The History of the English Church and People (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

Bede was born around the year 673 and spent nearly his entire life in the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, seldom venturing beyond its confines. He became a deacon at nineteen years old and a priest at thirty; he observed the monastic rule all his life. A conscientious monk, Bede was also a devoted scholar and teacher whose writings had a profound influence on early medieval learning. An orthodox Christian, Bede was charged with heresy over the contents of his first book on computus, the science of calculating dates of the calendar. His second book on computus, however, became the standard work on the subject in the Middle Ages and was important preparation for his History. He died on May 25, 735. In 1899, he was declared a Doctor of the Church, and in 1935, Bede was declared a saint.