Saint Bede the Venerable
Saint Bede the Venerable (c. 673 – 735): Benedictine monk, priest, historian, Doctor of the Church.
Patron of this blog.
Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Saint Bede the Venerable (c. 673 – 735): Benedictine monk, priest, historian, Doctor of the Church.
Patron of this blog.
I should be very grateful to know precisely why you say that St Bede was a “Benedictine monk”.
Saint Bede was a monk at the monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth. This establishment was founded by Saint Benedict Biscop specifically on the “Roman” model, as opposed to the style of monasticism practiced by the Celts throughout northern Britain and in Ireland.
As such, the monks followed the Rule of Saint Benedict, and they are therefore referred to as “Benedictine”.
Hope that helps!
Thank you.
But not being Celtic does not mean that a monastery’s rule was that of the great St Benedict of Nursia (RoSBoN) does it?
True, BB was anxious to be authentically Roman. True, Bede tells is that Benedict Biscop had visited 17 continental monasteries, including Lérins where he spent two years.
It would be surprising if BB’s was uninfluenced by RoSBoN, but surprise is not enough to assert that at St Peter’s at Monkwearmouth and at St Paul’s at Jarrow (where Bede spent most of his life) RoSBoN was followed.
(At Ripon, St Wilfrid did follow RoSBoN.)
Hence my question! How do we know BB’s rule at Monkwearmouth and Jarrow was RoSBoN?
My source is Das Benediktinertum im Wandel der Zeiten by Stephanus Hilpisch, O.S.B.
(It’s available in English as Benedictinism through Changing Centuries, St. John’s Abbey Press, 1958.)
According to Br. Stephanus, Abbot Benedict Biscop imposed the Rule at the monasteries of Jarrow and Wearmouth. In fact, the author refers to BB as a “zealous champion” of the Roman usage.
While that’s not a primary source, I have no reason to doubt the scholarship.
Hope that helps! Sorry for the long delay in responding.
Why is there gold behind saint Bede’s head?
Not sure, exactly. Perhaps it’s meant to be a halo?
Many thanks for your painstaking reply.
I am afraid that Br Stephanus’s assertion without clear corroborative evidence is no more convincing than Pope Benedict XVI’s averral that Bede’s parents sent him to join the local Benedictine monastery.
WIilfrid at Ripon did, I believe, adopt the Rule of St B of Norcia. The very strong inference from Bede’s “Lives of the Abbots” is that Benedict Biscop wrote his own rule, as monastic founders then tended to do.
I don’t want to make too much of anything! It’s just that assertions seem rife that “Bede was a Benedictine”. But the actual evidence is never produced when I wonder what it is!
Thank you again
With every good wish
Yours sincerely
Michael Berry
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