Bede : a Biblical Miscellany

Bede : a Biblical Miscellany
Author: Beda (Heiliger)
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780853236832

Cited today as the first historian of the English, the Venerable Bede (ca. 673-735) was known in his own time primarily as a commentator on Holy Scripture. Taking seriously the insights of both ancient schools of biblical exegesis, the Antiochene and he Alexandrian, Bede was as proficient at explaining the plain sense of difficult scriptural texts as he was at discerning the figurative or allegorical significance. This volume contains six of Bede's shorter biblical writings, most of which appear here in translation for the first time. Taken together, they reveal his amazing versatility. On Tobias shows his skill as an allegorist, while On the Resting Places, Thirty Questions on the Book of Kings, and On Eight Questions reveal his fascination with the logical puzzles posed by Scripture's literal sense. On the Holy Places is an exegetical tool conveying information about the geography of the Holy Land that Bede considered indispensable for an adequate understanding of biblical revelation. In aletter On What Isaiah Says, Bede refutes a heretical understanding of Scripture in an attempt to build up the faith of the Church.

Bede, a Biblical Miscellany

Bede, a Biblical Miscellany
Author: Saint Bede (the Venerable)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 201
Release: 1999
Genre: Bible
ISBN:

This volume contains six of Bedes shorter biblical writings, most of which appear here in translation for the first time On Tobias, On the Resting Places, Thirty Questions on the Book of Kings, On Eight Questions, On the Holy Places and the letter On What Isaiah Says. Taken together, they reveal his amazing versatility as a biblical exegete.

The Cambridge Companion to Bede

The Cambridge Companion to Bede
Author: Scott DeGregorio
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2010-05-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1139825429

As the major writer and thinker of the Anglo-Saxon period, the Venerable Bede is a key figure in the study of the literature and thought of this time. This Companion, written by an international team of specialists, is a key introductory guide to Bede, his writings, and his world. The first part of the volume focuses on Bede's cultural and intellectual milieu, covering his life, the secular-political contexts of his day, the foundations of the Latin learning he inherited and sought to perpetuate, the ecclesiastical and monastic setting of early Northumbria, and the foundation of his home institution, Wearmouth-Jarrow. The book then considers Bede's writing in detail, treating his educational, exegetical and historical works. Concluding with a detailed assessment of Bede's influence and reception from the time of his death up to the modern age, the Companion enables the reader to view Bede's writings within a wider cultural context.

Biblical Exegesis and Mystical Theology in the Venerable Bede

Biblical Exegesis and Mystical Theology in the Venerable Bede
Author: Arthur Holder
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2024-03-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1003856691

Biblical Exegesis and Mystical Theology in the Venerable Bede brings together 17 essays by Arthur Holder exploring the theology and spirituality found in Bede’s biblical commentaries and homilies. The volume shows that Bede was both a masterful student of received tradition and a creative thinker concerned to address the needs and interests of his audience of Christian pastors and teachers in the eighth-century Northumbrian church. Although Bede is best known as the author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the last half-century of scholarship has demonstrated the sophistication and vast influence of his work in the fields of grammar, biblical interpretation, hagiography, poetry, computus, natural science, and theology. The chapters in this volume show how Bede’s exegesis was integrally connected with his work in all those genres and with the monumental artistic productions of his monastery such as the illuminated bible manuscript known as the Codex Amiatinus. The five parts of the book deal with Bede as teacher and biblical scholar, his interpretations of the tabernacle and the temple, his commentary on the Song of Songs, his attitudes toward philosophy and heresy, and his mystical theology. This book will be of interest to students of Christian theology, mysticism, the development of biblical interpretation, and the history of early medieval England.

Bede and the Future

Bede and the Future
Author: Peter Darby
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317175778

Bede (c. 673-735) was Anglo-Saxon England’s most prominent scholar, and his body of work is among the most important intellectual achievements of the entire Middle Ages. Bede and the Future brings together an international group of Bede scholars to examine a number of questions about Bede’s attitude towards, and ideas about, the time to come. This encompasses the short-term future (Bede’s own lifetime and the time soon after his death) and the end of time. Whilst recognising that these temporal perspectives may not be completely distinct, the volume shows how Bede’s understanding of their relationship undoubtedly changed over the course of his life. Each chapter examines a distinct aspect of the subject, whilst at the same time complementing the other essays, resulting in a comprehensive and coherent volume. In so doing the volume asks (and answers) new questions about Bede and his ideas about the future, and will undoubtedly stimulate further research in this field.

Bede, on the Tabernacle

Bede, on the Tabernacle
Author: Beda (Heiliger)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1994
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This volume contains the first English translation of Bede's allegorical commentary on the tabernacle of Moses, which he interpreted as a symbolic figure of the Christian Church. Written in the early 720s at the monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, On the Tabernacle (De tabernaculo) was the first Christian literary work devoted entirely to this topic and the first verse-by-verse commentary on the relevant portions of the Book of Exodus. On the Tabernacle was one of Bede's most popular works, appearing in a great many manuscripts from every period of the Middle Ages.

(Re-)Reading Bede

(Re-)Reading Bede
Author: N.J. Higham
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 522
Release: 2006-11-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134260644

Bede's Ecclesiastical History is the most important single source for early medieval English history. Without it, we would be able to say very little about the conversion of the English to Christianity, or the nature of England before the Viking Age. Bede wrote for his contemporaries, not for a later audience, and it is only by an examination of the work itself that we can assess how best to approach it as a historical source. N.J. Higham shows, through a close reading of the text, what light the Ecclesiastical History throws on the history of the period and especially on those characters from seventh- and early eighth-century England whom Bede either heroized, such as his own bishop, Acca, and kings Oswald and Edwin, or villainized, most obviously the British king Cædwalla but also Oswiu, Oswald's brother. In (Re-)Reading Bede, N.J. Higham offers a fresh approach to how we should engage with this great work of history. He focuses particularly on Bede's purposes in writing it, its internal structure, the political and social context in which it was composed and the cultural values it betrays, remembering always that our own approach to Bede has been influenced to a very great extent by the various ways in which he has been both used, as a source, and commemorated, as man and saint, across the last 1,300 years.

How, When and Why did Bede Write his Ecclesiastical History?

How, When and Why did Bede Write his Ecclesiastical History?
Author: Richard Shaw
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2022-02-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429663668

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History is our main source for early Christian Anglo-Saxon England, but how was it written? When? And why? Scholars have spent much of the last half century investigating the latter question – the ‘why’. This new study is the first to systematically consider the ‘how’ and the ‘when’. Richard Shaw shows that rather than producing the History at a single point in 731, Bede was working on it for as much as twenty years, from c. 715 to just before his death in 735. Unpacking and extending the period of composition of Bede’s best-known book makes sense of the complicated and contradictory evidence for its purposes. The work did not have one context, but several, each with its own distinct constructed audiences. Thus, the History was not written for a single purpose to the exclusion of all others. Nor was it simply written for a variety of reasons. It was written over time – quite a lot of time – and as the world changed during that time, so too did Bede’s reasons for writing, the intentions he sought to pursue – and the patrons he hoped to please or to placate.

Bede and the End of Time

Bede and the End of Time
Author: Peter Darby
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317175816

Bede (c. 673-735) was the leading intellectual figure of the Anglo-Saxon Church, and his writings had a profound influence on the development of English Christian thought. Among the many issues he wrote about, eschatology - the study of the day of judgment and the end of time - was a recurring theme. Whilst recent research has furthered our knowledge of this subject in the later Middle Ages, Dr Darby's book provides the first comprehensive analysis of Bede's eschatological thought and its impact upon the Anglo-Saxon period. Taking account of Bede's beliefs about the end of time, this book offers sophisticated insights into his life, his works and the role that eschatological thought played in Anglo-Saxon society. Close attention is given to the historical setting of each source text consulted, and original insights are advanced regarding the chronological sequence of Bede's writings. The book reveals that Bede's ideas about time changed over the course of his career, and it shows how Bede established himself as the foremost expert in eschatology of his age. The eight chapters of this book are organised into three main thematic groups: the world ages framework, Bede's eschatological vision and Bede's eschatological perspective. It will be of interest to those studying early medieval history, theology or literature as well as anyone with a particular interest in Bede and Anglo-Saxon England.

Bede the scholar

Bede the scholar
Author: Peter Darby
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2023-06-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 152615319X

Distilling a decade of research by leading experts on the Venerable Bede, Bede the scholar investigates the Northumbrian monk’s place within the wider intellectual developments of the early medieval world. Demonstrating the centrality of the Bible to his scholarship, chapters focus on Bede’s engagement with scriptural languages, his knowledge and use of earlier works of Latin literature, and a pastoral commitment to teaching and preaching. The book breaks new ground for our understanding of Bede’s self image by investigating his famous Ecclesiastical history of the English people alongside lesser-known works such as the Martyrology, the commentary On Genesis, and the chapter headings he developed for different parts of the Vulgate Bible. Contributors highlight the importance of appreciating Bede’s work within its local setting: the kingdom of Northumbria and the monastery of Wearmouth, whose founders, Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrith, inspired Bede in various ways. The monastery provided an environment in which Bede could flourish, and where he contributed to an intellectual enterprise which also generated the Codex Amiatinus, the earliest one-volume Vulgate to survive fully intact. Combining rigorous scholarly research with a celebration of the depth and complexity of Bede’s work, Bede the scholar deepens our understanding of the scholarly programme undertaken by one of the most important intellectual figures of the early middle ages.