Who was St. Bede?
St Bede, also known as the ‘Venerable Bede’, was born in Jarrow in the year 673 AD. At the age of seven he was sent to live at St Peter’s monastery in Wearmouth and later moved to St Paul's in Jarrow. He remained there for the rest of his life.
What is a Monastary?
Monasteries were places where groups of men or women
could live together and worship God. The men were called monks and the women were called nuns.
could live together and worship God. The men were called monks and the women were called nuns.
What did Bede do?
Bede was a monk and a scribe at Saint
Peter's monastary at Monkwearmouth and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's in Jarrow. He was one of the greatest scholars of the age, completing The Ecclesiastical History of the English People in AD 731.
What is a scribe?
A scribe is a person in charge of copying words and stories onto pages of parchment to be made into a book.
He would have used a quill pen made from a birds feather to write his work. He would have prepared his inks from ashes, plant material, and egg whites.
He would have used a quill pen made from a birds feather to write his work. He would have prepared his inks from ashes, plant material, and egg whites.
Important task!
The recording of historical events was such an important task, illuminations were ordered by Kings and religious leaders to be added to various pages in order to add interest and importance to their appearance.
Did you know?
An illuminated letter was usually the first letter of a page or paragraph. It was always enlarged and in colour with gold applied in areas, while the rest of the text remained black.
The images used to enhance the letters include animals, plants and mythological creatures. During the middle ages most of this work was done in monasteries so all of these jobs were performed by monks.
The images used to enhance the letters include animals, plants and mythological creatures. During the middle ages most of this work was done in monasteries so all of these jobs were performed by monks.