This comprises specially-commissioned new translations from Bede's historical writings: "Life of Cuthbert", "Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow" and his "Ecclesiastical History" - telling of the land and the people of "an island in the Ocean", of the warlords who forged the Saxon kingdoms, and the abbots and abbesses, hermits and holy men who dominated the dawn of English Christianity. It is illustrated with photographs of historic sites and holy places associated with Bede's life and writings - from Northumberland ...
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This comprises specially-commissioned new translations from Bede's historical writings: "Life of Cuthbert", "Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow" and his "Ecclesiastical History" - telling of the land and the people of "an island in the Ocean", of the warlords who forged the Saxon kingdoms, and the abbots and abbesses, hermits and holy men who dominated the dawn of English Christianity. It is illustrated with photographs of historic sites and holy places associated with Bede's life and writings - from Northumberland's coastline and countryside to Columba's isle of Iona and the martyr's shrine at St Albans.
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Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $2.36, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Macmillan.
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Illustrated Bede to cart. $3.28, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $3.89, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $4.37, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $4.37, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
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Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $4.84, good condition, Sold by Blue Vase Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Interlochen, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Macmillan.
Add this copy of The Illustrated Bede to cart. $9.87, very good condition, Sold by Lexington Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Idaho Falls, ID, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Floris Books.
Lovely book. I'm a student of Latin and have studied Bede but this is lovely to see the pictures of the area where he lived and worked and to read the English translation - somewhat easier! I recommend this to lovers of Latin and also lovers of hisory and Britain, particularly the North. It was so exciting to receive the parcel from so far away - great service.
sgrt
Sep 29, 2007
A Distant Voice
A handful of men and women throughout history have acquired the epithet ?the great? in recognition of their impact on the course of events during and after their lives. In the religious and the secular spheres probably not more than a dozen names thus honored come readily to mind. But only one man is called ?the venerable?, and he is the unassuming Northumbrian monk Bede. The Venerable Bede is one of those figures who stands at the crossroads of history?an Anglo-Saxon in an Irish-centered world (both the terms ?English? and ?Celtic? are anachronistic in Bede's world); a Rome-centered Benedictine in a milieu strongly favoring non-Roman usages. Doubtless a significant reason for his enduring epithet is that, in the long run, his views won out over the opposition?Roman ritual prevailed, and the long, succeeding Benedictine centuries molded a chaotic world into some form of European consciousness. Bede's life can be simply told: he was born in AD 673, and entered the recently-founded monastery of Wearmouth in 680. ?Entered? is perhaps as anachronistic a term as ?England? in this context, for Bede was actually offered as an oblate at age seven to the monastery by pious parents, a not unusual practice in those times. Indeed, Benedict makes provision for the acceptance and education of such children as a part of the monastic family: ?Although human nature . . . is drawn to special kindness . . . towards . . . children . . . the authority of the rule should . . . provide for them. . . . Let a kind consideration be shown to them? (Rule of St. Benedict, Ch 37, Leonard Doyle, tr). Although not all children thus offered by parents remained in the monastery for life, Bede did. He duly made his vows as a Benedictine, and was eventually ordained a priest. He spent his life as a teacher in the monastic school, excelling in music, science, and history. He died at Wearmouth in 731 at the age of 58. Bede is often called the father of English history, having completed his magnum opus, ?Ecclesiastical History of the English People? in 731. Less well known are his lives of various Northumbrian abbots, bishops, and abbesses. These hagiographical works are unfairly neglected today, in part because their subjects are not well known, but more because of the credulous nature of the accounts of miracles, which today amuse rather than edify the reader. Daily life in the time of Bede bristled with unseen forces: demons, angels, spirits, the power of relics, the very presence of God?all were manifest to women and men of the sixth century. A religious biography without plenty of miraculous events was as unsatisfying to a contemporary reader as the life of a knight without adventures would be. Thus, Cuthbert brings forth a spring from the dry land (p. 120); Abbess Hild's holy death is announced to a distant abbey through a vision vouchsafed to one of the nuns (p. 111); Bishop John heals the sick, and even raises the dead by his prayers (p.161); similar accounts could be multiplied many times. But Bede was a historian as well, and it is for his history that he is remembered. His is virtually the only account we have of the early kingdom of Northumbria and the succession of its rulers and their deeds, both of conquest and nation-building. John Marsden's ?The Illustrated Bede? consists of excerpts of Bede's writing, chiefly the ?Ecclesiastical History? but also from ?The Life of Cuthbert? and ?The Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow?. The accounts are succinct, and much of the history is interesting. Even there, however, Bede's need for thaumaturgy dominates his narrative; for example, King Oswald is not only a powerful overlord, but ?devoted and pious? (p. 60); and his place of death is the site where ?many miracles of healing occur? (p. 61). But this is the authentic Bede, and the editor wisely lets him speak in his own credulous, naïve way, thus letting the monk's enduring appeal shine through. Geoff Green's photography is moody and evocative of a world passed away. There is a certain amount of sadness in the photographs of ruined abbeys and, vast lonely sea-scapes. All in all, this is an appealing book, valuable perhaps most as an introduction for those who are not familiar with the Venerable Bede (other than recognizing his name). The literary selections are judicious, and the photographs apposite. If you want to drop in and visit a seventh-century monastic house, this is the book to pick up of a quiet afternoon and listen to a distant voice telling of the miraculous deeds of men and women we would have been glad to know.
