The accounts given by Bede and Eddius give the reader an idea of 6th and 7th century life in Britain as Roman Episcopal orthodoxy clashed with the monasticism that was spreading over Ireland and Northern England.
Written in AD 731, Bede's work opens with a background sketch of Roman Britain's geography and history. It goes on to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop Anglo-Saxon government and religion during the crucial formative years of the English people. This title offers an English translation of a historical document.
Historical works by Bede (672 or 673-735 CE) include his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Lives of the Abbots of Bede's monastery, accounts of Cuthbert, and the Letter to Egbert, Bede's pupil.