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.