c. 673-735

English historian, educator, and cleric whose Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Angolorum (Ecclesiastical history of the English people), completed in 731, is the principle source for information about Anglo-Saxon life and religion. While a master of Greek, Latin, mathematics, astronomy, music, and biblical commentary, Bede was a humble monk and a dedicated teacher. His abilities and guidance turned the monastery at Jarrow in Northumbria into a major center of learning in the early medieval world, sending its teachers out across Britain and Europe to establish more schools. Bede's work and influence were so important that Alcuin of York gave Bede the title "venerable" and King Alfred ordered the translation of the Historia from Latin into Anglo-Saxon.