Sister Benedicta Ward
The Venerable Bede (Outstanding Christian Thinkers Series)
Many books have examined the period about which Bede wrote, but this book is concerned with Bede himself in his times. There are chapters on Bede as a monk and priest of Jarrow, as a teacher, scientist and mathematician and as a chronologist who first established the present calculation of time. There are also explorations of his historical and hagiographical works. The central chapter of the book examines the Biblical commentaries of Bede, for which he was well known in his own times and which illustrate his theological understanding of the Gospel.
Benedicta Ward is a sister of the Community of Sisters of the Love of God. She is Reader in the History of Christian Spirituality at the University of Oxford and an honorary lecturer at Harris Manchester College. She has published a number of books on the early traditions of monasticism as well as two medieval studies.
"In a short span this book contrives to be a masterly introduction to one of the major figures of early English history, in all aspects of his scholarship and personality. Students and general readers will find it invaluable, while professional scholars, not least those interested in Bede the historian, will be very grateful for the survey of his scriptural writings. Sister Benedicta combines good judgement with an almost pretematural sympathy for her subject. Her style is lucid and readable, her choice of quotations inspired."
Professor Henry Mayr-Harting, Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford.
"Sister Benedicta's book presents Bede's knowledge and experience of these events with a poignant intimacy which both scholars and readers who have no previous knowledge of the period will find arresting and moving."
Richard Southern
RRP £14.99 Paperback
