Bede

BEDE [the Venerable]. b. 673/4; d. 26 May 735. Bede was born in Northumberland and, at the age of seven, was given by his family to Benedict Biscop, abbot of St Peter at Wearmouth, for his education. In 682, when Biscop founded the brother monastery of St Paul at Jarrow, Bede was sent to join the new community under its abbot Ceolfrith; he remained there for the rest of his life. Bede dedicated himself to teaching and writing, never travelling beyond Northumbria. The monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, however, were among the most important centres of learning in Anglo-Saxon England and contained the library of books collected by Biscop and Ceolfrith on their journeys to Rome and Gaul, as...