We know little about his own life. The main information about it is contained in the last chapter of the History (V, 24), in the pages that supplement it from the History of the Abbots of Wirmouth and Yarrow, and in the story of Bede's pupil Cuthbert about the death of his teacher (see appendix). Bede reports that he was born in 673 on the lands of the monastery of Wirmut (Wiremud), possibly in the village of Moncton, where the "well of Bede" is still preserved. Probably, he was the son of a free community member-curl, who became dependent on the monastery founded in 674. We know nothing about his relatives, except that through their efforts, a talented boy at the age of seven was sent to the education of the Abbot of Wirmuth, Biscop-Benedict. This former warrior, energetic and skillful administrator, was able to create a prosperous monastery in a short time, where almost 500 monks lived. Seven times he went to Rome, which was a real feat at that time, and brought books from there for the monastery library and teachers who taught the brothers from Wirmouth crafts and church singing.

At that time, on the shores and hills of the formerly wild Northern England, churches and monasteries sprang up with unprecedented rapidity, where monks copied books, made amazingly beautiful jewelry, and grew new crops. The same thing happened all over England, less than a hundred years after a few Roman priests, led by Augustine, cautiously landed on its shores to bring the faith to a "barbarous, ferocious, and distrustful people." In fact, the Angles and Saxons had previously destroyed the civilization of the Romanized Britons with barbarous ferocity, as Gildas the Wise, a British priest from Rues, wrote with sorrow in the sixth century (see appendix). Having expelled or enslaved the local population, the tribes of the invaders built their unsightly huts around the Roman ruins and began to lead their usual life among leisurely rural labor, noisy feasts and military battles with each other and with the rebellious Britons.

However, over time, the situation changed. The growing royal power needed a more reliable support than the old paganism, and the preaching of Christianity came in handy. In addition, the pagan Anglo-Saxons were surrounded by Christian peoples: the Franks in the south, the Britons and Scots (Irish) in the north and west. If the Britons refused all contact with the "accursed Saxons", the Irish hastened to turn their missionary fervor to the conversion of their neighbors. The Roman Church was no less active, especially during the pontificate of Gregory the Great (590-604), which significantly strengthened the papal authority and authority of Rome. It was on his orders that Augustine's mission went to England, more precisely to Kent, one of the seven traditional Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In reality, there were more kingdoms, and their number was constantly changing as a result of wars and dynastic alliances. From time to time, a ruler subjugated most of England and assumed the title of "Bretwalde" (high king), but after his death, fragmentation again prevailed. The strongest kingdoms were Kent and Wessex in the south and Northumbria in the north, later Mercia in central England. Wales and Cornwall were inhabited by descendants of the Britons, and in Scotland there were independent states of the Picts and the Irish.

The social picture was no less variegated than the political one. Initially, like other Germanic peoples, Anglo-Saxon society consisted of nobles (earls), free community members (curls) and slaves. Soon after moving to Britain, the power of tribal leaders or kings increased significantly, and stratification began within the community. The kings, who became the supreme owners of the conquered lands, began to transfer them to the possession (bokland) of their retinue, the Thanes and the Gesites. The most powerful representatives of the nobility became ealdormen - hereditary governors of the regions. On the other hand, more and more curls became dependent on glafords (lords) and gradually became enslaved by them, falling into the category of semi-free (litas). The growth of inequality was clearly illustrated by the articles of the Anglo-Saxon laws: if according to the earliest of them, the wergeld (vira) for the murder of the curl was half of the similar vira of the earl, then later it was only one sixth [7].

Under these conditions, kings and representatives of the nobility saw in the new religion a means of strengthening and sanctifying their own power. It is no accident that Christianity established itself in England, as well as in the neighboring Celtic lands, relatively quickly and painlessly, although there were isolated cases of pagan reaction, and a long tradition of dual faith. The victory of the Christian faith was facilitated by the excellent organization of the church, a clear and convincing doctrine and the support of the upper classes, which is vividly described by Bede in the scene of the dispute at the court of King Edwin of Northumbria (II, 13). The conversion of England began in 596, but church and monastic life flourished in the northern kingdom of Northumbria, where the new faith was established only in 634. In the 7th century, rich and populous monasteries grew up on the shores of the North Sea: Lindisfarne, Whitby (Strenescalk), Hartlepool, Lastingham, Peterborough, Ely and many others.

Among these monasteries was Wirmouth, not far from which, on the seashore, a new monastery of Yarrow (Girvum) arose in 681, headed by the learned monk Ceolfrith. Together with him, eight-year-old Bede moved to the new monastery. Soon the monastery was struck by a plague epidemic, after which, according to the anonymous Life of Ceolfrith, only two monks remained in Yarrow who were able to perform daily prayer. They were the abbot himself and a certain boy [8], apparently Bede. The historian himself does not mention this event, but he retained a deep affection for his teacher Ceolfrith, and with a heavy heart accompanied him to Rome in 716, from which the abbot never returned. He took with him a Bible, transcribed and illustrated by the monks of Yarrow [9].

At least three such Bibles came out of the monastery scriptorium; it is possible that Bede also took part in their decoration. From his youth he sang well and until his death he was engaged in singing prayers and psalms every day. However, most of all, by his own admission, he loved "studying, teaching and writing" [10]. The talents of the young novice were noticed by Bishop John of Hexham, who highly valued learning. At his request, Bede was ordained first to the diaconate, then to the priesthood, and was given the opportunity to devote himself entirely to scientific studies. The main subject of these studies was also the Bible: the monks learned Latin, analyzed and memorized passages from the Scriptures, studied the lives and works of the Church Fathers. They had at their disposal a rich library collected by Benedict and Ceolfrith in various countries. Its composition can be judged from the sources of Bede's works; In addition to patristics, there were historical works, books on natural history, poetry collections - not only Christian, but also antique. Diligently studying these works, the young priest began to teach others himself after a few years, at the same time continuing his literary studies.

Already at that time he had developed a keen interest in chronology, which had long since been transformed from a purely technical discipline into a subject of bitter controversy between the various churches and sects. Shortly before that, a new chronology from the Nativity of Christ was established in the Western Church, replacing the previous "from the creation of the world", as well as the era of Diocletian adopted in the late Roman period. The question of the calculation of Easter was also acute: although Christ's Sunday was celebrated everywhere on the Sunday after the first spring full moon, the date of the latter was determined differently. A dispute ensued between Rome and the Celtic churches (Irish and British), and first of all it was not a question of theological subtleties, but of the question of jurisdiction. The struggle of the Celts for their independence lasted until the end of the eighth century, and Bede resolutely took the side of Rome in it. One of his first works, De temporibus liber (The Book of Times), written around 703, was devoted to the defense of the new chronology and the Roman Easter. The book included the so-called "Small Chronicle" - a short list of historical events, the model for which was the "Chronicle" of Prosper of Aquitaine. Bede supplemented it with information from the history of Britain and corrected some of Prosper's dates from the works of other authors. In a small chronicle, the principles that later formed the basis of the Ecclesiastical History of the People of the Angles, as well as the Great Chronicle, were first applied. The latter was part of the work "On the Six Ages of the World" (De sex aetatibus mundi) written in 726; in it, Bede approached history in a more philosophical way, perceiving it not as a mechanical sequence of events, but as a change of epochs leading to the coming of the Kingdom of God. For the first time, Paul Orosius tried to put this concept of Blessed Augustine into practice in his History Against the Pagans, but it was Bede who managed to adapt it to the new historical realities. It is not for nothing that his principles, as well as the facts he cites, were used by the compilers of subsequent world chronicles and national histories, such as Paul the Deacon, Otto of Freisingen, and others.

Another branch of Bede's scientific pursuits, exegesis, was also connected with history. Studying the biblical texts, he not only tried to reveal their allegorical and moral meaning, but also investigated, as far as he could, their specific historical content. He showed a more traditional approach in the field of hagiography; his Martyrology, as well as the lives of Felix of Nolan and St. Cuthbert, were written in strict accordance with the canons of such works. Bede's poetic work in Latin is also subject to the canons, of which only the hymn to Queen Ethelfrith, which is included in the text of the History, has survived. However, he also wrote poetry in his native language and was well versed in the traditional poetry of the Anglo-Saxons, as evidenced by his pupil Cuthbert [11]. He also cites the only known Anglo-Saxon poem by Bede ("Death Song"), which gives an idea of the author's poetic gift. One can only regret that Bede did not abandon a work on Anglo-Saxon poetry, similar to his first work "On the Art of Versification". There seemed to be no topics that did not interest him; among his works are a work "On the Nature of Things", a book on spelling and a book on holy places, which is a revision of the works of Adamnan and Hegesippus.

But Bede's particular attention was drawn to two topics: the history of his people and the history of the church. We can judge about the presence of the first of them in his work before "History" only by indirect signs, but the second was the main one for him. Within the framework of the author's historical concept, he was interested not in the "dark" pagan past of the Angles, but in their inclusion in the Christian universe, in which all peoples move towards the one Kingdom of God. That is why he was primarily interested not in the glorious deeds of kings, but in the "peaceful feats" of saints, especially English saints. Around 721, by order of the monks of Lindisfarne, he compiled in verse and prose the life of the famous ascetic St. Cuthbert. The next experiment was distinguished by significant novelty: around 726, the History of the Abbots of the Monasteries of Wirmouth and Yarrow was written, in which for the first time within the framework of the hagiographic genre the history of an individual monastery over a period of fifty years was considered.

The next step on the path of comprehension of the past was "History". It was written for several years and was completed in 731, although some additions may have been made later by the author. It is important to note that many prominent representatives of the English Church were aware of the need to write a history of the island and provided Bede with all kinds of assistance. First of all, they were Albinus, abbot of the monastery of Peter and Paul in Canterbury, and the London priest Notelm, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. They personally or in letters gave the author information on the history of the Church in various regions of England; in addition, Notelm went to Rome and took copies of letters and other documents related to the English Church from the papal archives. Among Bede's informants were also Bishop Daniel of Winchester, the monks of Lastingham Monastery, and one Abbot Esi, not to mention "many eyewitnesses" from his native Northumbria. Most likely, he also used the data of the monks of Lindisfarne, who had previously provided him with information for the life of St. Cuthbert. Perhaps the abbot of the famous island monastery Jonah Adamnan also collaborated with him.

The author's personal impressions were almost not reflected in the pages of the History. We know that Bede visited Lindisfarne, Ripon, and possibly York, but it is unlikely that he ever left Northumbria. His whole life was spent within the walls of the monastery, and he was fully aware of the lack of his worldly experience. For example, in his commentary on the Book of Samuel, he wrote about Saul's two wives: "How can one who was not married to even one judge this?" [12]. However, the monastery at that time offered great opportunities for learning about various aspects of life, and Bede used them to the fullest. From his writings follows an acquaintance with construction and carpentry, cooking, jewelry. We have already spoken of his musical abilities and knowledge of Latin and Anglo-Saxon poetry. He had always been interested in languages, as evidenced by the numerous translations of names and titles in the pages of the History, and he may have known, in addition to Latin, Irish and the basics of Greek. His Latin language is almost flawless in terms of clarity of grammatical constructions and simplicity of vocabulary and compares favorably with the artificial style of late Latin poetry, overloaded with metaphors and complex phrases. In his language, as well as in his style, he was guided by the Latin of the late Empire (primarily the language of St. Jerome's Vulgate) and, unlike the French and German authors of the subsequent period, and even earlier, he almost did not use barbarisms.

"Style is a person", and from the style of the "History" we can learn a lot about its author. He was hardworking, reasonable, no stranger to humor, in some ways critical, and in some ways gullible and subject to the prejudices of his time. He was an excellent storyteller, but in conversations on his favorite subjects, especially chronology, he sometimes got carried away and became too verbose. He was quite tolerant and objective, but he always took the side of the Church of Rome against any sign of heresy. Coming from the common people, Bede felt uncomfortable in the royal palaces. Of course, he writes about the wars and intrigues of kings, but, unlike the courtier Gregory of Tours, he does not show sufficient knowledge of the matter and, most importantly, interest. He is much more interested in the ascetic deeds of Cuthbert, the visions of the simple monk Pecktelm, the poetic gift of the shepherd Caedmon.

It should not be thought, however, that the priest from Yarrow was an anchorite, wholly immersed in scientific studies. He was keenly interested in the situation of England and the Church of England, which he considered threatening. One of the aims of the History was to awaken the not-so-distant memories of the former saints and to contrast them with the "lukewarm" contemporaries of Bede. Both the testimonies of historians and archaeological finds speak of the considerable wealth accumulated by the English Church by the beginning of the eighth century. Bede writes about all this with anger in a letter to Bishop Egbert of York. But he not only rebukes, he gives advice and even demands, threatening the all-powerful prelate with the judgment of God. And he listens – some of Bede's proposals were taken into account in the decisions of the next church council. From this fact, as well as from how many people helped the humble priest to write the History, one can judge his true influence on the church life of that time. Suffice it to say that the entire eighth century of the English Church was headed by the disciples of Bede himself or his close acquaintances.