Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.6 stars; 42 reviews)

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity. It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history. It is believed to have been completed in 731, when Bede was approximately 59 years old. Divided into five books, it covers the history of England, ecclesiastical and political, from the time of Julius Caesar to the date of its completion (731).

The History of the English Church and People has a clear polemical and didactic purpose. Bede sets out, not just to tell the story of the English, but to advance his views on politics and religion. In political terms he is a partisan of his native Northumbria, amplifying its role in English history over and above that of Mercia, its great southern rival. While Bede is loyal to Northumbria, he shows an even greater attachment to the Irish and the Irish Celtic missionaries, whom he considers to be far more effective and dedicated than their rather complacent English counterparts. His final preoccupation is over the precise date of Easter, which he writes about at length. It is here, and only here, that he ventures some criticism of St Cuthbert and the Irish missionaries, who celebrated the event, according to Bede, at the wrong time. In the end he is pleased to note that the Irish Church was saved from error by accepting the correct date for Easter. (Summary modified from Wikipedia) (13 hr 6 min)

Chapters

01 - Editor's Preface & Introduction 32:34 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
02 - Life of Bede & Preface 32:11 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
03 - Book I, Chapters 1-8 29:16 Read by Michael Dalling
04 - Book I, Chapters 9-17 28:41 Read by bobolink
05 - Book I, Chapters 18-26 24:37 Read by Michael Kress
06 - Book I, Chapter 27 32:07 Read by Jonathan Lange
07 - Book I, Chapters 28-34 18:45 Read by David Salisbury
08 - Book II, Chapters 1-3 28:16 Read by Katherine
09 - Book II, Chapters 4-9 28:10 Read by Katherine
10 - Book II, Chapters 10-13 28:24 Read by Katherine
11 - Book II, Chapters 14-20 27:26 Read by Katherine
12 - Book III, Chapters 1-7 25:42 Read by stmacduff
13 - Book III, Chapters 8-14 25:48 Read by stmacduff
14 - Book III, Chapters 15-21 28:21 Read by Jonathan Lange
15 - Book III, Chapters 22-24 18:51 Read by Jonathan Lange
16 - Book III, Chapters 25-26 22:33 Read by Jonathan Lange
17 - Book III, Chapters 27-30 20:07 Read by Felicity C
18 - Book IV, Chapters 1-4 25:37 Read by Larry Beasley
19 - Book IV, Chapters 5-11 28:43 Read by Robert Hoffman
20 - Book IV, Chapters 12-17 26:39 Read by Robert Hoffman
21 - Book IV, Chapters 18-22 23:54 Read by Jonathan Lange
22 - Book IV, Chapters 23-25 27:52 Read by Jonathan Lange
23 - Book IV, Chapters 26-32 29:14 Read by J. A. Cook
24 - Book V, Chapters 1-7 29:52 Read by Felicity C
25 - Book V, Chapters 8-12 35:40 Read by Felicity C
26 - Book V, Chapters 13-18 25:27 Read by Felicity C
27 - Book V, Chapters 19-20 20:10 Read by Ernst Schnell
28 - Book V, Chapter 21 30:30 Read by C F de Rosset
29 - Book V, Chapters 22-24, Continuation 30:51 Read by Kevin Johnson

Reviews

Bede's History


(5 stars)

What a treat to find this treasure read so well!


(3.5 stars)

generally well read from a range of contributors, thank you!

Very well done!


(5 stars)

Solid reading and audio quality.

David Salisbury should have read the entire book


(4 stars)

David Salisbury should have read the entire book he makes the book 100% more interesting then the others the book go's well with his accent and I'd rather listen to him then anyone else to bad he only does 1 chapter... wish he did more..