'With God's help, I, Bede ... have assembled these facts about the
history of the Church in Britain ... from the traditions of our
forebears, and from my own personal knowledge'
Written in AD 731, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
is the first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written, and remains
our single most valuable source for this period. It begins with Julius
Caesar's invasion in the first century BC and goes on to tell of the
kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and
convert the people to Christianity during these crucial formative years.
Relating the deeds of great men and women but also describing landscape,
customs and ordinary lives, this is a rich, vivid portrait of an
emerging church and nation by the 'Father of English History'.
Leo Sherley-Price's translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and
readable version of Bede's History. This edition includes Bede's Letter
to Egbert, denouncing false monasteries; and The Death of Bede, an
admirable eye-witness account by Cuthbert, monk and later Abbot of
Jarrow, both translated by D. H. Farmer.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of
classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700
titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works
throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the
series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and
notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
