The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede's Letter to Egbert (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

by Bede (Author), Judith McClure (Editor), Roger Collins (Editor)
Key Phrases: blessed chief, fourth indiction, secular habit, The Ecclesiastical History, West Saxons, Almighty God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] very useful, practical edition."--Glenn Olsen, University of Utah
"One of the first great works of English literature....This new edition is based on the standard scholarly text, comes replete with notes by its editors...and includes two shorter works, "The Greater Chronicle" and the "Letter to Egbert"....This book offers anecdote, philosophical observation, and even charm."--The Washington Post
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Starting with the invasion of Julius Caesar in the fifth century, Bede recorded the history of the English up to his own day in 731 A.D. A scholarly monk working in the north-east of England, Bede wrote the five books of his history in Latin. The Ecclesiastical History is his most famous work, and this edition provides the authoritative Colgrave translation, as well as a new translation of the Greater Chronicle, never before published in English. His Letter to Egbert gives his final reflections on the English Church just before his death. This is the only edition to include all three texts, and they are illuminated further by a detailed introduction and explanatory notes.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192829122
• ISBN-13: 978-0192829122
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,171,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look back at pre-unified England, February 8, 2009

By	ScrawnyPunk (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede's Letter to Egbert (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand the continued zeal with which people pursue the propagation of their faith. I have heard it said that it is only when we are close to ruin that we understand how far we are from salvation. As abject ruination is difficult to come by these days, it stands to reason that it is more difficult to understand how far from salvation we really are - we know what we see, and we do not see much to worry about in today's society. Inasmuch as ruin and desolation were very real circumstances for many people in the first millennium, it is now easy to understand the urgency of the evangelical mission and the eagerness with which it was met in many corners. What is not easy to understand are the subtleties required to turn fear into a legitimate way of life. Enter Bede and his `History' - a fantastic preservation of the need to spread the word and geopolitical context in which it was accomplished during the Heptarchy.

A full review is probably best left to the hundreds of critics between Bede's time and ours, not to mention its quick synopsis on Wikipedia. For my part, I am happy to list a few things I personally enjoyed. To begin with, it was interesting to see how the early kings were clever enough to recognize Christianity as a unifying belief system and a means with which to help govern their people. A multitude of gods and a multitude of beliefs do not contribute to a stable, governable populace. However, a unified belief in a single God who demands obedience and sacrifice in this world is something a king could really sink his teeth into. Small wonder so many of them agreed to the evangelical missions, and small wonder many political alliances were sealed with convenient conversions. It was equally interesting to see how the priests and monks were able to take pagan traits (magic and pantheons) and apply them to Christianity (miracles and saints) to provide an easy transition. Although long forgotten, the `History' provides a reminder that the establishment of ecclesiastical rules was a requirement were cultural rules could not survive due to political and cultural instability.

I also enjoyed the book as an excellent means of preserving texts which may have otherwise been lost to theology. The epistles from popes to their new bishops and kings are especially interesting, and the familiarity of some of the names (e.g. St. Gregory of chanting fame and St. Alban) helped counter my initial ignorance on many of the more arcane subjects. The excerpt from Adomnán's `On Holy Places' was likewise interesting (although the original exists) and serves as a nice travelogue in the midst of a nearly endless roll of minor saints and miracles near the end of the fifth book.

There were far fewer political or military exploits than I expected, but then I should have known better than to expect them out of an `ecclesiastical' history. With that being said, I really enjoyed the pagan king Penda even though he received an undeniably bad rap in Bede's writing. An obviously driven man, I thought he unjustly received the Darth Vader treatment until I later read a brief criticism pointing out what would have been obvious to a historian - Penda was the strongest king of a rising threat to Bede's Northumbria, and Mercia was arguably a more powerful entity when Bede lived.

There were a few things I did not enjoy. Discreptions of monasteries, nunneries, minor saints and miracles sometimes seemed endless and pointless. The story is not linear but continually loops back on itself as Bede is trying to convey distinct ideas rather than dictate a sterile chronology (he does that in the last chapter). The dating conventions are inconsistent and reflect changing understanding from the early fifth century to the late seventh century (e.g. episodes are dated according to Roman Emperor reigns through Book 2, chapter 18 and then abruptly switch to English time after Heraclius' reign). The discussions on Easter dating are ceaseless, with more than one whole chapter being devoted to the subject. It is difficult to sympathize with the notion of penance through illness is difficult to grasp given a rudimentary understanding of modern medicine. And most frustratingly, there are a number of Herodotean instances of "more on that later" which are never recovered.

However, the detractions are minimal and the rewards are great. I would recommend this to any student of history, anyone interested in theology, and most people interested in literature.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern times through past eyes, June 25, 2006

By	J. Santee (Astoria, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede's Letter to Egbert (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

There are striking similarities between Bede's era (mid 700's) and our own. You would have figured that our "advanced" society would have learned from the past and not be caught up in a never ending repeat of past problems. Any number of passages in this book could be inserted as a lead story in a TV or newspaper report and I suspect no one would know the difference. If the New York Times was being published in the year 731, Bede would have been on the "Best Seller" list.

6 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Co-ed monasteries and reverend mothers, September 27, 2006

By	D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede's Letter to Egbert (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

It contains fascinating side-lights upon the sub-Roman period in British history. There are obviously false stories about miracles mixed up with some verifiable facts, such as an eclipse of the sun that took place on May third, 664 at 4 o, clock in the afternoon.
Bede (like many religious teachers today) worried a lot about men's hair styles. British (i.e. Welsh) and Irish Christians had the wrong kind of haircut. He was also very concerned about the correct date of Easter, but he casually mentions an abbess who wanted to pass along the abbacy of her convent to her daughter. Men and women both lived in virginity in the monastery of Coldingham. The notes by McClure and Collins do not comment on these matters.
The translation is the Bernard Colgrave one. If you want a Latin text I think you have to get the Loeb edition - I couldn't find one on Project Gutenburg.