BEDE, BEDA, or RIEDA, known as •The Venerable Bede,' English historian and scholar, was born in 673 in the territory of the double monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow, in the county of Durham, and died in the monas tery at Jarrow in 735. At the age of seven he was entrusted to Benedict Biscop, abbot of Wearmouth and one of the best equipped schol ars of the age, who, together with Ceolfrith, abbot of Jarrow, directed his education. All the rest of Bede's life was spent in the mon astery of Wearmouth and Jarrow, which was administered as one foundation though the buildings were some miles apart. In his 19th year he was made deacon, and in his 30th year, priest. He never held positions of higher dignity, refusing the office of abbot because its duties would have interfered with his chosen work of °learning, teaching and writing.' Under Bede, Northumbria became one of the great centres of learning in Europe. He him self gave instruction in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, astronomy, mathematics, grammar, rhetoric and music; in short, in all the subjects which constituted the learning of the Middle Ages. His knowledge was encyclopedic in character, and all, directed toward the service of the Church, is recorded as having been imparted with a vivacity and charm that endeared him greatly to his pupils. Besides attending to his monastic duties and his work as teacher, Bede wrote voluminously. In a brief summary of the main events of his life at the conclusion of his 'Historia Ecclesiastica,' finished in 731, he gives a list of his works amounting to nearly 40 titles. His activities did not cease, however, with the completion of his great history, and at the very hour of his death, as is narrated by his pupil, Saint Cuthbert, he was engaged in dictating a translation of the Gospel of Saint John, now unfortunately lost. Cuthbert states that Bede was a lover of Anglo-Saxon poetry, but the only extant writings in the vernacular which can be connected with his name are two lines of a poem known as Bede's 'Death Song,' quoted by Cuthbert. The body of his writings
consists of exegetical treatises on the books•of the Old and New Testaments, and of treatises on scientific, rhetorical and historical subjects, all written in Latin. His reputation as a mathe matician was very great, and for five centuries following his death his works were standard throughout Europe. For modern readers, how ever, Bede's most interesting and important achievements lie in the field of history. His greatest work is his 'Ecclesiastical History' (Historia Ecclesiastica Geniis Anglorum), a history of England from the earliest Roman occupations to the year 731. It is written in a charmingly simple and pure style and is re markable for a degree of critical inclgtnent such as one would not expect in a monk of the 8th century who had never lived outside his monas tery. It was translated into West Saxon by or under the direction of Alfred the Great, and it was largely used for the earlier entries of the cAnglo-Saxon Chronicle.' It is still the main source of our information concerning England for the period which it covers.
Bibliography.— For Bede's works, consult Migne, (Patrologim Cursus Completus) (Vol. 90); Giles, (Opera Omnia) (London 1843). The separate edition of the (Historical Works,' by Plummer (Oxford 1896), contains much valuable material, among other things the letter of Cuthbert narrating Bede's death. The West Saxon translation of the (Historia) is printed in Widicer,