Bede, Priest and Historian, 735
Almighty God, who has enriched your Church with the learning
and holiness of your servant Bede: Grant us to find in Scripture and
disciplined prayer the image of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and to
fashion our lives according to his likeness, to the glory of your great Name
and the benefit of your holy church; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bede was a monk, priest, and historian. From the age of
seven, he spent all his life at that monastery except for a few brief visits to
nearby sites. He says of himself: "I have devoted my energies to a study
of the Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily
services in church; study, teaching, and writing have always been my
delight." Bede was the first person to write scholarly works in the
English language, although unfortunately only fragments of his English writings
have survived. He translated the Gospel of John into Old English, completing
the work on the very day of his death. He also wrote extensively in Latin.
Bede’s best-known work is his History of the English Church and People.
His work is our chief source for the history of the British Isles during this
period. Fortunately, Bede was careful to sort fact from hearsay, and to tell us
the sources of his information. He also wrote hymns and other verse, the first
martyrology with historical notes, letters and homilies, works on grammar, on
chronology and astronomy -- Bede was aware that the earth is a sphere, and he
is the first historian to date events ANNO DOMINI, and the earliest known
writer to state that the solar year is not exactly 365 and a quarter days long,
so that the Julian calendar (one leap year every four years) requires some
adjusting if the months are not to get out of step with the seasons.
