 The Ecclesiastical History
of the English Nation Venerable Bede Translated from the Latin of Venerable Bede. Collated with the Original Text, and Revised, by J. A. Giles, Ll. D. Late Fellow of C. C. Coll., Oxford. Volume I London: James Bohn, 12, King William Street, Strand, MDCCCXLV. To the Right Reverend Charles, Lord Bishop of Winchester, This Volume Is Most Respectfully Inscribed by His Lordship’s Obliged and Faithful Servant, J. A. Giles. Contents
Title Page: THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH NATION The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation Preface The Publisher’s Advertisement Analysis of the Series Book I Preface
to the Most Glorious King Ceolwulph, Bede, the Servant of Christ and Priest Chap. I
of the Situation of Britain and Ireland, and of Their Ancient Inhabitants Chap. II
Caius Julius Cæsar, the First Roman That Came Into Britain Chap. III
Claudius, the Second of the Romans Who Came Into Britain, Brought the Islands Orcades Into Subjection to the Roman Empire; and Vespasian, Sent by Him, Reduced the Isle of Wight Under Their Dominion Chap. IV
Lucius, King of Britain, Writing to Pope Eleutherus, Desires to Be Made a Christian Chap. V
How the Emperor Severus Divided That Part of Britain Which He Subdued, from the Rest by a Rampart Chap. VI
the Reign of Diocletian, and How He Persecuted the Christians Chap. VII
the Passion of St. Alban and His Companions, Who at That Time Shed Their Blood for Our Lord Chap. VIII
the Persecution Ceasing, the Church in Britain Enjoys Peace Till the Time of the Arian Heresy Chap. IX
How During the Reign of Gratian, Maximus, Being Created Emperor in Britain, Returned Into Gaul with a Mighty Army Chap. X
How in the Reign of Arcadius, Pelagius, a Briton, Insolently Impugned the Grace of God Chap. XI
How During the Reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine Were Created Tyrants in Britain; and Soon After the Former Was Slain in Britain, and the Latter in Gaul Chap. XII
the Britons, Being Ravaged by the Scots and Picts, Sought Succour from the Romans, Who, Coming a Second Time, Built a Wall Across the Island; but the Britons Being Again Invaded by the Aforesaid Enemies, Were Reduced to Greater Distress Than Before Chap. XIII
in the Reign of Theodosius the Younger, Palladius Was Sent to the Scots That Believed in Christ; the Britons Begging Assistance of æTius, the Consul, Could Not Obtain It Chap. XIV
the Britons, Compelled by Famine, Drove the Barbarians Out of Their Territories; Soon After There Ensued Plenty of Corn, Luxury, Plague, and the Subversion of the Nation Chap. XV
the Angles Being Invited Into Britain, at First Obliged the Enemy to Retire to a Distance; but Not Long After, Joining in League with Them, Turned Their Weapons Upon Their Confederates Chap. XVI
the Britons Obtained Their First Victory Over the Angles, Under the Command of Ambrosius, a Roman Chap. XVII
How Germanus the Bishop, Sailing Into Britain with Lupus, First Quelled the Tempest of the Sea, and Afterwards That of the Pelagians, by Divine Power Chap. XVIII
the Same Holy Man Gave Sight to the Blind Daughter of a Tribune, and Then Coming to St. Alban’s, There Received Some Relics of His, and Left Others of the Blessed Apostles, and Other Martyrs Chap. XIX
How the Same Holy Man, Being Detained There by an Indisposition, by His Prayers Quenched a Fire That Had Broken Out Among the Houses, and Was Himself Cured of His Distemper by a Vision Chap. XX
How the Same Bishops Procured the Britons Assistance from Heaven in a Battle, and Then Returned Home Chap. XXI
the Pelagian Heresy Again Reviving, Germanus, Returning Into Britain with Severus, First Healed a Lame Youth, Then Having Condemned or Converted the Heretics, They Restored Spiritual Health to the People of God Chap. XXII
the Britons, Being for a Time Delivered from Foreign Invasions, Wasted Themselves by Civil Wars, and Then Gave Themselves Up to More Heinous Crimes Chap. XXIII
How Pope Gregory Sent Augustine, with Other Monks, to Preach to the English, and Encouraged Them by a Letter of Exhortation, Not to Cease from Their Labour Chap. XXIV
How He Wrote to the Bishop of Arles to Entertain Them Chap. XXV
Augustine, Coming Into Britain, First Preached in the Isle of Thanet to King Ethelbert, and Having Obtained Licence, Entered the Kingdom of Kent, in Order to Preach Therein Chap. XXVI
St. Augustine in Kent Followed the Doctrine and Manner of Living of the Primitive Church, and Settled His Episcopal See in the Royal City Chap. XXVII
St. Augustine, Being Made Bishop, Sends to Acquaint Pope Gregory with What Had Been Done, and Receives His Answer to the Doubts He Had Proposed to Him Chap. XXVIII
Pope Gregory Writes to the Bishop of Arles to Assist Augustine in the Work of God Chap. XXIX
the Same Pope Sends Augustine the Pall, an Epistle, and Several Ministers of the Word Chap. XXX
a Copy of the Letter Which Pope Gregory Sent to the Abbot Mellitus, Then Going Into Britain Chap. XXXI
Pope Gregory, by Letter, Exhorts Augustine Not to Glory in His Miracles Chap. XXXII
Pope Gregory Sends Letters and Presents to King Ethelbert Chap. XXXIII
Augustine Repairs the Church of Our Saviour, and Builds the Monastery of St. Peter the Apostle; Peter the First Abbot of the Same Chap. XXXIV
Ethelfrid, King of the Northumbrians, Having Vanquished the Nations of the Scots, Expels Them from the Territories of the English Book II Chap. I
of the Death of the Blessed Pope Gregory Chap. II
Augustine Admonished the Bishops of the Britons to Catholic Peace and Unity, and to That Effect Wrought a Heavenly Miracle in Their Presence; of the Vengeance That Pursued Them for Their Contempt Chap. III
How St. Augustine Made Mellitus and Justus Bishops; and of His Death Chap. IV
Laurentius and His Bishops Admonish the Scots to Observe the Unity of the Holy Church, Particularly in Keeping of Easter; Mellitus Goes to Rome Chap. V
How, After the Death of the Kings Ethelbert and Sabert, Their Successors Restored Idolatry; for Which Reason, Both Mellitus and Justus Departed Out of Britain Chap. VI
Laurentius, Being Reproved by the Apostle, Converts King Eadbald to Christ; Mellitus and Justus Are Recalled Chap. VII
Bishop Mellitus by Prayer Quenches a Fire in His City Chap. VIII
Pope Boniface Sends the Pall and an Epistle to Justus, Successor to Mellitus Chap. IX
the Reign of King Edwin, and How Paulinus, Coming to Preach the Gospel, First Converted His Daughter and Others to the Faith of Christ Chap. X
Pope Boniface, by Letter, Exhorts the Same King to Embrace the Faith Chap. XI
Pope Boniface Advises Queen Ethelberga to Use Her Best Endeavours for the Salvation of Her Consort, King Edwin Chap. XII
King Edwin Is Persuaded to Believe, by a Vision He Had Seen When He Was in Exile Chap. XIII
of the Council He Held with His Chief Men About Embracing the Faith of Christ, and How the High Priest Profaned His Own Altars Chap. XIV
King Edwin and His Nation Become Christians; Paulinus Baptizes Them Chap. XV
the Province of the East Angles Receives the Faith of Christ Chap. XVI
How Paulinus Preached in the Province of Lindsey; and of the Reign of Edwin Chap. XVII
Edwin Receives Letters of Exhortation from Pope Honorius, Who Also Sends Paulinus the Pall Chap. XVIII
Honorius, Who Succeeded Justus in the Bishopric of Canterbury, Receives the Pall and Letters from Pope Honorius Chap. XIX
How the Aforesaid Honorius First, and Afterwards John, Wrote Letters to the Nation of the Scots, Concerning the Observance of Easter, and the Pelagian Heresy Chap. XX
Edwin Being Slain, Paulinus Returns Into Kent, and Has the Bishopric of Rochester Conferred on Him Book III Chap. I
How King Edwin’s Next Successors Lost Both the Faith of Their Nation and the Kingdom; but the Most Christian King Oswald Retrieved Both Chap. II
How Among Innumerable Other Miraculous Cures Wrought by the Cross, Which King Oswald, Being Ready to Engage Against the Barbarians, Erected, a Certain Youth Had His Lame Arm Healed Chap. III
the Same King Oswald, Asking a Bishop of the Scottish Nation, Had Aidan Sent Him, and Granted Him an Episcopal See in the Isle of Lindisfarne Chap. IV
When the Nation of the Picts Received the Faith Chap. V
of the Life of Bishop Aidan Chap. VI
of King Oswald’s Wonderful Piety Chap. VII
How the West Saxons Received the Word of God by the Preaching of Birinus; and of His Successors, Agilbert and Eleutherius Chap. VIII
How Earconbert, King of Kent, Ordered the Idols to Be Destroyed; and of His Daughter Earcongota, and His Kinswoman Ethelberga, Virgins Consecrated to God Chap. IX
How Miraculous Cures Have Been Frequently Done in the Place Where King Oswald Was Killed; and How First, a Traveller’s Horse Was Restored, and Afterwards a Young Girl Cured of a Palsy Chap. X
the Power of the Earth of That Place Against Fire Chap. XI
of the Heavenly Light That Appeared All the Night Over the Bones of King Oswald, and How Persons Possessed with Devils Were Delivered by Them Chap. XII
of a Boy Cured of an Ague at St. Oswald’s Tomb Chap. XIII
of a Certain Person in Ireland That Was Recovered, When at the Point of Death, by the Bones of King Oswald Chap. XIV
on the Death of Paulinus, Ithamar Was Made Bishop of Rochester in His Stead. of the Wonderful Humility of King Oswin, Who Was Cruelly Slain by Oswy Chap. XV
How Bishop Aidan Foretold to Certain Seamen a Storm That Would Happen, and Gave Them Some Holy Oil to Lay It Chap. XVI
How the Same Aidan, by His Prayers, Saved the Royal City When Fired by the Enemy Chap. XVII
How the Post of the Church on Which Bishop Aidan Was Leaning When He Died, Could Not Be Burnt When the Rest of the Church Was Consumed by Fire; and of His Inward Life Chap. XVIII
of the Life and Death of the Religious King Sigebert Chap. XIX
How Fursey Built a Monastery Among the East Angles, and of His Visions and Sanctity, of Which, His Flesh Remaining Uncorrupted After Death, Bore Testimony Chap. XX
Honorius Dying, Deusdedit Is Chosen Archbishop of Canterbury. of Those Who Were at That Time Bishops of the East Angles, and of the Church of Rochester Chap. XXI
How the Province of the Midland Angles Became Christian Under King Peada Chap. XXII
How the East Saxons Again Received the Faith, Which They Had Before Cast Off Under King Sigebert, Through the Preaching of Cedd Chap. XXIII
Bishop Cedd, Having a Place Given Him by King Ethelwald, Consecrates the Same to Our Lord with Prayer and Fasting. of His Death Chap. XXIV
King Penda Being Slain, the Mercians Received the Faith of Christ, and Oswy Gave Possessions and Territories to God, for Building Monasteries, in Acknowledgment for the Victory Obtained Chap. XXV
How the Controversy Arose About the Due Time of Keeping Easter, with Those That Came Out of Scotland Chap. XXVI
Colman, Being Worsted, Returned Home; Tuda Succeeded Him in the Bishopric; the State of the Church Under Those Teachers Chap. XXVII
Egbert, a Holy Man of the English Nation, Led a Monastic Life in Ireland Chap. XXVIII
Tuda Being Dead, Wilfrid Was Ordained, in France, and Ceadda, in the Province of the West Saxons, to Be Bishops of the Northumbrians Chap. XXIX
How the Priest Wighard Was Sent from Britain to Rome, to Be Consecrated Archbishop, of His Death There, and of the Letters of the Apostolic Pope Giving an Account Thereof Chap. XXX
the East Saxons, During a Pestilence, Returning to Idolatry, Are Immediately Brought Back from Their Error by the Bishop Jaruman Book IV Chap. I
Deusdedit, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dying, Wighard Was Sent to Rome to Succeed Him in That Dignity; but He Dying There, Theodore Was Ordained Archbishop, and Sent Into Britain with the Abbot Hadrian Chap. II
Theodore Visits All Places; the Churches of the English Begin to Be Instructed in Holy Literature, and in the Catholic Truth; Putta Is Made Bishop of the Church of Rochester in the Room of Damianus Chap. III
How Ceadda, Above-Mentioned, Was Made Bishop of the Mercians. of His Life, Death, and Burial Chap. IV
Bishop Colman, Having Left Britain, Built Two Monasteries in Scotland; the One for the Scots, the Other for the English He Had Taken Along with Him Chap. V
of the Death of the Kings Oswy and Egbert, and of the Synod Held at Hertford, in Which Archbishop Theodore Presided Chap. VI
Winfrid Being Deposed, Sexwulf Was Put Into His See, and Earconwald Made Bishop of the East Saxons Chap. VII
How It Was Indicated by a Heavenly Light Where the Bodies of the Nuns Should Be Buried in the Monastery of Barking Chap. VIII
a Little Boy, Dying in the Same Monastery, Called Upon a Virgin That Was to Follow Him; Another at the Point of Leaving Her Body, Saw Some Small Part of the Future Glory Chap. IX
of the Signs Which Were Shown from Heaven When the Mother of That Congregation Departed This Life Chap. X
a Blind Woman, Praying in the Burial-Place of That Monastery, Was Restored to Her Sight Chap. XI
Sebbi, King of the Same Province, Ends His Life in a Monastery Chap. XII
Heddi Succeeds Eleutherius in the Bishopric of the West Saxons; Cuichelm Succeeds Putta in That of Rochester, and Is Himself Succeeded by Gebmund; and Who Were Then Bishops of the Northumbrians Chap. XIII
Bishop Wilfrid Converts the Province of the South Saxons to Christ Chap. XIV
How a Pestilential Mortality Ceased Through the Intercession of King Oswald Chap. XV
King Ceadwalla Having Slain Ethelwalch, King of the West Saxons, Wasted That Province with Rapine and Slaughter Chap. XVI
How the Isle of Wight Received Christian Inhabitants, and Two Royal Youths of That Island Were Killed Immediately After Baptism Chap. XVII
of the Synod Held in the Plain of Heathfield, Where Archbishop Theodore Presided Chap. XVIII
of John, the Singer of the Apostolic See, Who Came Into Britain to Teach Chap. XIX
How Queen Etheldrida Always Preserved Her Virginity, and Her Body Suffered No Corruption in the Grave Chap. XX
an Hymn on the Aforesaid Holy Virgin Chap. XXI
Bishop Theodore Made Peace Between the Kings Egfrid and Ethelred Chap. XXII
How a Certain Captive’s Chains Fell Off When Masses Were Sung for Him Chap. XXIII
of the Life and Death of the Abbess Hilda Chap. XXIV
There Was in the Same Monastery a Brother, on Whom the Gift of Writing Verses Was Bestowed by Heaven Chap. XXV
of the Vision That Appeared to a Certain Man of God Before the Monastery of the City Coludi Was Burned Down Chap. XXVI
of the Death of the Kings Egfrid and Lothere Chap. XXVII
Cuthbert, a Man of God, Is Made Bishop; and How He Lived and Taught Whilst Still in a Monastic Life Chap. XXVIII
the Same St. Cuthbert, Being an Anchorite, by His Prayers Obtained a Spring in a Dry Soil, and Had a Crop from Seed Sown by Himself Out of Season Chap. XXIX
St. Cuthbert Foretold to the Anchorite, Herebert, That His Death Was at Hand Chap. XXX
St. Cuthbert’s Body Was Found Altogether Uncorrupted After It Had Been Buried Eleven Years; His Successor in the Bishopric Departed This World Not Long After Chap. XXXI
of One That Was Cured of a Palsy at the Tomb of St. Cuthbert Chap. XXXII
of One Who Was Cured of a Distemper in His Eye at the Relics of St. Cuthbert Book V Chap. I
How Ethelwald, Successor to Cuthbert, Leading an Eremitical Life, Calmed a Tempest When the Brethren Were in Danger at Sea Chap. II
How Bishop John Cured a Dumb Man by Blessing Him Chap. III
the Same Bishop, John, by His Prayers, Healed a Sick Maiden Chap. IV
the Same Bishop Healed an Earl’s Wife That Was Sick, with Holy Water Chap. V
the Same Bishop Recovered One of the Earl’s Servants from Death Chap. VI
the Same Bishop, by His Prayers and Blessing, Delivered from Death One of His Clerks, Who Had Bruised Himself by a Fall Chap. VII
Ceadwalla, King of the West-Saxons, Went to Rome to Be Baptized; His Successor Ina Also Devoutly Repaired to the Same Church of the Holy Apostles Chap. VIII
Archbishop Theodore Dies, Berthwald Succeeds Him as Archbishop, and Among Many Others Whom He Ordained, He Made Tobias, a Most Learned Man, Bishop of the Church of Rochester Chap. IX
Egbert, a Holy Man, Would Have Gone Into Germany to Preach, but Could Not; Wictbert Went, but Meeting with No Success, Returned Into Ireland, from Whence He Came Chap. X
Wilbrord, Preaching in Frisland, Converted Many to Christ; His Two Companions, the Hewalds, Suffered Martyrdom Chap. XI
How the Venerable Suidbert in Britain, and Wilbrord at Rome, Were Ordained Bishops for Frisland Chap. XII
of One Among the Northumbrians, Who Rose from the Dead, and Related the Things Which He Had Seen, Some Exciting Terror, Others Delight Chap. XIII
of Another, Who Before His Death Saw a Book Containing All His Sins, Which Was Showed Him by Devils Chap. XIV
of Another, Who Being at the Point of Death, Saw the Place of Punishment Appointed for Him in Hell Chap. XV
Several Churches of the Scots, at the Instance of Adamnan, Conformed to the Catholic Easter; the Same Person Wrote a Book About the Holy Places Chap. XVI
the Account Given by the Aforesaid Book of the Place of Our Lord’s Nativity, Passion and Resurrection Chap. XVII
of the Place of Our Lord’s Ascension, and the Tombs of the Patriarchs Chap. XVIII
the South Saxons Received Eadbert and Eolla, and the West Saxons, Daniel and Aldhelm, for Their Bishops. of the Writings of the Same Aldhelm Chap. XIX
Coinred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, of the East Saxons, Ended Their Days at Rome, in the Monastic Habit. of the Life and Death of Bishop Wilfrid Chap. XX
Albinus Succeeded to the Religious Abbot Hadrian, and Acca to Bishop Wilfrid Chap. XXI
Abbot Ceolfrid Sent the King of the Picts Architects to Build a Church, and with Them an Epistle Concerning the Catholic Easter and Tonsure Chap. XXII
the Monks of Hii, and the Monasteries Subject to Them, Begin to Celebrate the Canonical Easter at the Preaching of Egbert Chap. XXIII
of the Present State of the English Nation, or of All Britain Epitome or Chronological Summary of the Whole Work Notice of the Author Himself and of His Works The Fifth Book of the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation Duration of the Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy Copyright ©1999-2026 Wildfire Fellowship, Inc all rights reserved
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