|
There
are, it has been estimated, in England and on the Continent, in all about 140
manuscripts of the "Ecclesiastical History." Of these, four date from
the eighth century: the Moore MS. (Cambridge), so called, because, after being
sold by auction in the reign of William III, it came into the possession of
Bishop Moore, who bequeathed it to the University of Cambridge; Cotton,
Tiberius A, xiv; Cotton, Tiberius C, ii; and the Namur MS. A detailed account
of these, as well as of a great number of other manuscripts, will be found in
Mr. Plummer’s Introduction to his edition of Bede’s Historical Works. He has
been the first to collate the four oldest MSS., besides examining numerous
others and collating them in certain passages. He has pointed out that two of
the MSS. dating from the eighth century (the century in which Bede died), the
Moore MS. and Cotton, Tiberius A, xiv, point to a common original which cannot
be far removed from Bede’s autograph. We are thus brought very near to our
author, and may have more than in most cases the assurance that we have
before us what he actually meant to say.
The
earliest editions were printed on the Continent; the "editio
princeps" is believed to date from 1475. A number of editions followed in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the first in England was published by
Abraham Whelock at Cambridge in 1643-4. Smith’s edition in 1722 marked a new
era in the history of the book. It was the first critical edition, the text
being based on the Moore MS. collated with three others, of which two were
eighth century MSS.; and succeeding editors, Stevenson (1841), Giles (1842),
Hussey (1846), the editor in the "Monumenta Historica Britannica"
(1848), Moberly (1869), Holder (1882), base their work mainly on Smith’s. Mr.
Mayor and Mr. Lumby together edited Books III and IV with excellent notes in
1878. Their text "reproduces exactly the Moore MS." which they
collated with some other Cambridge MSS. (cf. Mayor and Lumby, Excursus II). In
1896 the Rev. C. Plummer published his edition of Bede’s Historical Works, the
first critical edition since Smith’s, and "the very first which exhibits
in an apparatus criticus the various readings of the MSS. on which the
text is based." For the student of Bede this admirable book is of the
highest value, and the labours of all succeeding editors are made comparatively
light. Besides the most minute and accurate work on the text, it contains a
copious and interesting commentary and the fullest references to the various
sources upon which the editor has drawn.
The first
translation of the "Ecclesiastical History" is the Anglo-Saxon
version, executed either by Alfred himself or under his immediate supervision.
Of this version Dr. Hodgkin says: "As this book had become a kind of
classic among churchmen, Alfred allowed himself here less liberty than in some
of his other translations. Some letters, epitaphs, and similar documents are
omitted, and there is an almost complete erasure of the chapters relating to
the wearisome Paschal controversy. In other respects the king’s translation
seems to be a fairly accurate reproduction of the original work." Mr.
Plummer, however, finds it "very rarely available for the settlement of
minute differences of reading."
The first
modern English translation is Thomas Stapleton’s (1565), published at Antwerp.
It is a controversial work, intended to point out to Queen Elizabeth "in
how many and weighty pointes the pretended refourmers of the Church . . . have
departed from the patern of that sounde and Catholike faith planted first among
Englishmen by holy S. Augustine, our Apostle, and his vertuous company,
described truly and sincerely by Venerable Bede, so called in all Christendom
for his passing vertues and rare lerning, the Author of this History." To
save Elizabeth’s time "in espying out the particulars," the
translator has "gathered out of the whole History a number of diversities
between the pretended religion of Protestants and the primitive faith of the
English Church." If charm and appropriateness of style were the only
qualities to be aimed at in a translation, we might well content ourselves with
this rendering, which fills with despair the translator of to-day, debarred by
his date from writing Elizabethan English.
The work
was again translated by John Stevens (1723), and a third time (with some
omissions) by W. Hurst in 1814. In 1840 Dr. Giles published a new edition of
Stevens’s translation with certain alterations; and a second edition of the
same volume was published in 1842, and incorporated in the collected works of
Bede, edited by Dr. Giles. In 1870 a literal translation by the Rev. L. Gidley
was published. The present volume is a revision of the translation of Dr.
Giles.
A brief
analysis of the work may be of some use to the student in keeping distinct the
different threads of the narrative, as owing to the variety of subjects
introduced, and the want of strict chronological order, it is difficult to
grasp the sequence of events as a coherent whole.
The
sources from which Bede draws his material are briefly indicated in the
dedication to King Ceolwulf which forms the Preface, and in it he acknowledges
his obligations to the friends and correspondents who have helped and
encouraged him. For the greater part of Book I (cc. 1-22), which forms the
introduction to his real subject, he depends on earlier authors. Here he does
not specify his sources, but indicates them generally as priorum scripta. These
authors are mainly Pliny, Solinus, Orosius, Eutropius, and the British
historian Gildas. In the story of Germanus and Lupus he follows closely the
Life of Germanus by Constantius of Lyons. Prosper of Aquitaine also supplies
him with some materials. When he comes to his main subject, the History of the
English Church, he appears to rely but little upon books. Only a very few are
referred to here and there, e.g., The Life of St. Fursa, The Life of St.
Ethelburg, Adamnan’s work on the Holy Places, and the Anonymous Life of St.
Cuthbert. That some form of annalistic records existed before his time, and
that these were consulted by him, we may infer from some of his chronological
references (cf. iii, I, 9). Local information with regard to provinces other
than Northumbria he obtains from his correspondents in various parts of
England, and these are expressly mentioned in the Preface.
For the
history of the Roman mission and of Kent generally, as well as some particulars
with regard to the conversion of other provinces, his chief source is the
Church of Canterbury, which apparently possessed, besides oral tradition,
written documents relating to the first beginnings of the Church. Moreover,
Nothelm, who was the bearer of much important material, had been to Rome and
had permission to search the papal archives. But it is in dealing with the
history of Northumbria, as is natural, that Bede’s information is most varied
and copious. Much of it is apparently obtained directly from eye-witnesses of
the events, much would doubtless be preserved in the records of the Church of
Lindisfarne, to which he had access, perhaps also in his own monastery. We know
that the monasteries kept calendars in which the death-days of saints and
others were entered, and other records of similar nature (cf. iv, 14), and that
these were used as materials for history.
Passing
to the history itself, we may trace a division of subjects or periods roughly
analogous to the division into books. Book I contains the long introduction,
the sending of the Roman mission, and the foundation of the Church; Books II
and III, the period of missionary activity and the establishment of
Christianity throughout the land. Book IV may be said to describe the period of
organization. In Book V the English Church itself becomes a missionary centre,
planting the faith in Germany, and. drawing the Celtic Churches into conformity
with Rome.
BOOK I.— In Book I, cc.
1-22, Bede sketches the early history of Britain, describing the country and
giving some account of the various races by whom it was inhabited. The story of
the Roman occupation is narrated at some length, the invasions of the Picts and
Scots and consequent miseries of the Britons, their appeals for help to the
Romans, the final departure of their protectors, and the coming of the ,Saxons
are described. We have some shadowy outlines of British Church History in the
legendary account of the conversion of King Lucius, in the story of St. Alban,
affording evidence of a great persecution of Christians during the Roman
occupation, in the allusions to the Arian and Pelagian heresies, and in the
mission of Germanus and Lupus. A brief allusion to the mission of Palladius is
all that we hear of the Irish Church at this period.
These
chapters are introductory to the main subject, the History of the English
Church, which begins in Chapter 23 with the mission of St. Augustine in 597 AD.
The reception of the Christian faith in the kingdom of Kent and the foundation
of a national Church occupy the remaining chapters of the book. Various letters
of Pope Gregory relating to the mission and his answers to the questions of
Augustine are given at length ;and the Book concludes with a piece of
Northumbrian history, Ethelfrid’s conquests of the Britons and the defeat of Aedan,
king of the Dalriadic Scots, at Degsastan in 603 A.D.
BOOK
II.—
Book II opens with a biographical sketch of Gregory the Great, the founder of
the Mission. This is followed by an account of Augustine’s negotiations with
the leaders of the British Church with regard to the Paschal question and some
other matters, his failure to win them over (a failure apparently largely due
to his own want of tact in dealing with the susceptible Celtic temperament),
his alleged prophecy of disaster and its fulfilment some time after at the
battle of Chester. Then we have the consecration of Mellitus to London, as
Bishop of the East Saxons, and Justus to Rochester (604 A.D.); the
evangelization of the East Saxons by Mellitus; the death of Augustine and
succession of Laurentius as Archbishop (no date is given; it may have been in
605); fresh attempts at union with the Celtic Churches, in which again we can
perceive a failure of courtesy on the one side met by an obstinate pride on the
other. The death of Ethelbert in Kent (616 A.D.) and that of Sabert in Essex,
soon after, lead to a pagan reaction in both provinces; Mellitus apd Justus
take refuge on the Continent; Laurentius, intending to follow them, is stopped
by a vision which leads to the conversion of King Eadbald and the recovery of
Kent for Christianity. Essex, however, continues to be pagan. On the death of
Laurentius (619 A.D.), Mellitus succeeds to Canterbury and is himself succeeded
by Justus (in 624). In Chapter 9 we enter upon a new development of the highest
importance in the work of the mission. The marriage of Edwin, king of
Northumbria, and the Kentish princess, Ethelberg, brings about the conversion
of Northumbria through the preaching of Paulinus. The story is told in detail.
Letters from Pope Boniface to Edwin and his consort are quoted at length,
Edwin’s early history with its bearing on the great crisis of his life is
related; finally we have the decisive debate in the Witenagemot at Goodmanham
and the baptism of the king at Easter, 627 A.D. Through the influence of Edwin
on Earpwald, king of East Anglia, that province is next converted, but on the
death of Earpwald the people lapse into paganism for three years, till
Christianity is finally established by the labours of Bishop Felix, under the
enlightened King Sigbert, who had himself been drawn to the faith in Gaul.
Meanwhile,
peace and prosperity reign in Northumbria, and Paulinus extends his preaching
to Lindsey. He receives the pall from Pope Honorius, in accordance with the
original intention of Gregory that the Bishop of York should rank as a
metropolitan. At Canterbury, Justus is succeeded by Archbishop Honorius.
Parenthetically we have extracts from letters, probably of the year 640 A.D.,
addressed by the Roman see to the Irish clergy on the Paschal question and the
Pelagian heresy.
In
Chapter 20 we have a dramatic climax to the book in the overthrow and death of
Edwin at the battle of Hatfield in 633 A.D.; the devastation of Northumbria by
the British king, Caedwalla, and Penda of Mercia; and the flight of Paulinus,
taking with him Ethelberg and Eanfled to Kent, where he ends his life in charge
of the Church of Rochester. His work in Northumbria seems for the time, at
least, wholly overthrown. Only James the Deacon remains heroically at his post
to keep alive the smouldering embers of the faith.
BOOK
III.—Book
III opens with the story of the apostasy of the Northumbrian kings and the
miseries of the "Hateful Year," terminated by the victory of Oswald
at Heavenfield in 634 A.D. Christianity is brought again to Northumbria (635
A.D.) by the Celtic Mission, sent from lona at the request of Oswald, who nobly
cooperates with Aidan in the work of evangelization. Aidan fixes his see at
Lindisfarne. The mention of lona leads to a short account of the mission of St.
Columba to the Northern Picts in 565 A.D., and incidentally of St.
Ninian’s mission to the Southern Picts "long before the grant of Iona to
St. Columba, and its constitution, the character of its monks and their error
with regard to Easter. The characters of Aidan and Oswald are described; and
the union of Deira and Bernicia under Oswald is briefly mentioned.
In
Chapter 7 we pass to a fresh missionary enterprise. Birinus, sent to Britain by
Pope Honorius, converts the West Saxons. Their king, Cynegils, is baptized, and
a see is established at Dorchester, in Oxfordshire. Under Coinwalch, the
successor of Cynegils, the province passes through various vicissitudes,
political and ecclesiastical, and finally the West Saxon see is fixed at
Winchester.
In Kent,
Earconbert succeeds Eadbald in 640 A.D., and takes vigorous measures for the
suppression of idolatry. His daughter, Earcongota, and many other high-born
English ladies enter the religious life in Gaul, for convents are still scarce
in England.
In
Chapter 9, reverting to the history of Northumbria, Bede tells us of the death
of Oswald at Maserfelth in 642, and relates at length various miracles wrought
by his relics. Oswald is succeeded by Oswy in Bernicia and in Deira by Oswin.
The latter is treacherously murdered by Oswy; his character is described. The
death of Aidan (in 651) immediately follows that of his beloved king; Aidan’s
miracles are related, and a warm tribute is paid to his character, in spite of
the inevitable error with regard to Easter, which is severely condemned.
In
Chapter 18, passing again to East Anglian history, we hear of King Sigbert’s
services to education, and of his retirement to a monastery from which he was
forcibly drawn to fall in battle against the Mercians. (The chronology is here
very vague.) A vision of the Irish St. Fursa, who founded the monastery of
Cnobheresburg in East Anglia is told in detail. Changes in the episcopate in
East Anglia and elsewhere are mentioned. Deusdedit succeeds Honorius as Archbishop
of Canterbury in 654.
Again, a
Northumbrian prince gives a fresh impulse to the spread of Christianity. In 653
the Middle Angles (who occupied a part of Mercia) are converted, their
prince, Peada, being persuaded chiefly by his brother-in-law, Alchfrid, a son
of Oswy. Four priests are sent to them to preach and baptize, Cedd, Adda,
Betti, and Diuma, and Diuma becomes bishop of the Middle Angles and Mercians.
Similarly, at this time, King Sigbert of Essex listens to the exhortations of
his friend, King Oswy, and, at the preaching of Cedd, the East Saxons receive
the faith a second time. Cedd becomes their bishop. Sigbert’s tragic death is
related. His successor, Suidhelm, receives baptism at the hands of Cedd. The
foundation of Lastingham by Ethelwald of Deira and its consecration by Cedd are
described. Cedd dies of the plague of 664.
Meanwhile,
important political changes have taken place in the north: the defeat and death
of Penda at the Winwaed in 655 are followed by Oswy’s rule, which established
Christianity in Mercia, in spite of a successful rebellion after three years,
when the Mercians threw off the yoke of Northumbria and set up Penda’s son,
Wuifhere, as their king.
In
Chapter 25 we come to the Synod of Whitby (664 A.D.), which settled the
Easter question for the English Church. Wilfrid comes to the front as a
champion of the Catholic rules. The opposing party either retire or conform.
The self-denial and devotion of the Celtic missionaries are highly praised, and
some account of the life led by English students in Ireland follows, with the
story of the self-dedication of Egbert, who is destined to play a prominent
part afterwards in the history of the Church.
The
consecration of both Wilfrid and Ceadda (664 A.D.), as bishops of Northumbria
leads to complications in the episcopate. An important step towards the unity
of the English nation in ecclesiastical matters is taken when Wighard is sent
to Rome by the kings Oswy and Egbert, acting in concert, to be consecrated as
Archbishop of Canterbury (667 A.D.). Wighard dies there, and Pope Vitalian
undertakes to find an archbishop for the English Church.
The book
ends with a fresh apostasy in Essex during the miseries of the great plague of
664. Mercia, so lately itself evangelized, becomes a new missionary centre,
King Wulfhere sending Bishop Jaruman to recall the East Saxons to the faith.
BOOK
IV.—In
all but one of the kingdoms of England Christianity is now, at least in name,
established, and the Church settles down to the work of organization. The man
for this task is found in Theodore of Tarsus, consecrated Archbishop of the
English in 668. He arrives at Canterbury in 669. We hear at once of the
vigorous impulse given by him and Abbot Hadrian to the various departments of
education there. Finding an irregularity in Ceadda’s orders, he completes his
ordination and makes him Bishop of the Mercians (probably in 669), with his see
at Lichfield. Ceadda’s death (672 A.D.), his character, and the miracles and
visions connected with him are described. Parenthetically we get an account of
Colman’s activity in Ireland after his retirement, in consequence of the
decision at Whitby. The most important political events at this time are the
death of Oswy and succession of Egfrid in Northumbria in 670 or 671, and the
death of Egbert and succession. of Hlothere in Kent in 673.
In the
same year the Council of Hertford, the first English provincial council, is
held, and marks the strength and independence of the Church. Theodore proceeds
with his reforms in the episcopate. Various events of ecclesiastical importance
follow; the East Anglian diocese is divided about this time, and other changes
are effected.
Essex, so
long prone to lapses into paganism, becomes at this time a centre of religious
life under its Bishop Earconwald and its king Sebbi. Earconwald, whose holiness
is attested by many miraculous circumstances, was the founder of the
monasteries of Chertsey and Barking, the latter of which was ruled by his
sister, the saintly Ethelburg. Various miracles are related in connection with
her and her monastery. The king of the East Saxons, Sebbi, is a man of unusual
piety who resigns his kingdom and receives the tonsure.
After a
brief allusion to West Saxon history, the devastation of Kent by Ethelred of
Mercia in 676, and certain changes in the episcopate, we come to an important
step in the organization of the Church taken by Theodore. In pursuance of his
policy of increasing the number of bishops, he subdivides the great
Northumbrian diocese. Wilfrid is expelled (678 AD.). From these events we pass
summarily to the evangelization of the South Saxons by Wilfrid, who extends his
labours to the Isle of Wight, and thus the last of the English provinces is won
for the faith.
In the
Council of Hatfield (68o A.D.) the English Church asserts its orthodoxy and
unites with the continental Churches in repudiating the heresy of the
Monothelites. Turning to Northumbrian history, we have the story of Egfrid’s
queen, Ethelthryth, and a hymn composed in her honour by Bede. The war between
Mercia and Northumbria in 679 is ended by the mediation of Theodore, and a
miracle in connection with the battle of the Trent is related.
The
remainder of the book is occupied mainly with Northumbrian history, the life
and death of Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, the story of the poet Caedmon, the
destruction of Coldingham, prophesied by the monk Adamnan, Egfrid’s invasion of
Ireland (684 A.D.) and of the country of the Picts (685 A.D.), his defeat and
death in that year, the decline of Northumbria, the flight of Bishop Trumwine
from Abercorn, and the succession of Aldfrid to the kingdom. The death of
Hlothere of Kent (685 A.D.) is followed by anarchy in that province, till
Wictred succeeds and restores peace.
In
Chapters 27-32 we have an account of the life of St. Cuthbert and stories of
the miracles wrought by his relics.
Book V.—Book V opens
with the story of the holy Ethelwald, who succeeded Cuthbert as anchorite at
Fame, and a miracle wrought through his intercession. This is followed (cc.
2-6) by an account of John of Beverley, Bishop of Hexham, and the miracles
attributed to him. In Chapter 7 we have a piece of West Saxon history:
Caedwalla, King of Wessex, after a life of war and bloodshed, goes to Rome to
receive baptism there, and dies immediately after his admission into the Church
(689 A.D.). He is succeeded by Ini, who in 725 likewise ended his days at Rome.
In 690
Theodore dies, after an episcopate of twenty-two years. Bertwald succeeds him
at Canterbury in 693.
At this
time Englishmen begin to extend their missionary enterprise abroad. Various
missions are undertaken by men who have lived long in Ireland and caught the
Celtic zeal for the work of evangelization. The story is told of the attempted
mission of Egbert to Germany and the unsuccessful venture of Witbert. Wilbrord
(in 690) and others plant the faith among the German tribes.
The
vision of Drytheim is inserted here, probably on chronological grounds
("his temporibus"), and other visions of the future world follow.
Apparently
about the same time a change is effected in the attitude of the greater part of
the Celtic Church towards the Paschal question. The Northern Irish are
converted to the Roman usages by Adamnan, Abbot of lona, whose book on the
"Holy Places" is here described.
The death
of Aldfrid and succession of Osred in Northumbria in 705 are the next events
narrated.
About
this time the division of the West Saxon diocese is carried out, Aldhelm being
appointed to Sherborne and Daniel to Winchester; the South Saxons receive a
bishop of their own for the first time. In 709 A.D. Coenred of Mercia and Offa
of Essex receive the tonsure at Rome, and in the same year Bishop Wilfrid dies.
The story of his life is told.
Not long
after, Hadrian dies and is succeeded by Albinus as Abbot of St. Augustine’s.
Bede’s friend, Acca, succeeds Wilfrid as Bishop of Hexham. His services to the
Church are enumerated.
An
important step is taken at this time by the Northern Picts in the acceptance of
the Roman rules with regard to Easter and the tonsure. The letter of Abbot
Ceolfrid of Wearmouth and Jarrow to the Pictish king Naiton on this subject is
quoted at length. Soon after, lona yields to the preaching of Egbert, and
receives the Catholic usages. Egbert dies in 729. In Chapter 23 a number of
events are briefly mentioned; the death of Wictred of Kent in 725, and the
succession of his sons, the death of the learned Tobias, Bishop of Rochester,
in 726, the appearance of two comets in 729, followed by the devastation of Gaul
by the Saracens, the death of the Northumbrian king Osric, and succession of
Ceolwulf in 729; finally, the death of Archbishop Bertwald in 731 and the
succession of Tatwine. Then follows an account of the state of the English
episcopate in 731, the year in which Bede finished the History. The relations
of the English with Picts, Scots, and Britons are described, and some allusion
is made to the growth of monasticism in this time of external peace.
The book
closes in Chapter 24 with a chronological summary of the whole work, an
autobiographical sketch of the author, and a list of his works.
|