Routledge, pp. 203-250.
Joseph. H (1984), Outline of Christian History, London, Roberts Brothers, pp. 56-76.
Max. L, Wolfram L, Henry, H (1943).A Hand-list of Bede Manuscripts, New York, Cornell University Press, pp. 120-143.
Mayo, W. (1992). Orations from Homer to William McKinley, London, Routledge, pp. 1230-1245.
Raymond, J.(1989).The B Text of the Old English Bede. New York, the Macmillan Company, pp.455- 476.
Thomas, D. (1992), A Hand-list of Bede Manuscripts: His Life and Writings. New York, the Macmillan Company, pp.103-110.
Titus, Z. (1986). A Hand-list of Bede Manuscripts. London, Cambridge University Press, pp. 23-40.
Thomas. G (1947). The History of the Church of Christ. London, Oxford University Press, pp. 434-453.
William, D. (1994). Miracle and the Venerable Bede; Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies. New York, McGraw-Hill pp. 65-78.