The Venerable Bede

Bede was born on lands belonging to the monastery of Monkwearmouth in the Kingdom of Bernicia, in about 672 CE (since he was in his 59^th year when he completed his Ecclesiastical History). In the Historia, Bede gave his birthplace as "on the lands of this monastery".

679 CE

Bede was sent to the monastery of St Peter at Monkwearmouth at the age of seven as puer oblatus. He was initially educated under Benedict Biscop.

Biscop had travelled to Rome on at least five occasions and brought back books to form a small library, to which Bede had access.

682 CE

In 682 CE a sister monastery to Monkwearmouth was founded at Jarrow by Abbot Ceolfrith.

Bede joined Abbot Ceolfrith at Jarrow.

686 CE

In 686, plague broke out at Jarrow. The Life of Ceolfrith, written in about 710, records that only two surviving monks were capable of singing the full offices. One was Ceolfrith and the other a young boy, who according to the anonymous writer had been taught by Ceolfrith. The two managed to do the entire service of the liturgy until others could be trained. The young boy was almost certainly Bede. Bede survived the plague.

Bede spent most of his life in the monastery. He travelled to several abbeys and monasteries across the British Isles, even visiting the archbishop of York and King Ceolwulf of Northumbria.

689 CE

When Bede was about 17 years old, Adomnán, the abbot of Iona Abbey, visited Monkwearmouth and Jarrow. Bede would probably have met the abbot during this visit, and it may be that Adomnán sparked Bede's interest in the Easter dating controversy.

692 CE

In about 692 CE, at the age of only 19, Bede was ordained a deacon by his diocesan bishop, John, bishop of Hexham. The usual canonical age for the ordination of a deacon was 25.

701 CE

Bede wrote his first works, De Arte Metrica and De Schematibus et Tropis; both were intended for use in the classroom.

702 CE

Bede became a priest.

708 CE

In 708 CE, some monks at Hexham accused Bede of having committed heresy in his work De Temporibus. The standard theological view of world history at the time was known as the Six Ages of the World. In his book, Bede calculated the age of the world for himself, rather than accepting the authority of Isidore of Seville, and came to the conclusion that Christ had been born 3,952 years after the creation of the world, rather than the figure of over 5,000 years that was commonly accepted by theologians.

731 CE

Bede completed his Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

733 CE

Bede travelled to York to visit Ecgbert, then bishop of York. The See of York was elevated to an archbishopric in 735, and it is likely that Bede and Ecgbert discussed the proposal for the elevation during his visit. Bede hoped to visit Ecgbert again in 734 CE but was too ill to make the journey.

Bede also travelled to the monastery of Lindisfarne and at some point visited the otherwise unknown monastery of a monk named Wicthed, a visit that is mentioned in a letter to that monk. Because of his widespread correspondence with others throughout the British Isles, and because many of the letters imply that Bede had met his correspondents, it is likely that Bede travelled to some other places, although nothing further about timing or locations can be guessed.

734 CE

Bede’s last known work was a letter to Bishop Ecgbert of York.

735 CE

Bede died on the Feast of the Ascension, Thursday, 26 May 735, on the floor of his cell and was buried at Jarrow.

Sources

The Venerable Bede, Charles J Stranks, 1974.

The Venerable Bede, Rev G F Browne MA, 1879.

The Cambridge Companion to Bede, 2010.

The Age of Bede, 1983.