Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England. A Revised Translation. With Introduction Life and Notes by A. M. Sellar late VicePrincipal of Lady Margaret Hall Oxford. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Latin: Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum) written by the Venerable Bede in about AD 731 is a history of the Christian Churches in England and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between the preSchism Roman Rite and Celtic Christianity. It was originally composed in Latin is considered to be one of the most important original references on AngloSaxon history and has played a key role in the development of an English national identity. It is believed to have been completed in 731 when Bede was approximately 59 years old. There are it has been estimated in England and on the Continent in all about 140 manuscripts of the “Ecclesiastical History.” Of these four date from the eighth century: the Moore MS. (Cambridge) so called because after being sold by auction in the reign of William III it came into the possession of Bishop Moore who bequeathed it to the University of Cambridge; Cotton Tiberius A xiv; Cotton Tiberius C ii; and the Namur MS. A detailed account of these as well as of a great number of other manuscripts will be found in Mr. Plummer's Introduction to his edition of Bede's Historical Works. He has been the first to collate the four oldest MSS. besides examining numerous others and collating them in certain passages. He has pointed out that two of the MSS. dating from the eighth century (the century in which Bede died) the Moore MS. and Cotton Tiberius A xiv point to a common original which cannot be far removed from Bede's autograph. We are thus brought very near to our author and may have more than in most cases the assurance that we have before us what he actually meant to say.