Bede: The Man Who Invented England
Published on 4. June 2026
320 pages
978-1-78885-669-0 (ISBN)
Description
What is England, and who are the English?
The man who first posed and answered these questions lived 1,200 years ago in Northumberland. The Venerable Bede spent almost his whole life in two monasteries looking over the North Sea, far from the centres of civilisation. Yet he became the foremost scholar of the first millennium, writing a history that continues to illuminate the Dark Ages, while also popularising our modern dating scheme.
Faced with a Britain of competing kingdoms and peoples, it was Bede who first wrote of the English as a single people. It was his vision that created the story that has united and divided Britain ever since: an island divided into three countries.
Based on the most up-to-date research and historical and archaeological evidence, this book pieces together Bede's life and those of the monks and nuns, warriors and kings, farmers and merchants who made up the kingdoms in the contested realm of Britain.
The man who first posed and answered these questions lived 1,200 years ago in Northumberland. The Venerable Bede spent almost his whole life in two monasteries looking over the North Sea, far from the centres of civilisation. Yet he became the foremost scholar of the first millennium, writing a history that continues to illuminate the Dark Ages, while also popularising our modern dating scheme.
Faced with a Britain of competing kingdoms and peoples, it was Bede who first wrote of the English as a single people. It was his vision that created the story that has united and divided Britain ever since: an island divided into three countries.
Based on the most up-to-date research and historical and archaeological evidence, this book pieces together Bede's life and those of the monks and nuns, warriors and kings, farmers and merchants who made up the kingdoms in the contested realm of Britain.
Reviews / Votes
'Albert casts a wide net in a largely absorbing volume, which places Bede and his written work at the heart of broader religious and secular worlds' * Country Life * 'A wonderfully learned and highly readable introduction to a man who, more than any other, can claim to be the inventor of England' -- Bijan Omrani, author of God is an Englishman 'Gives us a picture of England in Bede's day' -- Christopher Howse * Telegraph *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Birlinn General
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
8pp colour plates; maps
File size
5,80 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78885-669-0 (9781788856690)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Edoardo Albert
Bede: The Man Who Invented England
Book
06/2026
Birlinn Ltd
€22.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Edoardo Albert is a London-based writer of Italian and Sri Lankan extraction who specialises in religion, travel and archaeology. His previous books include: Warrior: A Life of War in Anglo-Saxon Britain and Northumbria: The Lost Kingdom, both of which he co-authored with Paul Gething.
