Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by 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 pre-Schism Roman Rite and Celtic Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and is believed to have been completed in 731 when Bede was approximately 59 years old. It is considered one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history, and has played a key role in the development of an English national identity.
Folio 3v from the St Petersburg Bede
The Venerable Bede writing the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, from a codex at Engelberg Abbey, Switzerland.
Bede, also known as Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable, was an English monk and an author and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title "The Father of English History". He served at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles.
The Venerable Bede writing. Detail from a 12th century codex
Stained glass at Gloucester Cathedral depicting Bede dictating to a scribe
Bede's tomb in the Galilee Chapel at the west end of Durham Cathedral
The Venerable Bede writing the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, from a 12th-century codex at Engelberg Abbey, Switzerland
