The Venerable Bede's history of the Christian church in England, written in the early eighth century, still stands as a significant literary work. Translated from Latin into various other language
The Venerable Bede's history of the Christian church in England, written in the early eighth century, still stands as a significant literary work. Translated from Latin into various other languages, Bede's fascinating history has long been widely studied.
Thirteen centuries later, this thorough and reliable guide by J. Robert Wright enables today's readers to follow the major English translations of Bede's work and to understand exactly what Bede was saying, what he meant, and why his words and account remain so important. Wright'sCompanion to Bede provides the answers to most questions that careful, intelligent readers of Bede are apt to ask. Despite the countless numbers of books and articles about Bede, there is no other comprehensive companion to his text that can be read in tandem with the medieval author himself.
A Giniger book
H. George Fletcher
— Special Collections, New York Public Library
"Bede's humanity, shining through his straightforward and accessible style, has won him legions of followers from the very beginning. Each generation, at least one major kindred spirit emerges from among his scholarly readers, such as Plummer in the nineteenth century and Colgrave and Mynors in the twentieth. In our day we now have Canon Wright, who has distilled a lifetime's study of Bede into this Companion, a sure guide for the latest generation fortunate enough to fall under Bede's spell."
John V. Fleming
— Princeton University
"J. Robert Wright's Companion to Bede is designed for first-time readers of the Ecclesiastical History, for whom it offers most welcome guidance, encouragement, and reassurance. It will prove hardly less useful to the seasoned medievalist, for Wright clarifies, without oversimplification, the sometimes puzzling structure of Bede's greatest work and the interrelationships of its subjects and themes. This judicious and uncluttered commentary is of the sort that only an encyclopedic command of the historiography of early England could enable. A most valuable work."
Anglican Theological Review
“This volume will be of value to the undergraduate and graduate, to the seminarian and Christian educator, as well as to the scholar. . . . As Wright remarks, it ‘is still a pleasure to read Bede’s History . . . and it is now our pleasure to have such a congenial and reliable guide.”
Living Church
“It behooves any who would love Anglicanism to return again to the Ecclesiastical History, and for most who do so, a knowledgeable companion along the way would be appreciated if not absolutely needed. Wright proves as capable a guide as one could wish for — no small accomplishment.”
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