Bede was an English monk and scholar writing in the early eighth century, and this Ecclesiastical History is a primary historical account of the conversion of the English peoples to Christianity, written from within the church he was describing and drawing on documents, letters and oral testimony he says he collected directly. Its value as a primary source is considerable, it is the earliest sustained history of the period and much of what is known about early English Christianity depends on it. Its limit is that Bede was a participant in the tradition he recorded, writing to edify as well as to record, so miracle stories and providential framing appear alongside genuinely documentary material, and a critical reader separates the two rather than taking every claim as neutral reportage.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Bede's eighth-century primary history of Christianity among the English peoples, the foundational source for early Anglo-Saxon church history; written by a monastic historian with his own theological purposes roughly a century or more after some events it narrates, so a claim resting on it should be checked against modern critical scholarship. NotesThe Venerable Bede's eighth-century history of Christianity among the English peoples, the foundational primary source for early Anglo-Saxon church history. Use for what Bede himself records; a primary source written by a monastic historian with his own theological purposes roughly a century or more after some of the events it narrates, so a claim resting on it should be checked against modern critical scholarship.
Citation
PublisherClarendon Press
Publication Year731
URLhttps://archive.org/details/x-bede-s-ecclesiastical-history
Source TypePrimary document
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Bede, Figures This source names Bede directly: "Bede was an English monk and scholar writing in the early eighth century, and this Ecclesiastical History is a primary historical account of the conversion of the English peoples to Christianity..."
Claims Backed By This Source (114 claims)
This source backs 114 claims across the atlas. As facts: 67 well-attested. As cited relationships: 22 holds, 4 connected. Plus 21 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Figures, 35 claims: 27 well-attested, 4 holds, 4 general references.
- Articles, 22 claims: 15 well-attested, 3 connected, 4 general references.
- Sacred Sites, 14 claims: 8 well-attested, 3 holds, 3 general references.
- Spread Events, 10 claims: 3 well-attested, 6 holds, 1 general references.
- Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Cities, 8 claims: 3 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.
- Councils and Synods, 7 claims: 3 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 general references.
- Denominations, 4 claims: 1 holds, 1 connected, 2 general references.
- Pilgrimage Routes, 3 claims: 1 holds, 2 general references.
- Regions, 2 claims: 2 general references.
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