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Bede the Venerable
b. 673/4; Northumberland
d. May 26, 735
Education
- Given by his family to Benedict Biscop, abbot of St Peter at Wearmouth, at seven years old, for his education
- In 682, when Biscop founded the brother monastery of St Paul at Jarrow, Bede was sent to join the new community under its abbot Ceolfrith; he remained there for the rest of his life
Highlights & Accomplishments
- Dedicated himself to teaching and writing, never travelling beyond Northumbria
- Primarily known today for his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’; 731) which includes important evidence for the practice and spread of the Roman liturgy and chant throughout the Anglo-Saxon Church
- It also contains the story of Caedmon, the composer of the earliest-known example of a hymn in the English vernacular. The words of this hymn, translated by Bede into Latin.
- Other writings include several commentaries on the scriptures, hagiographical works, treatises on orthography and metrics, a history of the abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow, and a book of hymns.
- The monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow (where Bede worked) were among the most important centres of learning in Anglo-Saxon England and contained the library of books collected by Biscop and Ceolfrith on their journeys to Rome and Gaul, as well as a major scriptorium. They were also renowned for their teaching of liturgical music, especially from 680 when John, archcantor of St Peter’s basilica and abbot of St Martin’s in Rome, was brought by Biscop from Rome to teach the monks of Wearmouth how to celebrate the liturgy and to chant according to the Roman tradition.
Hymns included in the Seventh-Day Adventist Hymnal
A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing, SDAH 228
Jane Bellingham. “Bede.” The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 20 Aug. 2017.<http://www.hymnology.co.uk/b/bede>.
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