The World of Bede

An engaging and accessible introduction to the writings and intellectual development of the Venerable Bede (d.735), this book (originally published in 1970 and out of print for many years) is now made available again for the enjoyment of all those interested in the early medieval world. A new preface and supplementary bibliography by Michael Lapidge has brought the book up to date. Based almost entirely on primary sources, particularly Bede's own writings, the book surveys the fragmented state of Britain after the Anglo-Saxon conquests, tracing the - sometimes faltering - rebirth of Christianity from the time of St. Augustine through to the glories of the golden age of Northumbria in the eighth century. What was Bede's contribution to the growth of scholarship? Why is his famous Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and People still so highly regarded? How did Bede see his own age? What traditions most influenced him? Peter Hunter Blair answers all these questions, assessing Bede sympatheticaly in all the fields in which he was active, as teacher, orthographer, moral philospher, grammarian, theologian, natural scientist and, above all, as our first modern historian.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Michael Lapidge; Preface; List of abbreviations; Part I. Alter Orbis: 1. Change in the west; 2. Bede's view of Britain; 3. Britons and English; 4. English foundations; Part II. Towards Christianity: 5. The initiation of a mission; 6. The journey to England; 7. Gregory's English correspondence; 8. Bede's account of the mission; 9. The first Archbishops of Canterbury; 10. Paulinus in Northumbria; 11. 'Celtic' and 'Roman' missionaries; Part III. The Growth of Monasticism: 12. Gaulish and Italian influences; 13. Spanish influences; 14. Aspects of English monasticism; 15. Benedict Biscop's early years; 16. The Foundation of Wearmouth; 17. The Foundation of Jarrow; 18. The Abbacy of Ceolfrith; Part IV. Learning, Teaching and Writing: 19. The regular life; 20. The Bible in the west; 21. The Northumbrian Bible; 22. Education and the grammarians; 23. Reading and psalmody; 24. Number and time; 25. The lives of saints; 26. Secular and Christian books; 27. Candela Ecclesiae; Select Bibliography; Index.

Review :
"In the foreword, Michael Lapidge, who supervised the reprinting, says, 'Hunter Blair's book stands up well to the passage of time: being concerned with Bede himself and not with the industry of Bede scholarship.' Anyone (such as this reviewer) who read this book twenty years ago and who has just returned to it will agree...This remains a fine book." Joseph F. Kelly, Church History