Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People: An Introduction and Selection PDF
Preview Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People: An Introduction and Selection
Bede’s ecclesiastical History of tHe englisH PeoPle Bede’s ecclesiastical History of tHe englisH PeoPle An Introduction and Selection by rowan williams and Benedicta ward slg First published in Great Britain 2012 Copyright © Rowan Williams and Benedicta Ward The moral right of the author has been asserted No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the Publishers would be glad to hear from them. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-4411-7712-4 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN Dedication In loving memory of Donald Allchin: Ante omnia diuinae caritatis igne feruidus, patientiae uirtute modestus, orationum deuotioni sollertissime intentus, adfabilis omnibus qui ad se consolationis gratia ueniebant. Above all, he was aflame with the fire of divine love, unassuming in his patience, eager and practised in his devotion to prayer, kind and courteous to all who came to him for spiritual comfort. Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Book IV.26 [28] contents Part one Introduction by Rowan Williams 1 Further reading 33 Part two Selected texts from The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, translated by Benedicta Ward SLG 35 Index of Names and Places 171 Part one introduction Rowan Williams 1. Bede’s context and purpose Between 400 and 700ce, the cultural and political complexion of Western Europe changed dramatically. By 700, there was no ‘superpower’ in the region; the Roman Empire in the West had dissolved, and no single political unit had replaced it.1 The Emperor in Constantinople represented a nominal continuity, but he had no direct political control west of the Adriatic (although he and the culture he embodied could still exercise a very strong imaginative pull, as the history of the ninth and tenth centuries in Western Europe would show). Rome was now above all the city in which the Pope resided, the focus of Church life in a Europe where Christianity
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