MONIA]

BERNHARD TEN BRINK.

199

XXIX

So verkörpert Beda...die energische Arbeitskraft, den

positiven und historischen Sinn, die Liebe zur Einfachheit und Wahrheit, die in dem besseren Kern des 5 englischen Volksthums vielleicht die bestimmenden Elemente bilden.

1 Bernhard ten Brink Geschichte der englischen Literatur Berlin 1877 143-47 (the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, their libraries and school, Beda's wide reputation; his pupil Egbert a patron of learning; Aldhelm and Beda, alike enthusiastic for religion and learning, alike 'rooted in their native soil, yet powerfully attracted by ancient culture', but in other respects opposites; Aldhelm of a more feminine, Beda of a more masculine type; the former of more delicate sensibility, of a livelier fancy, but less energetic, less productive; the latter distinguished by clearness and simple grandeur of conception, of less poetic genius, but active in every region of science. In every subject, which he took in hand, he became an often cited authority for the whole remainder of the middle ages,-and that not in his own country alone'. His church history displays a love of truth, a diligence in collecting documentary materials, and is distinguished in conception and style by an objectivity, clearness and simplicity, which raise it far above the level of contemporary history').

P 47.

NOTES

ON

EBERT'S NOTICE OF BEDA.

P 1 ACCOUNT OF BEDA this account is translated from the Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Literatur von ihren Anfängen bis zum Zeitalter Karls des Grossen von Adolf Ebert. Leipzig, Vogel 1874; an instalment of a general history of mediæval literature in the west.

5

LIVES OF BEDA. Beda der Ehrwürdige und seine Zeit von Dr Karl Werner. Wien 1875 8vo pp vIII 236; the fullest that has appeared. Mabillon acta ss Bened (1672) 111 (1) 539—61, IV (2) 599 is reprinted in Migne patrologia latina xc and forms the basis of Remy Ceillier's article (hist gén des auteurs sacrés ed Bauzon Paris 1862 XII -19). See also acta ss May 27 (Maii vI 710-5 Par. 1868), 10 Baronius ann 731 14-30 with Pagi 693 8, 701 2, 731 4-8, 12. Biographia Brit ed Kippis II 115-133. General hist dict of Bernard and Birch III (1735) 123-8. Cave (a good article, to which Henry Wharton contributed). Fabricius bibl lat med et inf aet. Lanfranci opera Paris 1648 pp 340 341. J A Giles Bedae opp I xli--cxli. Mon- 15 talembert moines d'occident V (1867) 56–101. Monumenta hist Brit (1848) pref 69--74. Jos Stevenson introd to Bed he 1838 v-xxxv, church historians of England (1853) 1 (2) i—xlviii. W Stubbs in DCB. Varin in mém. prés. acad. inscr. (1857) I ser v (1) 114-20, 158-85 (in the paper entitled 'études relatives à l'état politique et religieux des 20 îles Britanniques au moment de l'invasion saxonne' pp 1—270).

BIBLIOGRAPHY. Brunet, Grässe, Lowndes, Darling (who gives the contents of Bedae opp Col 1688 and ed Giles). Ulysse Chevalier répertoire des sources historiques du moyen-age 1 Paris 1877 252-3.

BEDA'S LIFE] ALDHELM AND HIS WORKS.

201

TD Hardy descriptive catalogue of materials relating to the history of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1862) 57, 202, 217-9, 299-303, 366—8, 413—4, 431—58, 714—5, 11 (1865) 246, 111 (1871) 228. Oudin (reprinted in Migne). Potthast bibliotheca hist medii aeui Berlin I 5 (1862) 159-61, 624, 11 (1868) 48-9. Stevenson. Tanner bibl Brit et Hib. Wright.

Pli ALDHELM often called Adelm; see Bed he v 18, W Stubbs in DCB, Ebert 585–595, Chevalier 1 24, Wright 1 209–225, Baronius 699 2, 3, Pagi 699 2, 705 15. Born about the middle of the 7th 10 century, 25 May 709; educated under Maidulf, an Irish scholar, founder of Maidulfi Burgus (Malmesbury), and at Canterbury under Theodore and Hadrian. He lived as monk and afterwards as abbat of Malmesbury till the division of the diocese of Wessex (705), when he was made bp of Sherborn. He was the first Englishman who cultivated classical learning with any success, and the first of whom any literary remains are preserved' (Stubbs in DCB). Lull (in Jaffé's monum Mogunt 215) writes to Dealwinus magister: obsecro ut mihi Aldhelmi episcopi aliqua opuscula, seu prosarum seu metrorum aut rithmicorum, dirigere digneris ad consolationem peregrinationis meae et ob 20 memoriam ipsius beati antistitis. In the Paschal controversy he was a champion of the Roman usage.

15

7 ANCIENT LAWS OF METRE Aldhelm to Hedda bp of Wessex (in Jaffe's monum Mogunt 32 33) speaks of the study of metre as far more intricate than that of law: centena scilicet metrorum genera pedestri 25 regula discernere et ad musica cantilenae modulamina recto syllabarum tramite lustrare, cuius rei studiosis lectoribus tanto inextricabilior obscuritas pretenditur, quanto rarior doctorum numerositas reperitur. Then follows an appalling list of technical terms acefalos, lagaros, procilos ; monoscemi, pentascemi, decascemi; catalectici, brachicatalectici, ypercata. 30 lectici. Aediluald (king of Mercia 716-757) begs Aldhelm to continue his instructions and sends samples of his own poems (ib 35-38).

P 2 5 VENERABILIS conc Aquisgran II AD 836 lib III praef (Labbe and Cossart VII col 1760) quid uenerabilis et modernis temporibus doctor admirabilis Beda presbyter de sacpe memorato templo 35 in expositione euangelii Ioannis sentiat uideamus. Ionas bp of Orleans (+843) de institutione laicali 1 16 in Dacherii spicilegium (Par 1665) 1a 44 hunc locum Beda uenerabilis presbyter ita exponit. ibid 17, 111 6, 7. Amalarius Symphosius of Metz (†837?) de ecclesiasticis officiis 1 37 in Migne cv 1066 uenerabilis presbyter Beda de eodem

202

DEDICATION TO RELIGION.

[BEDA'S tempore dicit in homiliis suis. Usuard (+877) martyrolog Par 1718 128 NON[is] AVG...sancti Oswaldi regis Anglorum, cuius actus commemorat uenerabilis Beda presbiter. Hilduin (†circa 838) uita Dionysii prolegom (Migne cvI 17d) uenerabilem...et sanctum Bedam presbyterum...in tractatu apostolorum actuum. ibid 18, 5 24. Hincmar of Rheims (+882) de praedestinatione diss poster c 1 (CXXV 74 Migne) si quis tamen eosdem libros non habet, uideat in collectione uenerabilis Bedae presbyteri de opusculis sancti Augustini super apostolum, et ibi discere poterit quod antea ignorauit. Cf ibid c 3 (874 88*). For legendary accounts see Gehle 36-8. Readers of 10 Gregory's dialogues will not need any far-fetched explanation II I pr uir uitae uenerabilis, gratia Benedictus et nomine. 3 pr ad eundem uenerabilem Benedictum uenit. ibid 217a uenerabilis igitur Benedictus in illa solitudine habitauit secum. ibid 7 pr dum idem uenerabilis Benedictus in cella consisteret etc. etc. See glossary and Mabillon § 24. 15 Other epithets in Migne CIII 1028 note n.

P 2 6 BENEDICT BISCOP below p 7. W Stubbs in DCB. Wright I 185-92. Chevalier 1 263. +12 Jan 690.

,, 7 IN HIS SEVENTH YEAR regula s Benedicti c 61 de filiis nobilium et pauperum qui offeruntur'. The parents (or guardians) of 20 the child led him up to the altar; they solemnly swore before witnesses that he should be deprived of whatever worldly goods might otherwise become his; or if they were unwilling to do this, an offering might be made on his behalf to the monastery; the child's hands were then folded in the covering of the altar, and the rites by which he was irrevocably 25 bound to the service of that altar were completed (Stevenson). See an example in Beda h e III 24. Boniface, writing to Fulred abbat of St Denis in 753 or 754, begs him to entreat king Pepin to provide for his disciples (ed Jaffé 231 232), presbyters, monks and infantes ad legendas litteras ordinati.

(XCI 663d Migne). Bed de sex aetat an 720 (11 203 26 Stevenson).

30

11 JARROW the spelling and pronunciation of the neighbour. hood is decidedly Jarrow (Stevenson). The original inscription, formerly 35 in the north wall of the chancel, may now be seen in the arch of the tower, between the chancel and nave (Hübner inscr Brit Christ Berol 1876 4to 71):

dedicatio basilicae s(an)c(t)i Pauli VIIII k(a)l(endas) Mai(as)

LIFE]

BEDA'S SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

203

anno xv Ecfridi reg(is).... Ceolfridi abb(atis) eiusdemq(ue) q(uondam ?) eccles (iae) d(e)o auctore conditoris anno IIII. As late as 1740 sick children were taken to 'Bede's well' about a mile to the west of Jarrow: 'a crooked pin was put in, and the well 5 dry between each dipping. My informant has seen twenty children brought together on a Sunday to be dipt in this well; at which also on Midsummer-eve there was a great resort of neighbouring people with bonfires, music etc.' (Brand-Ellis popular ant 1813 II 270. Surtees Durham 11 69, 80). Crooked pins are still to be seen IO in the well. The distance between Wearmouth and Jarrow is about six miles. Cf Dugdale new ed 1 501-4. esp Alcuin ed Jaffé pp 120. 196. 200. 839. 841. 843. 845.

P 2 16 OTHER MONKS Trumberct, the disciple of St Chad he IV 3, Sigfrid, the fellow pupil of St Cuthbert under Boisil and Eata 15 ha 8, 16. Acca, bp of Hexham and pupil of Wilfrid, furnished him with the special lore of the Roman school, martyrological and other; his monastic learning, strictly Benedictine, came through Benedict Biscop from Lerins and the many continental monasteries his master had visited; and from Canterbury, with which he was in friendly 20 correspondence, he probably obtained instruction in Greek, in the study of the scriptures, and other more refined learning. His own monastery was a place of rest and welcome for all learned strangers such as was abbat Adamnan' (h e v 21 Stubbs). Also the arch-chanter John (he IV 18, h a 6). Tho Stubbs (cent 14) in Twysden decem 25 scriptores (1652) 1692 adds John of Beverley.

20 SIX YEARS BEFORE THE CANONICAL AGE Bingham II 20 20, conc Hippon 393 ser II c I in Bruns 11 136, conc Carth III 397 € 4 ibid 1 123, conc Agath 506 c 16 ibid II 149, conc Arelat IV 524 C I ibid 174 hoc inter se obseruandum esse definiunt, ut nullus episco30 porum diaconum antequam uiginti quinque annos impleat ordinare praesumat. conc Tolet II 527 (or 531) c 1 ibid 1 208, conc Aurel III 538 c 6 ibid 11 193, conc trull 692 c 14 ibid 1 42. Bonif ep 80 p 224 pope Zachary allows the ordination of Levites (deacons) and priests at 25 years of age; cf Willibald uita Bonif 3 p 438 (priest at 35 30), 5 P 447 (bishop at 50).

27 TO ECGBERT in the year 734. Bed ep ad Ecgb 1 memini te hesterno dixisse anno, cum tecum aliquot diebus legendi gratia in monasterio tuo demorarer, quod hoc etiam anno uelles, cum in eundem deuenires locum, me quoque ob