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.

The End of One Augustine and the Beginning of a New One

MINIATURIST, English. 12th century.
Beda Venerabilis: The Life of St Cuthbert
Manuscript (Ms. 165)
Bodleian Library, Oxford

Today we pick up with the second part of our exam on Augustine's Confessions. In addition to this, we continue to enter in that time in history when the Church literally puts her mother-arms around that craggy island of Brittania.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Confessions Exam-Part II
1. Short answer: 2-5 sentences per question.
3. Read Bede Ecclesiatical History of the English People together.
4. Review HW: 
1. Read Bede Book 1 (9/23)
2. Be good.

Non Angli, sed Angeli.

The ruins of Lindisfarne Priory.
Thomas Girtin. 1798.

Yesterday and this last Friday were two special days on the Church Calendar. On Friday was the Feast Day of Saint Aidan of Iona, one of the "illuminators" of the Book of Kells and founder of Lindisfarne in 635, an Abbey that Christianized much of North England. Aidan was part of the fruit of Saint Patrick's ministry in Ireland. But even before Brother Aidan could preach the gospel in manuscripts too beautiful for the world, Rome would find it's own heart broken for the beauty of people who were "non Angli, sed Angeli." Such were words spoken by Pope Gregory the Great in the twilight of the 6th century, and it was his conviction that bade Augustine of Canterbury to bring the gospel to those barbaric chieftains. And when those Roman Christians came north they found those Irish Christians sowing the gospel south. We owe much of our Christian heritage to the work and ministry of Saint Gregory and Saint Aidan, whose feast day was yesterday. Who says God did not want England? For even the story of England is no story at all without the Church.
 
Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Confessions Exam-Part I
1. Short answer: 2-5 sentences per question.
3. Read and study Bede's Ecclesiatical History of the English People together.
4. Review HW: 
1. Study for Confessions Essay (ICE)
2. Read Book I of Bede (9/23)
3. Be good.

Introuduction to Bede and the History of England

The Venerable Bede. Nuremberg Chronicle. 1493.

Today we begin the next text. Historically, it is fitting transition from Augustine of Hippo to Augustine of Canterbury, but quite a bit has taken place since then.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Conclude Augustine:
1. Read the "Worldview" section in the Omnibus Reader. (That spiral bound thingy with all those pages.)
2. Review and discuss
3. Read the Intro to Bede in Omnibus
4. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Study for Confessions Quiz next week. Remember, the exam has 2 parts. Part 1 consists of short answer questions (2-5 sentences) covering the most of The Confessions (Books 1-11).  Part 2 is an essay they write in response to a theme in the book overall. Part 1 is scheduled for Tuesday. Part 2 is on Wednesday. They can use their books and their bibles. In addition to rereading parts, they should study their notes in general and their Reading Journals, which focus on key sections.
3. Read the Preface in Bede's Ecclesiastical History.
4. Be perfect.

Tolle, Lege. Part II

The life and conversion of St. Augustine is no small event. It is archetypal, as Augustine himself is an archetype. The life and conversion of St. Augustine represents the life and conversion of Western Man Himself, the transition from the paganism to Christianity, from the world of Antiquity to the world of Medieval Christendom. 

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Finish review and discussion on the conversion of Augustine: 
1. Take notes on Simplicianus' stories of Victorianus and Ponticianus.  
3. Lecture on Augustine's defense of the interpretation of Scripture:
1. How to the Read the Bible
4. Finish reading the Intro to Confessions in Omnibus II
5. Study Guide for the Confessions Exam:
1. Key Sections
2. Types of Essay Questions
6. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Study for Confessions Quiz next week.
3. Be perfect.

Tolle, Lege. Part I

Fra, Angelico. The Conversion of St. Augustine. 15th century.

Perhaps the most memorable line in Augustine's Confessions, maybe in all of Western Literature, is the line which Augustine hears proceeding from the mouth of a babe: "Tolle. Lege." These simple Latin imperatives are the words that bring Augustine to conversion. "Out of the mouth of babe Thou has ordained strength and praise." So we see Psalm 8 fulfilled in the conversion of St. Augustine. Consider Fra's depiction of this monumental moment. Consider the juxtaposition of persons with landscape. Consider the pathos in posture. What kind of sentiment is conveyed? Why is such pathos important.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Read Confessions silently. 
3. Review and discuss quiz from yesterday. 
1. Take notes. 
4. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Study for Confessions Quiz next week.
3. Read Books X - XI by Friday (9/15)

Making Your Own Confession to God and Men

Bernardo Bellotto. Ruins of a Temple. Oil on canvas.
Kiev Museum of Western Art, Kiev, Ukraine.

Today we are working on our own "confessions," though it be not in the modern style of confession, for the purpose of looking cool or simply for the shock and lurid details. Rather, it ought to follow the example of Augustine in purpose, that is, to glorify God.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Begin drafting Confessions Essay:
1. Invention
2. Arrangement 
3. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Read Books X - XI by Friday (9/15)

Augustine and the Problem of Evil

GOSSART, Jan. View of the Colosseum Seen from the West.
1509. Pen and brown ink over black chalk. Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Today we are concluding our discussion of Augustine's solution to the problem of evil. The problem centers on our understanding of what evil actually is. Is it a thing? If it is, what is its substance? "Whence comes evil?" as Augustine asks.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Read Confessions silently
3. Finish RJ on Augustine's and the Problem of Evil: A Logical Analysis
1. Re-read Book VII: 12
4. Confessions Quiz: Books 5-9
5. Begin drafting Confessions Essay:
1. Invention
2. Arrangement 
6. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Read Books X - XI by Friday (9/15)

Omnium rerum principia parva sunt.

BELLOTTO, Bernardo. Capriccio with the Colosseum.
1743-44. Oil on canvas. Galleria Nazionale, Parma.

Cicero here, telling us, "The beginnings of all things are small." This is true, of course, of Rome, who was not built in a day. This aphorism expresses perhaps that most Roman of virtues, the idea beauty takes time. In other words, the people of Rome understood the patience and perseverance involved in building great things, things that last for more than the generation that has created it. Keep this in mind as you consider your own education, your life, and God's world in which your life participates.

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Latin Proverb: Omnium rerum principia parva sunt. 
3. Review and discuss Poetry Project: "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4. Read Confessions silently
5. Discuss Key sections of Confessions:
1. RJ on Augustine's and the Problem of Evil: A Logical Analysis 
6. Confessions Quiz: Books 5-7
7. Review HW:
1. Study for Confessions Quiz on Books 5-9
2. Confessions Essay
3. Read Books X - XI by Friday (9/15)

The Ladder of St. Augustine

BELLOTTO, Bernardo. Capriccio with the Colosseum. 1743-44.
Oil on canvas. Galleria Nazionale, Parma.

Today we continue our study of Augustine's life, plumbing the depths of what it means to be human, what it means to sin and to repent, to reflect and to praise. Here we consider Longfellow's thoughts on the man: "Saint Augustine! well hast thou said / That of our vices we can frame / A ladder, if we will but tread / Beneath our feet each deed of shame!" This is a good summary of how Augustine's life transitioned from sinner to saint, for "The heights by great men reached and kept / Were not attained by sudden flight, / But they, while their companions slept, / Were toiling upward in the night." Let us also follow suit.


Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Discuss Confessions Essay
3. Key sections of Confessions:
1. Augustine's and the Problem of Evil: A Logical Analysis 
4. Poetry Project: "The Ladder of St. Augustine" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
5. Review HW:
1. Confessions Essay
2. Read Books VIII - IX by Monday (9/10)

Here is a good reading of "The Ladder of St. Augustine":

The Age of Alypius, and the Lust of the Eyes.

Gerome, Jean-Leon. Pollice Verso. 1872. Oil on canvas. Phoenix.

Today we will consider more deeply Augustine's story, his struggles, his sins, and his virtues. One of distinctive features of  Dominion is that it chooses to be a "Classical" school. The reason for this is simple: every big question we might ask today has already been dealt with by some profound thinker of the Classical world; every experience or struggle has already been addressed by our ancient fathers and mothers; every vice struggled against, every virtue sought and praised. Simply put: there's wisdom there, and if we are going ask the same big questions about life, struggle with the same sins, pursue the same virtues, then we might do well to learn what and how are fathers responded and dealt with such things. An examples of this is the story of Alypius that Augustine relates in his Confessions. When he was dragged against his will to the gladiatorial games, Alypius "opened his eyes," writes Augustine, "and was struck with a deeper wound in his soul than the victim whom he desired to see had been in his body."      

Agenda:

1. Pater noster
2. Read Confessions for a bit. 
3. Review Confessions 1-4 Quiz
4. Review key sections in Confessions:
1. Alypius, the "gateway of the eyes," and the Age of Stripping and Looking
5. Review HW: 
1. Confessions Essay
2. Read Books VIII - IX by Monday (9/10)

Certa bonum certamen.

MASOLINO da Panicale
Pope Gregory the Great 
and St Matthias.
1428-29.Tempera and oil,
on poplar & fibreboard.
National Gallery, London

Salavete. We are now well into the first quarter of the school year, which means essentially that you now have some marks to consider. As you consider your performance, let us respond rightly. This could be an opportunity to discipline your time more. This could be the moment when you recognize that ancient relationship between academics and virtue, grades and morals. It's always been there. Let us respond well. Consider our models again. Fight the good fight. Certa bonum certamen. Remember St. Gregory the Great. Remember Matthew.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read Confessions silently 
3. Collect RJ for Books V & VI 
1. Review RJ for Books V & VI  
4. Discuss corrected work
5. Review HW:
1. Read Confessions Book VII  
2. Este perfecti!

Feast Day of St. Gregory the Great

SARACENI, Carlo. 1610.
St Gregory the Great. Oil on canvas.
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

Today is the feast day of St. Gregory the Great, without whom we might not have England. This might sound excessive in praise, but I mean not to flatter; it is a fact. Without the "non Angli, sed Angeli" there would have been no evangelization of the British Isles, which would have produced no Alfred the Great, which would have in turn remained in the pagan darkness of the North. Here is Gregory now, working diligently. Let us also follow suit.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Non Angli, sed Angeli. 
3. Lecture and discussion: What is the calendar? And why do we mark our days? What has the Church seen fit to do this? Chronos vs Kairos and other things.
4. Reading Check Quiz
1. Who was the bishop who helped Augustine see the wisdom and truth of the catholic Church? 
5. Reading Journal (9/3): Books V & VI
1. What were the teachings of the Manicheans concerning fruit?
2. What did the Manicheans claim concerning their leader Manes?
3. How does Faustus, the Manichean leader, answer Augustine's questions?
4. What objections did Augustine have that kept him from trusting in Christ? 
5. Whose teaching helps Augustine leave the Manicheans for good?
6. What "addiction" does Augustine recount that Monica struggled with?
7. In this stage of his life (of Book 6.6), what does Austine pursue to fill the void of his soul? To what does he liken this pursuit?
8. In what sin is Augustine's friend Alypius trapped? How did this happen?
9. To what sin is Austine in bondage? How? 
6. Review HW:
1. Read Confessions Book VII
2. Este perfecti!