List of manuscripts of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica facts for kids

This list of manuscripts of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica helps us find and understand the old handwritten copies of Bede's most famous book, the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (which means Ecclesiastical History of the English People). Bede was a monk and historian who lived in England a very long time ago, in the 7th and 8th centuries. His book tells the story of early Christianity in England and is one of our best sources for that time.

Since printing presses didn't exist back then, every copy of Bede's book had to be written by hand. These handwritten copies are called manuscripts. Over time, as people copied the book, small differences sometimes appeared in the text. Scholars (people who study old texts) have found many of these manuscripts, and this list helps keep track of where they are and what makes them special.

Two Main Types of Bede's Book

Most of the handwritten copies of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica can be sorted into two main groups. Scholars call these groups the c text and the m text. A scholar named Charles Plummer first noticed these differences in 1896.

The c text is now thought to be an earlier version of Bede's work. It's like an early draft! It's unlikely Bede or anyone else would have removed parts from a later, more complete version.

In England, people mostly used the c text. But almost all the copies found in Europe (on the "continent") were of the m form.

How the c and m Texts Differ

There are a few key ways to tell the c and m texts apart:

• In the m text, Bede asks readers for their prayers at the end of his introduction. In the c text, this request appears at the very end of the whole book.
• Chapter 14 of Book IV (the fourth section of the book) is only found in the m manuscripts.
• There are three words in the m text in Book IV, Chapter 18, that are missing from the c text.
• The list of events for the year 731 at the end of the book is different. Also, the c text adds events for 733 and 734 that are not in the m text.
• The c text's list of Bede's other writings doesn't include his notes on the prophets.
• The stories about the miracles of St. Cuthbert in chapters 31 and 32 of Book IV are slightly different. The c text makes it sound like only one miracle will be told, even though two follow. Also, the chapter titles for 31 and 32 are swapped in the c text.

Important Early Manuscripts

There are three very old c text manuscripts and five old m text manuscripts that are super important. Scholars use these as the main examples for each version of Bede's work. The letters you see (like K, C, M) are what scholars use to refer to these important manuscripts.

Early c Text Manuscripts

• K. This manuscript is in Kassel, Germany. It was written in northern England in the late 700s. It's missing Books IV and V. It used to belong to an abbey (a monastery for monks) called Fulda in Germany.
• C. This manuscript is in the British Library in London. It was written in southern England in the second half of the 700s.
• O. This manuscript is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. It dates from the early 1000s.

Early m Text Manuscripts

• M. This manuscript is in Cambridge University Library in England. It was written in northern England around 737. It's a complete copy of the book. It was once owned by a bishop named John Moore and later given to Cambridge University by King George I.
• L. This manuscript is in the Saint Petersburg Public Library in Russia. It was copied by 747, probably at a monastery in Wearmouth or Jarrow in England. The text of L and M are very similar, suggesting they might have been copied from the same original book, perhaps even Bede's own copy!
• U. This manuscript is in Wolfenbüttel, Germany. It's from the late 700s and was once at Weissenburg Abbey, Alsace in France.
• E. This manuscript is in Würzburg, Germany. It's from the early 800s. It might be a copy of a book listed in a Würzburg cathedral catalogue from around 800. Later, it was owned by Ebrach Abbey.
• N. This manuscript is in Namur, Belgium. It was written in the 800s by several different scribes (people who copied books).

The m Text in England

Only one important m type manuscript stayed in England:

• B. This manuscript is also in the British Library. It was written in northern England in the mid-700s and is a copy of manuscript L. Sadly, it was badly damaged in a fire in 1731.

The c Text in England

Many c text manuscripts exist in England. Scholars have grouped them based on how similar their texts are.

Manuscripts Connected to C

Two manuscripts might be directly related to the important 'C' manuscript:

• A manuscript at Trinity College, Cambridge (R. 7. 5). Mostly from the early 1000s, it's a very close match to C.
• A manuscript at St. John's College, Cambridge (S. 6). This one might be a copy of the Trinity College manuscript.

The Durham Group

This group of manuscripts is named after a parent manuscript from Durham Cathedral. There are eight other manuscripts that were copied from it.

• The parent manuscript is at Durham Cathedral Library (B. ii. 35) and is from the late 1000s.
• Copies include manuscripts at the British Library, Pembroke College Cambridge, the Vatican Library, Oxford's Corpus Christi College, and the National Library of Scotland. Some of these copies belonged to monasteries like Worksop Priory, Tynemouth Priory, and Newminster Abbey. One was even copied by a scribe for a prior (a leader of a monastery) near Durham.

The Winchester Group

This group has three manuscripts, with the oldest one coming from Winchester.

• The main manuscript is at Winchester Cathedral Library (I). It's from the early 1000s. Part of it is now in the British Library.
• A manuscript at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Bodl. 163) from the early 1000s was likely copied from the Winchester manuscript. It was at Peterborough Abbey by the 1100s.
• A manuscript at Oxford's Balliol College (MS 176) from the late 1100s also came from the Winchester manuscript.

c Texts with the St. Oswald Miracle

One thing that makes the c text different is that it usually leaves out Chapter IV.14, which tells a story about a miracle by St Oswald. However, by the late 1000s, this missing chapter was added back into some c text manuscripts, probably copied from an m text.

The Gloucester Group

This group of manuscripts shares some extra additions with manuscript B (the m text in England).

• A manuscript at the British Library (Royal MS 13 C. v) from the late 1000s was owned by Gloucester Abbey.
• An early 1100s copy at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Douce 368) came from Winchcomb Abbey, near Gloucester. It includes a story about St. Kenelm, the abbey's patron saint.
• Other copies are found at the National Library of Wales, Oxford's New College, Oxford's Pembroke College, and Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Barlow 39).

Other c Texts with St. Oswald

Other copies that include the St. Oswald chapter exist, but their connections to other manuscripts are less clear. These include manuscripts at Oxford's Bodleian Library, the British Library, the College of Arms in London, and the British Library again (Add MS 14250), which came from Plympton Priory.

The Yorkshire Group

This group is special because they all miss the end of the book, from partway through Book V, Chapter 24. This suggests the original manuscript they were copied from was either damaged or unfinished.

• An early 1100s manuscript at Trinity College, Cambridge (R. 5. 27) is missing its first section.
• A 12th-century copy at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Fairfax 12) came from Selby Abbey in Yorkshire.
• Other copies are at Oxford's Lincoln College, Oxford's St. John's College (from Jervaulx Abbey), the British Library (from Kirkham Priory), the College of Arms, and the British Library again (Burney MS 297).
• One 14th-century copy was privately owned and came from Fountains Abbey.
• A late 1300s or early 1400s manuscript at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Rawl. C. 162) was left to York Minster in 1414.
• A 15th-century manuscript at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum (McClean 109) was owned by William Dadyngton of Barton-upon-Humber and later left to Lincoln Cathedral.

Some other copies from this group are only known from old monastery lists, like those from Bridlington, Rievaulx, and the Austin Friars in York.

The Southern Text Group

These manuscripts are described as the "common text of southern England in the later Middle Ages." They have several changes made to the text. This group is split into two smaller parts.

The Digby Group

This first set is named the "Digby group":

• A manuscript at Hereford Cathedral (P. v. 1) from the early 1100s.
• A mid-1100s copy at Oxford's Magdalen College (lat. 105).
• A manuscript at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Digby 211) from the late 1100s, which belonged to Waltham Abbey.
• Other copies include ones at Cambridge's St. John's College, Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Digby 101), Cambridge's Trinity College, Oxford's Merton College, Oxford's Bodleian Library (Tanner 348), Oxford's All Souls College, and Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral Library. The Bury St. Edmunds copy was given to Syon Abbey in 1490.

The Rochester Group

This second group is known for including an Old English text about where English saints were buried.

• A manuscript at the British Library (Harley MS 3680) from the early 1100s was probably written at Rochester and might be the source for all the other manuscripts in this group.
• Other copies include ones at Oxford's Bodleian Library, Dublin's Trinity College (from Bury St Edmunds Abbey), Oxford's Christ Church, Cambridge's Trinity College, and the British Library (Arundel MS 74), which belonged to a bishop named Henry le Despenser.

One other manuscript from this group is now lost, and two others are less closely related:

• A lost Merton College manuscript that contained the text about saints' resting places.
• A late 1400s manuscript at Oxford's Bodleian Library (MS. Holkham misc. 7).
• A late 1300s manuscript at Worcester Cathedral (F. 148), which is missing many parts.

Manuscripts with Unclear Connections

Several English manuscripts are clearly c texts but haven't been clearly linked to the other surviving manuscripts. These include:

• British Library, Add MS 38130 (12th century).
• Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Bodl. 712 (14th century), which was made for a bishop of Salisbury.
• British Library, Royal MS 13 C. VII (late 14th century), which belonged to a Carmelite monk.
• Phillipps MS. 9428 (15th century), which mentions a local place name.
• Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 264 (14th century), which belonged to a prior of Norwich.
• Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 359 (14th century).
• Cambridge, Emmanuel College I. 1. 3 (1481), which belonged to a dean of Wells.
• Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College Δ. 2. 8 (late 14th century).
• Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College Δ. 5. 17 (15th century), from Bury St Edmunds Abbey, which has a strange break in the text.
• British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius E. i (12th century), which was badly damaged in a fire.

Manuscripts Not Clearly m or c Type

Some other manuscripts exist that don't fit neatly into the m or c text groups.

• New York, Pierpont Morgan Library M 826. This is just a single leaf (a page) from the late 700s.
• Bern, Burgerbibliothek 363. This manuscript contains part of Book I and is from the 800s.
• Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Laud misc. 610. This contains a partial translation of Books I and II into Old Irish.
• British Library, Egerton MS 3278. This is a single leaf from the early 1000s.

An old list of books from Glastonbury in 1247 mentions a copy of Bede's Historia Anglorum, but we don't know what happened to it.

Sources