Preface
P R E F A C E
To the most glorious King Ceolwulf,* Bede, servant of Christ and priest.
Your Majesty has asked to see the History of the English Church and Nation* which I have lately published.* It was with pleasure, sire, that I submitted it for your perusal and criticism on a former occasion; and with pleasure I now send it once again, for copying and fuller study, as time may permit. I gladly acknowledge the unfeigned enthusiasm with which, not content merely to lend an attentive ear to hear the words of Holy Scripture, you devote yourself to learn the sayings and doings of the men of old, and more especially the famous men of our own race. Should history tell of good men* and their good estate, the thoughtful listener is spurred on to imitate the good; should it record the evil ends of wicked men, no less effectually the devout and earnest listener or reader is kindled to eschew what is harmful and perverse, and himself with greater care pursue those things which he has learned to be good and pleasing in the sight of God. This you perceive, clear-sighted as you are; and therefore, in your zeal for the spiritual well-being of us all, you wish to see my
History more widely known, for the instruction of yourself and those over whom divine authority has sppointed you to rule.
Now, in order to remove all occasions of doubt about those things I have written, either in your mind or in the minds of any others who listen to or read this history, I will make it my business to state briefly from what sources* I have gained my information.
My principal authority and helper in this modest work has been the revered Abbot Albinus,* a man of universal learning who was educated in the Kentish Church by Archbishop
Theodore* and Abbot Hadrian* of blessed memory, both venerable and learned men. There he carefully ascertained, from written records or from the old traditions,* all that the disciples of St Gregory* had done in the kingdom of Kent or in the neighbouring kingdoms. He passed on to me whatever
The Ecclesiastical History seemed worth remembering through Nothhelm, a godly priest of the Church in London, either in writing or by word of mouth. Afterwards Nothhelm* went to Rome and got permission from the present Pope Gregory* to search through the archives of the holy Roman church and there found some letters of St Gregory and of other popes. On the advice of Father Albinus he brought them to us on his return to be included in our History.
So, from the period at which this volume begins to the time when the English race accepted the faith of Christ, I have obtained my material from here and there, chiefly from the writings of earlier writers.* From then to the present time I have learned what the disciples of St Gregory or their suc cessors did in the Kentish church and under what kings these events happened, through the efforts of Abbot Albinus,
Nothhelm, as I said, acting as intermediary. Some of my information about the East and West Saxons, as well as East
Anglia and Northumbria, was provided by them, especially under what bishops and in whose reigns they received the grace of the gospel. In short, it was chiefly through the en couragement of Albinus that I ventured to undertake this work. Daniel,* the esteemed bishop of the West Saxons who still survives, communicated to me in writing something of the history of the church of his own kingdom, as well as of the neighbouring kingdoms of Sussex and the Isle of Wight.
Further I learned from the brethren of the monastery known as Lastingham* which was founded by Cedd and Chad* how, through the ministry of these devoted priests of Christ, the kingdom of Mercia achieved the faith of Christ which it had never known, and how the kingdom of Essex recovered the faith which it had formerly rejected. I also learned from the monks of Lastingham about the life and death of these two fathers. Further, I learned the history of the church of East
Anglia, partly from the writings or the traditions of men of the past, and partly from the account of the esteemed Abbot Esi.*
As to the kingdom of Lindsey, I learned of the growth of their faith in Christ and of the succession of bishops, either through a letter from the reverend Bishop Cyneberht* or from the lips of other trustworthy men. But what happened in the church
The Ecclesiastical History in the various parts of the kingdom of Northumbria, from the time when they received the faith of Christ up to the present, apart from those matters of which I had personal knowledge,
I have learned not from any one source but from the faithful testimony of innumerable witnesses, who either knew or remembered these things. In this respect it is to be noted that what I have written about the most holy father Bishop
Cuthbert,* either in this volume or in his biography, I took partly from what I had previously found written about him by the brethren of the church at Lindisfame, accepting the story
I read in simple faith; but in part I also made it my business to add with care what I was able to learn myself from the trustworthy testimony of reliable witnesses. So I humbly beg the reader, if he finds anything other than the truth set down in what I have written, not to impute it to me. For, in accordance with the principles of true history,* I have simply sought to commit to writing what I have collected from common report, for the instruction of posterity.
Furthermore I humbly beseech all who either read this history of our nation or hear it read, that they will not forget frequently to ask for God's mercy upon my weaknesses both of mind and body; and that in their various kingdoms they will repay me with good measure. Since I have diligently sought to put on record concerning each of the kingdoms and the more important places, those events which I believe to be worthy of remembrance and likely to be welcome to the inhabitants, let me reap among them all, the harvest of their charitable intercessions.
E N D O F P R E F A C E
B E G I N N I N G O F C H A P T E R H E A D I N G S