The Venerable Bede as a Student of the Classics in Anglo-Saxon England CHUCK PEEK

1 In his Introduction to The Age of Bede, D.H. Farmer writes that more than any other figure in Anglo-Saxon England, the life and writings of Bede, “bring to life...the rich and contrasting age” that was eighth century England.1 Perhaps it is for this reason that Bede held such prominence in England’s history and culture that continues to this day. A.H.Thompson, in introducing the historical Bede states that “even during his lifetime his reputation had spread far beyond the frontiers of Britain, and St. Boniface likened his death to the extinction of a brightly burning light.”2 The Venerable Bede, known as the “Father of English History” and even (by a German historian) the “Father of all the Middle Ages” died in 735, at a time when much of Europe was still trying to cope with the political and cultural vacuum left after the fall of Rome. However, the eighth century Northumbrian Saint’s legacy would be as integral a part of Medieval European society as the four Fathers of the Western Church.3 Thus, it is not that the impact that Bede had on the English and on the citizens of the continent lasted for centuries following his death that is debated by most scholars. Most research on Bede instead seeks to analyze the substance of his lasting influence on England and the European continent, with most emphasis placed on the corpus from which he drew his authority and inspiration—The Classical or the Christian. It is these contrasting influences, both so prevalent in Bede’s own life that he so well illustrated in his life and works. It is accepted that Bede’s importance to Medieval society was shared between the fields of religion and culture, but it can be derived from research that while Bede was as much a child of the Classical corpus as eighth century England had seen, it was his religion that he considered to be the ultimate source of his authority. Bede’s deep-hearted convictions are inherently articulated in his life, and his ultimate loyalty to faith alone will continuously be made manifest through his works.4 Classical roots in Anglo-Saxon England, though nearly destroyed with establishment of Anglo-Saxon control of Great Britain in the mid-fifth century, ran deep, but existed despite the fact that one must search in order to find them. Probably the most healthy of these surviving Classical centers, at least in the early parts of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England, was not in England at all, but in Ireland. In light of the collapse of Roman rule in England, many fled the The Venerable Bede as a Student of the Classics in Anglo-Saxon England CHUCK PEEK