nation had its commencement. After that event, he treats, as was to be expected, for a time exclusively of the circumstances which occurred in Kent; but, as Christianity extended itself over the other kingdoms into which England was then divided, he gradually includes their history in his narrative, until he reaches the year 731. Here he concludes his work, which embraces a space of one hundred and thirty-four years, with a general outline of the ecclesiastical state of the island.

"The Introduction, which extends from the commencement of the work to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, is gleaned, as Bede himself informs us, from various writers. The chief sources for the description of Britain are Pliny, Solinus, Orosius, and Gildas; St. Basil is also cited; and the traditions which were current in Bede's own day are occasionally introduced. The history of the Romans in Britain is founded chiefly upon Orosius, Eutropius, and Gildas, corrected, however, in some places by the author, apparently from tradition or local information, and augmented by an account of the introduction of Christianity under Lucius, of the martyrdom of St. Alban, copied apparently from some legend, and of the origin of the Pelagian heresy,-all of them circumstances intimately connected with the ecclesiastical history of the island. The mention of Hengist and Horsa, and the allusion to the tomb of the latter at Horstead, render it probable that the account which Bede gives of the arrival of the Teutonic tribes, and their settlement in England, was communicated by Albinus and Nothelm. It is purely fabulous, being, in fact, not the history, but the tradition, of the Jutish kingdom of Kent, as appears from circumstances mentioned elsewhere in this work, as well as from the authorities there quoted. The two visits of Germanus to England, so important in the history of its religion, are introduced in the very words of Constantius Lugdunensis, and must therefore have been copied from that author. The ante-Augustine portion of the history is terminated by extracts from Gildas, relative to the conflicts between the Saxons and Britons. As the mission of Augustine in A.D. 596 is the period at which Bede ceases to speak of himself as a compiler, and assumes the character of an historian, it becomes incumbent upon us to examine into the sources upon

which he has founded this, by far the most interesting portion of his history. The materials which he employed seem to have consisted of (1.) written documents, and (II.) verbal information. (1.) The written materials may be divided into (1.) Historical information drawn up and communicated by his correspondents for the express purpose of being employed in his work; (2.) documents pre-existing in a narrative form, and (3.) transcripts of official documents.

"(1.) That Bede's correspondents drew up and communicated to him information which he used when writing this history, is certain from what he states in its prologue; and it is highly probable that to them we are indebted for many particulars connected with the history of kingdoms situated to the south of the river Humber, with which a monk of Jarrow, from his local position, was probably unacquainted. Traces of the assistance which he derived from Canterbury are perceptible in the minute acquaintance which he exhibits not only with the topography of Kent, but with its condition at the time when he wrote; and the same remark is applicable, although in a more limited degree, to most of the southern kingdoms.

"(2.) Documents pre-existing in an historical form are seldom quoted: amongst those of which use has been made may be numbered the Life of Gregory the Great, written by Paulus Diaconus; the miracles of Ethelberga, abbess of Barking; the Life of Sebbi, king of the East Saxons; the Legend of Fursey; and that of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, formerly written by Bede, but now augmented by himself, with additional facts. These, together with some extracts from the Treatise of Arculf de Locis Sanctis, are all the written documents to which the author refers.

“That other narratives, however, were in Bede's possession, of which he has made liberal use, is certain from his express words, and may also be inferred from internal evidence. Albinus and Nothelm appear to have furnished him with chronicles, in which he found accurate and full information upon the pedigrees, accessions, marriages, exploits, descendants, deaths, and burials of the kings of Kent. From the same source he derived his valuable account of the archbishops of Canterbury, both before and after ordination, the place and date of consecration, even though it took place abroad the

days on which they severally took possession of that see, the duration of their episcopate, their deaths, burial-places, and the intervals which elapsed before the election of a successor. It is evident that the minuteness and accuracy of this information could have been preserved only by means of contemporary written memoranda. That such records existed in the time of the Saxons cannot be doubted, for Bede introduces a story by which it appears that the abbey of Selsey possessed a volume in which were entered the obits of eminent individuals; and the same custom probably prevailed throughout the other monastic establishments of England.

"The history of the diocese of Rochester was communicated by Albinus and Nothelm. It is exceedingly barren of particulars, and probably would have been even more so, had it not been connected with the life of Paulinus of York, concerning whom Bede appears to have obtained information from other quarters.

"The early annals of East Anglia are equally scanty, as we have little more than a short pedigree of its kings, an account of its conversion to Christianity, the history of Sigebert and Anna, and a few particulars regarding its bishops, Felix, Thomas, Bertgils, and Bisi, which details were communicated in part by Albinus and Nothelm.

"The history of the West Saxons was derived partly from the same authorities, and partly from the information of Daniel, bishop of Winchester. It relates to their conversion by Birinus, the reigns of Cadwalla and of Ina, and the pontificate of Wini, Aldhelm, and Daniel. To this last named bishop we are indebted for a portion of the little of what is known as to the early history of the South Saxons and the Isle of Wight, the last of the Saxon kingdoms which embraced the Christian faith. It relates to the conversion of those districts by the agency of Wilfrid. A few unimportant additions are afterwards made in a hurried and incidental manner, evidently showing that Bede's information upon this head was neither copious nor definite.

"The monks of Lastingham furnished materials relative to the ministry of Cedd and Chad, by whose preaching the Mercians were induced to renounce paganism. The history of this kingdom is obscure, and consists of an account of its

conversion, the succession of its sovereigns and its bishops. The neighbouring state of Middle Anglia, which, if ever independent of Mercia, soon merged in it, is similarly circumstanced, and we are perhaps indebted to its connexion with the princes and bishops of Northumbria for what is known of its early history.

"Lindsey, part of Lincolnshire, although situated so near to the kingdom of Northumbria, was both politically and ecclesiastically independent of it, and Bede was as ignorant of the transactions of that province as of those which were much more remote from Jarrow. He received some materials from bishop Cynebert, but they appear to have been scanty, for the circumstances which relate to Lincolnshire are generally derived from the information of other witnesses.

"The history of East Saxony is more copious, and is derived partly from the communications of Albinus and Nothelm, and partly from the monks of Lastingham. To the first of these two sources we must probably refer the account of the pontificate of Mellitus, and the apostasy of the sons of Sabert,-circumstances too intimately connected with the see of Canterbury to be omitted in its annals. To the latter we are indebted for the history of the recon version of Saxony,-an event in which the monks of Lastingham were interested, as it was accomplished by their founder Cedd. From them Bede also received an account of the ministry of Chad. Some further details respecting its civil and ecclesiastical affairs, the life of Earconwald, bishop of London, and the journey of Offa to Rome, conclude the information which we have respecting this kingdom.

"In the history of Northumbria Bede, as a native, was particularly interested, and would probably exert himself to procure the most copious and authentic information regarding it. Although he gives no intimation of having had access to previous historical documents, when speaking of his sources of information, yet there seems reason to believe that he has made use of such materials. We may infer from what he says of the mode in which Oswald's reign was generally calculated, that in this king's time there existed Annals or Chronological Tables, in which events were inserted as they occurred, the regnal year of the monarch who then

filled the throne being at the time specified. These annals appear to have extended beyond the period of the conversion of Northumbria to Christianity, although it is difficult to imagine how any chronological calculation or record of events could be preserved before the use of letters had become known. But the history of Edwin, with its interesting details, shows that Bede must have had access to highly valu able materials which reached back to the very earliest era of authentic history; and we need not be surprised at finding information of a similar character throughout the remainder of his history of Northumbria. Accordingly we have minute accounts of the pedigrees of its kings, their accession, exploits, anecdotes of them, and sketches of their character, their deaths, and the duration of their reigns,—details too minute in themselves, and too accurately defined by Bede, to have been derived by him from tradition. Similar proofs might, if necessary, be drawn from the history of its bishops.

(3.) The Historia Ecclesiastica contains various transcripts of important official documents. These are of two classes, either such as were sent from the Papal Court to the princes and ecclesiastics of England, or were the production of native writers. The first were transcribed from the Papal Regesta by Nothelm of London, during a residence at Rome, and were sent to Bede by the advice of his friend Albinus of Canterbury. They relate to the history of the kingdoms of Kent and Northumbria. The letters of archbishops Laurentius and Honorius, concerning the proper time for celebrating Easter, were probably furnished by the same individual. The proceedings of the councils of Hertford and Hatfield may have been derived from the archives of Bede's own monastery, since it was customary in the early ages of the church for each ecclesiastical establishment to have a 'tabularium' in which were deposited the synodal decrees by which its members were governed.

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"(II.) A considerable portion of the Historia Ecclesiastica, especially that part of it which relates to the kingdom of Northumberland, is founded upon local information which its author derived from various individuals. On almost every occasion Bede gives the name and designation of his informant, being anxious, apparently, to show that nothing is in