Editing Bede (section)

== Life ==
[[File:Opera Bedae Venerabilis.tif|thumb|''Opera Bedae Venerabilis'' (1563)]]
===Childhood===
Almost everything that is known of Bede's life is contained in the last chapter of his ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', a history of the church in England. It was completed in about 731,<ref name="Deconstruct5">{{harvnb|Brooks|2006|p=5}}</ref> and Bede implies that he was then in his fifty-ninth year, which would give a birth date in 672 or 673.<ref name="ASEEncBede">{{harvnb|Ray|2001|pp=57–59}}</ref><ref name="CM_xix">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|p=xix}}</ref><ref name="ODNB">{{harvnb|Campbell|2004}}</ref>{{efn|Bede's words are "''Ex quo tempore accepti presbyteratus usque ad annum aetatis meae LVIIII&nbsp;...''"; which means "From the time I became a priest until the fifty-ninth year of my life I have made it my business&nbsp;... to make brief extracts from the works of the venerable fathers on the holy Scriptures&nbsp;..."<ref name="CM_566–7">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|pp=566–567}}</ref><ref name="World253"/> Other, less plausible, interpretations of this passage have been suggested—for example that it means Bede stopped writing about scripture in his fifty-ninth year.{{sfn|Whiting|1935|p=4}} }} A minor source of information is the letter by his disciple Cuthbert (not to be confused with the saint, [[Cuthbert]], who is mentioned in Bede's work) which relates Bede's death.<ref name="Reread9" />{{efn|Cuthbert is probably the same person as the later abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, but this is not entirely certain.<ref name=Reread9/>}} Bede, in the ''Historia'', gives his birthplace as "on the lands of this monastery".<ref name="HE_V_24_329">Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', V.24, p.&nbsp;329.</ref> He is referring to the twin monasteries of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow,<ref name="Farmer2004p47-48">{{harvnb|Farmer|2004|pp=47–48}}</ref> in modern-day [[Wearside]] and [[Tyneside]] respectively. There is also a tradition that he was born at [[Monkton, Tyne and Wear|Monkton]], {{convert|2|mi|spell=in}} from the site where the monastery at Jarrow was later built.<ref name="ASEEncBede" /><ref name="CM_xix-xx">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|pp=xix–xx}}</ref> Bede says nothing of his origins, but his connections with men of noble ancestry suggest that his own family was well-to-do.<ref name="World4">{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=4}}</ref> Bede's first abbot was [[Benedict Biscop]], and the names "Biscop" and "Beda" both appear in a list of the kings of [[Kingdom of Lindsey|Lindsey]] from around 800, further suggesting that Bede came from a noble family.<ref name="ODNB" />

[[Beda (name)|Bede's name]] reflects [[West Saxon dialect|West Saxon]] ''Bīeda'' (Anglian ''Bēda'').<ref>J. Insley, "Portesmutha" in: ''[[Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde]]'' vol. 23, Walter de Gruyter (2003), 291.</ref> It is an [[Old English]] short name formed on the root of ''bēodan'' "to bid, command".<ref>Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' s.v. BUD (289) connects the [[Old High German]] short name ''[[Bodo (given name)|Bodo]]'' (variants ''Boto, Boddo, Potho, Boda, Puoto'' etc.) as from the same verbal root.</ref>
The name also occurs in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', s.a. 501, as ''Bieda'', one of the sons of the Saxon founder of [[History of Portsmouth#Pre-Norman|Portsmouth]]. The ''[[Durham Liber Vitae|Liber Vitae]]'' of [[Durham Cathedral]] names two priests with this name, one of whom is presumably Bede himself. Some manuscripts of the ''Life of Cuthbert'', one of Bede's works, mention that [[Cuthbert]]'s own priest was named Bede; it is possible that this priest is the other name listed in the ''Liber Vitae''.<ref name="Reread8" /><ref name="ASC14">{{harvnb|Swanton|1998|pp=14–15}}</ref>
===Boyhood===
At the age of seven, Bede was sent as a ''[[puer oblatus]]''<ref>{{harvnb|Kendall|2010|p=101}}; {{harvnb|Rowley|2017|p=258}}</ref> to the monastery of Monkwearmouth by his family to be educated by Benedict Biscop and later by [[Ceolfrith]].<ref name=World178>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=178}}</ref> Bede does not say whether it was already intended at that point that he would be a monk.<ref name=World241>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=241}}</ref> 

It was fairly common in Ireland at this time for young boys, particularly those of noble birth, to be fostered out as an oblate; the practice was also likely to have been common among the Germanic peoples in England.<ref name=CM_xx>{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969| p=xx}}</ref> Monkwearmouth's sister monastery at Jarrow was founded by Ceolfrith in 682, and Bede probably transferred to Jarrow with Ceolfrith that year.<ref name="Farmer2004p47-48"/>

The dedication stone for the church has survived {{as of|1969|lc=y}}; it is dated 23 April 685, and as Bede would have been required to assist with menial tasks in his day-to-day life it is possible that he helped in building the original church.<ref name="CM_xx"/> 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, who would have been about 14.<ref name=World178/><ref name=Plummer_I_xii>Plummer, ''Bedae Opera Historica'', vol. I, p.&nbsp;xii.</ref>
===Youth===
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 controversy|Easter dating controversy]].<ref name=World181>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=181}}</ref> 

In about 692, in Bede's nineteenth year, Bede was ordained a [[deacon]] by his diocesan bishop, [[John of Beverley|John]], who was [[Bishop of Hexham]]. The canonical age for the ordination of a deacon was 25; Bede's early ordination may mean that his abilities were considered exceptional,<ref name=CM_xx/> but it is also possible that the minimum age requirement was often disregarded.<ref name=World5>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=5}}</ref> There might have been minor orders ranking below a deacon; but there is no record of whether Bede held any of these offices.<ref name=World253/>{{efn|[[Isidore of Seville]] lists six orders below a deacon, but these orders need not have existed at Monkwearmouth.<ref name=World253>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=253}}</ref>}} 

===Adulthood===
In Bede's thirtieth year (about 702), he became a priest, with the ordination again performed by Bishop John.<ref name=ODNB/>

In about 701 Bede wrote his first works, the ''De Arte Metrica'' and ''De Schematibus et Tropis''; both were intended for use in the classroom.<ref name=World5/> He continued to write for the rest of his life, eventually completing over 60 books, most of which have survived. Not all his output can be easily dated, and Bede may have worked on some texts over a period of many years.<ref name=ODNB/><ref name=World5/> His last surviving work is a letter to [[Ecgbert of York]], a former student, written in 734.<ref name=World5/> A 6th-century Greek and Latin manuscript of ''[[Acts of the Apostles]]'' that is believed to have been used by Bede survives and is now in the [[Bodleian Library]] at the [[University of Oxford]]. It is known as the [[Codex Laudianus]].<ref name=World234>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=234}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley/library/specialcollections/western_rarebooks/medieval | title = Classical and Medieval MSS | access-date=30 December 2010 |publisher=Bodleian Library}}</ref>

Bede may have worked on some of the Latin Bibles that were copied at Jarrow, one of which, the [[Codex Amiatinus]], is now held by the [[Laurentian Library]] in [[Florence]].<ref name=Farmer_20a>A few pages from another copy are held by the [[British Museum]]. {{harvnb|Farmer|1978|p=20}}</ref> Bede was a teacher as well as a writer;<ref name=Ray_57>{{harvnb|Ray|2001|p=57}}</ref> he enjoyed music and was said to be accomplished as a singer and as a reciter of poetry in the vernacular.<ref name=World5/> It is possible that he suffered a speech impediment, but this depends on a phrase in the introduction to his verse life of St Cuthbert. Translations of this phrase differ, and it is uncertain whether Bede intended to say that he was cured of a speech problem, or merely that he was inspired by the saint's works.{{sfn|Whiting|1935|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Whitelock|1976|p=21}}{{efn|The key phrase is ''per linguae curationem'', which is variously translated as "how his tongue was healed", "[a] canker on the tongue", or, following a different interpretation of ''curationem'', "the guidance of my tongue".{{sfn|Whitelock|1976|p=21}} }}

[[File:Bede dictating to a scribe.JPG|thumb|Stained glass at [[Gloucester Cathedral]] depicting Bede dictating to a scribe]]
In 708 some monks at [[Hexham Abbey|Hexham]] accused Bede of having committed heresy in his work ''De Temporibus''.<ref name=World267>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=267}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Bede|1985|p=38}} The accusation occurred in front of the bishop of Hexham, [[Wilfrid]], who was present at a feast when some drunken monks made the accusation. Wilfrid did not respond to the accusation, but a monk present relayed the episode to Bede, who replied within a few days to the monk, writing a letter setting forth his defence and asking that the letter also be read to Wilfrid.<ref name="World267"/>{{efn|The letter itself is in ''Bedae Opera de Temporibus'' edited by C. W. Jones, pp. 307–315}} Bede had another brush with Wilfrid, for the historian says that he met Wilfrid sometime between 706 and 709 and discussed [[Æthelthryth]], the abbess of Ely. Wilfrid had been present at the exhumation of her body in 695, and Bede questioned the bishop about the exact circumstances of the body and asked for more details of her life, as Wilfrid had been her advisor.<ref name=Goffart322>Goffart, ''Narrators'' p. 322</ref>

One further oddity in his writings is that in one of his works, the ''Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles'', he writes in a manner that gives the impression he was married.<ref name=Reread8>{{harvnb|Higham|2006|pp=8–9}}</ref> The section in question is the only one in that work that is written in first-person view. Bede says: "Prayers are hindered by the conjugal duty because as often as I perform what is due to my wife I am not able to pray."<ref name=QWard57>Quoted in {{harvnb|Ward|1990| p=57}}</ref> Another passage, in the ''Commentary on Luke'', also mentions a wife in the first person: "Formerly I possessed a wife in the lustful passion of desire and now I possess her in honourable sanctification and true love of Christ."<ref name=QWard57/> The historian [[Benedicta Ward]] argued that these passages are Bede employing a rhetorical device.<ref name=Ward57>{{harvnb|Ward|1990| p=57}}</ref>
===Final years===
In 733 Bede travelled to York to visit Ecgbert, who was then [[archbishop of York|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.<ref name=World305/> Bede hoped to visit Ecgbert again in 734 but was too ill to make the journey.<ref name=World305>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=305}}</ref> Bede also travelled to the monastery of [[Lindisfarne]] and at some point visited the otherwise unknown monastery of a monk named {{sic|hide=y|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.<ref name=Reread15>{{harvnb|Higham|2006|p=15}}</ref>

It seems certain that he did not visit Rome, however, as he did not mention it in the autobiographical chapter of his ''Historia Ecclesiastica''.<ref name="ColgraveMynors1969p556n">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|p=556n}}</ref> [[Nothhelm]], a correspondent of Bede's who assisted him by finding documents for him in Rome, is known to have visited Bede, though the date cannot be determined beyond the fact that it was after Nothhelm's visit to Rome.<ref name=Plummer_II_3>Plummer, ''Bedae Opera Historica'', vol. II, p.&nbsp;3.</ref> Except for a few visits to other monasteries, his life was spent in a round of prayer, observance of the monastic discipline and study of the Sacred Scriptures. He was considered the most learned man of his time.<ref name="SHMI">{{cite book|author=Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI|title=My First Book of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|isbn=978-971-91595-4-4|page=104|chapter=St. Venerable Bede}}</ref>

[[File:Bede.jpg|thumb|Bede's tomb in the [[Galilee (church architecture)|Galilee Chapel]] at the west end of [[Durham Cathedral]]]]
Bede died at Jarrow on the [[Feast of the Ascension]], 26 May 735 and was buried there.<ref name=ODNB/> Cuthbert, a disciple of Bede's, wrote a letter to a Cuthwin (of whom nothing else is known), describing Bede's last days and his death. According to Cuthbert, Bede fell ill, "with frequent attacks of breathlessness but almost without pain", before Easter. On the Tuesday, two days before Bede died, his breathing became worse and his feet swelled. He continued to dictate to a scribe, however, and despite spending the night awake in prayer he dictated again the following day.<ref name="ColgraveMynors1969pp580-587"/>

At three o'clock, according to Cuthbert, he asked for a box of his to be brought and distributed among the priests of the monastery "a few treasures" of his: "some pepper, and napkins, and some incense". That night he dictated a final sentence to the scribe, a boy named Wilberht, and died soon afterwards.<ref name="ColgraveMynors1969pp580-587">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|pp=580–587}}</ref> The account of Cuthbert does not make entirely clear whether Bede died before midnight or after. However, by the reckoning of Bede's time, passage from the old day to the new occurred at sunset, not midnight, and Cuthbert is clear that he died after sunset. Thus, while his box was brought at three o'clock Wednesday afternoon of 25 May, by the time of the final dictation it was considered 26 May, although it might still have been 25 May in modern usage.<ref name=World307>{{harvnb|Blair|1990|p=307}}</ref>

Cuthbert's letter also relates a five-line poem in the vernacular that Bede composed on his deathbed, known as "[[Bede's Death Song]]". It is the most-widely copied Old English poem and appears in 45 manuscripts, but its attribution to Bede is not certain—not all manuscripts name Bede as the author, and the ones that do are of later origin than those that do not.<ref name=BEASE_59>Donald Scragg, "Bede's Death Song", in Lapidge, ''Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p.&nbsp;59.</ref><ref name="ColgraveMynors1969pp580-581n">{{harvnb|Colgrave|Mynors|1969|pp=580–581n}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title = St. Gallen Stiftsbibliothek Cod. Sang. 254. Jerome, Commentary on the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Includes the most authentic version of the Old English "Death Song" by the Venerable Bede| work = Europeana Regia| access-date = 5 June 2013| url = http://www.europeanaregia.eu/en/manuscripts/st-gallen-stiftsbibliothek-cod-sang-254/en| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203030450/http://www.europeanaregia.eu/en/manuscripts/st-gallen-stiftsbibliothek-cod-sang-254/en| archive-date = 3 December 2013| url-status = dead}}</ref> Bede's remains may have been [[Translation (relic)|translated]] to Durham Cathedral in the 11th century; his tomb there was looted in 1541, but the contents were probably re-interred in the Galilee chapel at the cathedral.<ref name=ODNB/>