THE VENERABLE BEDE - IN OLD ENGLISH
This is Bede's "Historiae ecclesiasticae gentis Anglorum" printed in Cambridge in 1643 - the first printing of the work in England and the first printing of the 9th century Old English translation traditionally ascribed to Alfred the Great. 1/
This is Bede's "Historiae ecclesiasticae gentis Anglorum" printed in Cambridge in 1643 - the first printing of the work in England and the first printing of the 9th century Old English translation traditionally ascribed to Alfred the Great. 1/
The text was edited by the great Cambridge Anglo-Saxon scholar and linguist Abraham Wheelock (1593-1653), who also published the first edition in the original Old English of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. 2/
Wheelock based his text on three manuscripts, one at Cambridge University Library, one at Corpus Christi College, and one in the Cotton Library. Many of the notes consist of the Old English homilies of Aelfric of Eynsham, which Wheelock translated himself into Latin. 3/
Published at a time when few could read Old English, the parallel text was a great aid to students in learning the language. The Latin text of Bede was of course available in continental editions, but Wheelock's careful editorship made this edition superior to them. 4/
In 1644, Wheelock re-issued the book together with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Lambarde's edition of the Anglo-Saxon laws, providing together for scholars the three fundamental texts of Anglo-Saxon England. 5/
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