Anonymous, The Old English Version of Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum

Sharon Rowley (Christopher Newport University)

Ed. by Richard William Dance, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

First circulation or publication 883 - 930

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Chronicle

Resources

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The Old English version of Bede's

Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum

(OEHE) is one of the earliest and most substantial surviving works of Old English prose [on the Latin text, see the entry “

Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum

”; see also Bede]. Translated anonymously around the end of the ninth or beginning of the tenth century, the OEHE survives in five manuscripts and three excerpts dating from after 883-930 to

1062-95. The text, which is substantially shorter than Bede's original, was well known and actively used in medieval England.

We do not know exactly when, where or by whom the translation was made. Although the OEHE has long been associated with King Alfred the Great's programme to translate the books “most necessary for all men to know” into English [see the

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1563 words

Citation: Rowley, Sharon. "The Old English Version of Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 April 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26468, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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