The library of the Venerable Bede

Abstract

To consider that the commentary on Genesis was just one of over forty works which Bede wrote, suggests the importance of assessing the extent of the library used by him. This chapter shows how Venerable Bede's library must have been assembled, and considers the tools available for reconstructing its contents, noting their limitations, and using some specific cases to illustrate the problems. Bede reworked and abbreviated De locis sanctis to produce his own De locis sanctis, and is the sole witness to the means by which Adomnán's work reached Northumbria. If the tangible re-creation of Bede's library continues to be a theme, then, surviving books themselves should be the starting-point. Bede's is a theological library, designed for a monastery inspired by the spirit of the Benedictine Rule. His library must have included biblical texts in various formats, including, a remarkable pandect in the old translation, namely the Codex Grandior.

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