Bede and his characters - Part I

Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire. 1801.
Schabkunstblatt.

It is worth our attention to consider the more important characters in Bede's History, and by "characters" we do not only mean people. England for instance, that land from which history and mystery grow up like indistinguishable vines on the tree of the world, is a major character. Ireland, another land where legend or lore mingle in the sea foam, is yet another "character" because it bears the soul of a people and people bear in them the psychology of the very soil of the land.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Work on memorization of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due tomorrow! (10/1)
3. Reading Journal (9/30): High Art
1. Describe your experience at the High Art Museum from Friday's field trip. 
1. What was your favorite work of the Dutch Masters? And why? 
2. What was your favorite in the museum as a whole? And why? 
3. What did you love about it? Why?
4. What did you hate about it? Why?
4. Read Bede silently.
5. Finish Lecture on Book I: Review and discuss
1. Describe the early stages of Augustine's mission in Britain.
2. What advice does Pope Gregory give Augustine regarding his relationship to the rest of the clergy?
3. What else Pope Gregory eventually send Augustine to aid the mission in Britain?
6. Review Reading Check Quiz on Books II-III
7. Review HW:
1. Memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation (10/1).
2. Read Book III of Bede (10/2). 
3. Be perfect.

Bede and the personae historicae.

Glastonbury Abbey, England.

"Bede’s Ecclesiastical History covers a number of centuries," writes Professor Schlect, "and numerous kingdoms and churches. There are many important characters. More than any man, however, the gospel is the main character of his work. It is invading pagan kingdoms. It overthrows unbelief and establishes itself. It suffers setbacks and apostasy, only to reappear and move forward. It is truly the main character of this work."

Agenda:

1. Pater noster.
2. Announcement: only memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
3. Read Bede silently.
4. Reading Check Quiz: Books II-III
5. Lecture on Book I: Review and discuss
1. Describe the early stages of Augustine's mission in Britain.
2. What advice does Pope Gregory give Augustine regarding his relationship to the rest of the clergy?
3. What else Pope Gregory eventually send Augustine to aid the mission in Britain?
6. Review HW:
1. Memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
2. Read Book III of Bede (10/2). 
3. Be perfect.

Bede the scholar.

St. Bede. Ora et Labora.

Speaking of Bede, Professor Schlect explains, "Bede spent his life in two of these monasteries, Wearmouth and Jarrow, which were near one another in both distance and organization. He seldom traveled outside these monasteries, and if he did, he did not go very far, and he liked it that way. He preferred to seek adventure by way of the scholarly life, surrounded by books and students, who read and sang and prayed together with him as part of a vigorous and diverse monastic community. Though Bede did not travel far, monks, scholars and dignitaries came from far away to visit Wearmouth and Jarrow. Bede’s writings show that he was familiar with places and events that he had not witnessed, but which he had nonetheless learned a great deal about through books and through personal interaction with those who had firsthand knowledge."

Agenda:

1. Pater noster.
2. Announcement: only memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
3. Read Bede silently.
4. Lecture on Book I: Review and discuss
1. As mentioned in the Preface, why is Bede pleased at the request of king Ceowulf?
2. In Bede's view, does it matter if history is recorded accurately?
3. In Chapter 1, how does Bede relate the future of Britain to the future of the Bible?
4. Explain Bede's system of dating.
5. How does Bede view shrines, monuments, relics, and martyrs of the Church set up after the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian?
6. How does Bede view the Britons in comparison to the Picts, the Irish, and the Angles?
7. On which nation does Bede focus his history?
8. Describe the early stages of Augustine's mission in Britain.
9. What advice does Pope Gregory give Augustine regarding his relationship to the rest of the clergy?
10. What else Pope Gregory eventually send Augustine to aid the mission in Britain?
5. Review HW:
1. Memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
2. Read Books II-III of Bede  (9/27)
3. Be perfect.

Bede and his land.

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
Beda. 746.

"This savage landscape," writes professor Schlect, "was interrupted by pockets of civilization. These were peaceful places where meals came regularly, singing was routine and the busy cares of the world were tended to in a way that left space in the schedule for art and scholarship to flourish. These pockets of civilization were the monasteries. A common misconception about early medieval monasteries is that they were places where monks went to escape from civilization. But the opposite is true: monks boldly went into untamed places and carved out fresh civilization by establishing monasteries. In doing so they carried literacy to places where people could not read, food to where people were underfed, medicine to the sick, and most importantly, they carried the Christian gospel to people who had not heard of Jesus. Of course, monks were far from perfect, but God raised them up to advance His kingdom in this important age of the church’s immaturity. From the fifth through the eleventh centuries, the gospel filled Europe by way of monasteries. Bede lived in the middle of this era, born around 673 and dying in 735."

Agenda:

1. Pater noster.
2. Announcement: only memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
3. Read Bede silently.
4. Hand back essays and discuss:
1. General Grammar Concerns: no "you" / agreement / punctuation
2. Lack of details and examples from the text
3. Drawing from the text and you notes and reading journals
4. Review some good examples
5. Lecture on Book I: Review and discuss
1. As mentioned in the Preface, why is Bede pleased at the request of king Ceowulf?
2. In Bede's view, does it matter if history is recorded accurately?
3. In Chapter 1, how does Bede relate the future of Britain to the future of the Bible?
4. Explain Bede's system of dating.
5. How does Bede view shrines, monuments, relics, and martyrs of the Church set up after the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian?
6. How does Bede view the Britons in comparison to the Picts, the Irish, and the Angles?
7. On which nation does Bede focus his history?
8. Describe the early stages of Augustine's mission in Britain.
9. What advice does Pope Gregory give Augustine regarding his relationship to the rest of the clergy?
10. What else Pope Gregory eventually send Augustine to aid the mission in Britain?
6. Review HW:
1. Memorize 4 stanzas of "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Longfellow. Due in recitation next week (10/1).
2. Read Books II-III of Bede  (9/27)
3. Be perfect.

The mysterious isle.

The Ruins of Lindisfarne.

Speaking of Bede's England, Professor Christopher Schlect writes, "Many of us would not have wanted to live in Bede’s era. Every growing season farmers hoped the seeds they planted would not wash away in the spring rains. If crops survived the rains, would they fall victim to an early frost? A farmer could not predict the weather. Sometimes a hostile army would trample or seize his crops. And if his wife became pregnant, would she survive the life-threatening rigors of carrying an unborn child to term and delivering a son or daughter? Many women died in childbirth, and a woman’s death was as much a loss to household industry as it was a bitter sorrow. In Bede’s day, childbearing killed about as many able women as warfare killed able men. And warfare was as common as childbearing. A safely delivered newborn was a rich blessing, but faced uncertain years ahead. Many children succumbed to disease and did not live to see age six or eight. By our standards, Bede lived in a brutal, hard, uncivilized age."

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read Bede silently.
3. Reading Check Quiz 
4. Correct and review Confessions Exam Part I
1. Parent-Student Conference on Grades
5. Continue Reading Journal (9/20): Preface & Book I
1. As mentioned in the Preface, why is Bede pleased at the request of king Ceowulf?
2. In Bede's view, does it matter if history is recorded accurately?
3. In Chapter 1, how does Bede relate the future of Britain to the future of the Bible?
4. Explain Bede's system of dating.
5. How does Bede view shrines, monuments, relics, and martyrs of the Church set up after the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian?
6. How does Bede view the Britons in comparison to the Picts, the Irish, and the Angles?
7. On which nation does Bede focus his history?
8. Describe the early stages of Augustine's mission in Britain.
9. What advice does Pope Gregory give Augustine regarding his relationship to the rest of the clergy?
10. What else Pope Gregory eventually send Augustine to aid the mission in Britain?
6. Review HW: 
1. Read Books II-III of Bede(9/27)
2. Be perfect.

History is principally a story.

Athelstan, c.895-939.
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Note how Bede starts his history far back in the fading twilight of Imperial Rome. Then he moves forward carefully highlighting the key moments, the "hinges" on which history turns. Here we have an "Illuminated manuscript from Bede's Life of St Cuthbert, c.930." What is important to realize is that history is principally a story. And what is even more important is to consider who is telling that story.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster.
2. Read and take notes in Bede: 
1.  Take notes
3. Continue Reading Journal (9/20): Preface & Book I
1. As mentioned in the Preface, why is Bede pleased at the request of king Ceowulf?
2. In Bede's view, does it matter if history is recorded accurately?
3. In Chapter 1, how does Bede relate the future of Britain to the future of the Bible?
4. Explain Bede's system of dating.
5. How does Bede view shrines, monuments, relics, and martyrs of the Church set up after the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian?
6. How does Bede view the Britons in comparison to the Picts, the Irish, and the Angles?
7. On which nation does Bede focus his history?
4. Review HW:
1. Read Book I of Bede  (9/23)
2. Be perfect.

Bede and his history.

Bede translating the Gospel of John on his deathbed.
James Doyle Penrose. 1902.

Bede's history follows in the practice of a tradition which started with Eusebius, who first chronicled the Early Church in Rome. In doing history, he simply believes in things, things passed down to them.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Reading Check Quiz: On the Preface
3. Read silently
4. Discuss Bede together. 
5. Review HW: 
1. Read Book I of Bede (9/23)
2. Be perfect.