The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation

by J. A. Giles; Saint Bede the Venerable

Publisher:

James Bohn

, 1845

Overview

One of the most important intellectuals, writers, and scholars of his day, the Venerable Bede earned the title “The Father of English History” after chronicling one of the most significant books on Anglo-Saxon history and the early expansion of Christianity in England. Contained in this three volume collection is Bede’s masterwork The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, a remarkable anthology of his selected short writings and letters, and his commentary on the Book of Revelation, Explanation of the Apocalypse. A virtuosic storyteller and historian, the Works of the Venerable Bede displays an incredible breadth of scholarship from an extraordinary man of faith.

Ordained at age nineteen as a deacon, then a priest at age thirty, Bede spent almost his entire life living and studying in the monastic community of Jarrow, the intellectual epicenter of Northern England. It was there where he learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and began his prolific writing on history, theology, poetry, translation, and biblical interpretation.

As entertaining as they are informative, the Works of the Venerable Bede (3 vols.) are some of the most invaluable resources of European Christian history ever written. With Logos Bible Software, these books are completely searchable, with passages of scripture appearing on mouse-over, as well as being linked to Latin texts and English translations in your library.

The Venerable Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation has endured as one of the most important and engaging books of history ever written. Divided into five books, The Ecclesiastical History chronicles the Christian history of England, as well as its political history, from the time of Caesar’s invasion in 55 B.C. to the year it was completed, about 731.

The most important record we have from this time period, Bede’s exciting work recounts the rise of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England through the vivid depictions of England’s formative years: epic battles, heroic soldiers, kings and queens, monks and bishops, saints and martyrs. A thrilling journey into history, filled with unforgettable characters and events, Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation is essential reading for understanding the spread of Christianity throughout England in the Middle Ages.

Key Features

• Detailed table of contents
• Comprehensive appendices
• All Scripture references appear on mouse-over
• Completely interactive with your Logos library

Contents

Top Highlights

“on the Saturday before, in the evening, began to observe the holy solemnity of Easter” (Page 174)

“In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth from Augustus, ascended the throne,¹ and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a man renowned for learning and behaviour, was promoted to the apostolical see of Rome, and presided over it thirteen years, six months, and ten days. He, being moved by Divine inspiration, in the fourteenth year of the same emperor, and about the one hundred and fiftieth after the coming of the English into Britain, sent the servant of God, Augustine, and with him several other monks, who feared the Lord, to preach the word of God to the English nation.” (Page 37)

“The priests, therefore, perceiving their adversaries to yield, made a short prayer, and then Germanus, full of the Holy Ghost, invoked the Trinity, and taking into his hands a casket with relics of saints, which hung about his neck, applied it to the girl’s eyes, which were immediately delivered from darkness and filled with the light of truth. The parents rejoiced, and the people were astonished at the miracle; after which, the wicked opinions were so fully obliterated from the minds of all, that they ardently embraced the doctrine of the priests.” (Page 31)

“For things are not to be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things. Choose, therefore, from every church those things that are pious, religious, and upright, and when you have, as it were, made them up into one body, let the minds of the English be accustomed thereto.” (Page 45)

Product Details

• Title: The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
• Author: Bede
• Publisher: James Bohn
• Publication Date: 1845
• Pages: 410

About Bede

Bede (673–735) was ordained as a deacon at age nineteen, and a priest at the age of thirty. A teacher, theologian, historian, author, poet, and biblical exegete, Bede was one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. He spent the majority of his life living and studying at the Northumbrian monastery in Jarrow, where he authored his famous work The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation.