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(Re )Reading Bede: The Ecclesiastical History in Context
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 C�dwalla 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.
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 C�dwalla 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.
296 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2006
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About the author
Nicholas J. Higham
33 books25 followersLibrarian note: There are other authors with the same name.
Dr. Nicholas John Higham, aka N.J. Higham, is Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the History Subject Area in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. His research interests focus on two interrelated areas: the History and Archaeology of the Early Middle Ages in Britain, and the Landscape and Settlement History of North West and North England in the Middle Ages. He has supervised many successful research students in both areas and is always interested in enquiries concerning future research.
Dr. Nicholas John Higham, aka N.J. Higham, is Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the History Subject Area in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. His research interests focus on two interrelated areas: the History and Archaeology of the Early Middle Ages in Britain, and the Landscape and Settlement History of North West and North England in the Middle Ages. He has supervised many successful research students in both areas and is always interested in enquiries concerning future research.
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February 12, 2020
There is a lot less history in this book than what you'd perhaps expect. Instead it concentrates on delving into the construction of the Ecclesiastical History. If you have a yearning to see what can be supposed from how biblical stories bookended an account of the deeds of a 7th C personage or statistical analysis of chapter lengths, then you'll love this book.
The chapters are:
An author and his audience
Bede's purposes and ours
Structure, organisation and context
Message and discourse
Ceolwulf and the Ecclesiastical History
I think that the EH does require careful handling. It isn't history as a 21st C historian would write. To be fair, it is doubtful that Bede ever saw himself as a historian – he was a biblical scholar, searching for God's truth and His design through study of the past. It is a book with moral exemplars. Hence there are a number of parables demonstrating good kingship that resulted in divine favour, as well as (fewer) examples of what happened when kings ignored the advice of bishops.
To get the most from the EH, readers need to be able to detect why sections of it are written how they are. To have an understanding of the construction is to have a more discerning understanding of the work itself. Knowing that a story is a parallel of another, such as Imma's fetters dropping off when masses were said (echoes of Gregory's Dialogues, etc) is enlightening.
The opening and closing chapters are the most interesting. It's the middle that are less so. The discussion of Goffart's idea that the work is a response to a Wilfridian camp in Northumbrian ecclesiastical politics is particularly unpersuasive from just a headline reading, so 14 pages refuting it definitely drags.
Anything by Nick Higham will contain some well thought out insights and this book is no exception. However, it's far from an essential read – it won't change your understanding of 7th C history, that will be left intact.
Things you'll take away from this book:
1, Bede was an admirer of Wilfrid's Catholicism and religiosity, if not of his ability to get into scrapes.
2, Statistical analysis of what is in the recapitulation, compared to the EH content itself shows that the Irish side of Northumbrian conversion was downplayed in the EH.
3, Considering the dynastic strife within Northumbria when he was writing, he must have had a very tricky job in knowing which dynasties to be discreet about, or whose triumphs to trumpet.
The chapters are:
An author and his audience
Bede's purposes and ours
Structure, organisation and context
Message and discourse
Ceolwulf and the Ecclesiastical History
I think that the EH does require careful handling. It isn't history as a 21st C historian would write. To be fair, it is doubtful that Bede ever saw himself as a historian – he was a biblical scholar, searching for God's truth and His design through study of the past. It is a book with moral exemplars. Hence there are a number of parables demonstrating good kingship that resulted in divine favour, as well as (fewer) examples of what happened when kings ignored the advice of bishops.
To get the most from the EH, readers need to be able to detect why sections of it are written how they are. To have an understanding of the construction is to have a more discerning understanding of the work itself. Knowing that a story is a parallel of another, such as Imma's fetters dropping off when masses were said (echoes of Gregory's Dialogues, etc) is enlightening.
The opening and closing chapters are the most interesting. It's the middle that are less so. The discussion of Goffart's idea that the work is a response to a Wilfridian camp in Northumbrian ecclesiastical politics is particularly unpersuasive from just a headline reading, so 14 pages refuting it definitely drags.
Anything by Nick Higham will contain some well thought out insights and this book is no exception. However, it's far from an essential read – it won't change your understanding of 7th C history, that will be left intact.
Things you'll take away from this book:
1, Bede was an admirer of Wilfrid's Catholicism and religiosity, if not of his ability to get into scrapes.
2, Statistical analysis of what is in the recapitulation, compared to the EH content itself shows that the Irish side of Northumbrian conversion was downplayed in the EH.
3, Considering the dynastic strife within Northumbria when he was writing, he must have had a very tricky job in knowing which dynasties to be discreet about, or whose triumphs to trumpet.
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