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Bede, translating the Gospel
of Saint John on his deathbed.
Date: 1902.
Author: James Doyle Penrose.
(Wikimedia Commons)
As Chapter 66 of Bede's "On the Reckoning of Time", in 725 A.D., Bede wrote the Greater Chronicle (chronica maiora), which sometimes circulated as a separate work. For recent events, the Chronicle, like his Ecclesiastical History, relied upon Gildas, upon a version of the Liber pontificalis, current at least to the Papacy of Pope Sergius I (687 A.D. – 701 A.D.), and other sources. For earlier events, he drew on Eusebius's Chronikoi Kanones. The dating of events in the Chronicle is inconsistent with his other works, using the era of creation, the anno mundi.
The Ruins of Saint Paul's Monastery.
Once the home of The Venerable Bede.
Photo: 12 November 2005.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Mark Smiles.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Monastery of Saint Paul, in Jarrow, part of the twin foundation Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory, was once the home of the Venerable Bede, whose most notable works include The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and the translation of the Gospel of John into Old English.
At the time of its foundation, it was reputed to have been the only Centre of Learning in Europe, North of Rome. In 794 A.D., Jarrow became the second target in England of the Vikings, who had plundered Lindisfarne in 793 A.D. The Monastery was later dissolved by King Henry VIII. The ruins of the Monastery are now associated with, and partly built into, the present-day Church of Saint Paul, which stands on the site. One wall of the Church contains the oldest Stained-Glass Window in the world, dating from about 600 A.D. Just beside the Monastery, is "Bede's World", a working museum, dedicated to the life and times of Bede. Bede's World also incorporates Jarrow Hall, a Grade II Listed Building and a significant local landmark.
In his own time, Bede was as well known for his Biblical commentaries and exegetical, as well as other theological, works. The majority of his writings were of this type, and covered the Old Testament and the New Testament. Most survived the Middle Ages, but a few were lost. It was for his theological writings that he earned the title of Doctor Anglorum, and why he was made a Saint.
Bede synthesised and transmitted the learning from his predecessors, as well as made careful, judicious innovation in knowledge (such as recalculating the age of the Earth – for which he was censured before surviving the Heresy accusations and eventually having his views championed by Archbishop Ussher, in the 16th-Century – see below), that had theological implications.
English: Ruins of Saint Paul's Monastery, Jarrow, England.
Once the home of The Venerable Bede.
Nederland: Ruïne van het nl:klooster te nl:Jarrow,
met de nog bestaande kerk op de achtergrond.
Date: 2004-12-15 (original upload date).
Source: Originally from nl.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
Author: Original uploader was Xaphire at nl.wikipedia.
Permission: Licensed under the GFDL by the Author.
(Wikimedia Commons)
In order to do this, he learned Greek, and attempted to learn Hebrew. He spent time reading and re-reading both the Old and the New Testaments. He mentions that he studied from a text of Jerome's Vulgate, which itself was from the Hebrew text. He also studied both the Latin and the Greek Fathers of the Church. In the Monastic Library at Jarrow were a number of books by theologians, including works by Basil, Cassian, John Chrysostom, Isidore of Seville, Origen, Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, Pope Gregory I, Ambrose of Milan, Cassiodorus, and Cyprian.
He used these, in conjunction with the Biblical texts themselves, to write his Commentaries and other theological works. He had a Latin translation by Evagrius of Athanasius's Life of Antony, and a Copy of Sulpicius Severus' Life of Saint Martin. He also used lesser-known writers, such as Fulgentius, Julian of Eclanum, Tyconius, and Prosperius. Bede was the first to refer to Jerome, Augustine, Pope Gregory and Ambrose as the four Latin Fathers of the Church. It is clear from Bede's own comments that he felt his job was to explain to his students and readers the theology and thoughts of the Church Fathers.
Bede also wrote Homilies, works written to explain theology used in worship services. Bede wrote Homilies not only on the major Christian seasons, such as Advent, Lent, or Easter, but on other subjects, such as anniversaries of significant events.
Bede also wrote Homilies, works written to explain theology used in worship services. Bede wrote Homilies not only on the major Christian seasons, such as Advent, Lent, or Easter, but on other subjects, such as anniversaries of significant events.
Saint Boniface by Cornelis Bloemaert, circa 1630.
Used Bede's Homilies in his
missionary efforts on the Continent.
Photo: 26 April 2013.
Source: Het Utrechts Archief.
Author: Cornelis Bloemaert (1603-1684).
(Wikimedia Commons)
Both types of Bede's theological works circulated widely in the Middle Ages. A number of his Biblical Commentaries were incorporated into the Glossa Ordinaria, an 11th-Century collection of Biblical Commentaries. Some of Bede's Homilies were collected by Paul the Deacon, and they were used in that form in the Monastic Office. Saint Boniface used Bede's Homilies in his missionary efforts on the Continent.
Bede sometimes included in his theological books an acknowledgement of the predecessors on whose works he drew. In two cases, he left instructions that his marginal notes, which gave the details of his sources, should be preserved by the Copyist, and he may have originally added marginal comments about his sources to others of his works. Where he does not specify, it is still possible to identify books to which he must have had access by quotations that he uses.
PART EIGHT FOLLOWS
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