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*CEOLWULPH, BED

The Servant of Chrift, and Prieft.

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FORMERLY, ar your Request, most readily transmitted to you th Ecclefiaftical History of the Euglish Nation, which I had newly publish'd, for you to read, and give it your Approbation; and do now Send it again to be Transcrib'd, and more fully confider'd at Leisure. And I fufficiently commiend gotur

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a Ceolwulph or Ceolulph, King of the Northumbrians, a Prince of no tmall Learning, and an encourager of learned Men, he refign'd his Kingdom to his Son three Years after Bede's Death, and became Monk at Lindisfarn, where he died in the Year 740. There were two others of this Name, one King of the East-Saxons, the other of the Mercians.

your Studiousness, through which you not only diligently give ear to bear the Words of the Holy Scripture, but also industriously take care to become acquainted with the Actions and Sayings of former Men of Renown, especially of our own Nation. For if History relates good Things of good Men, the attentive Hearer is excited to imitate that which is good; or if it mentions ill Things of wicked Persons, nevertheless the religious and pious Hearer or Reader, shunning that which is hurtful and perverse, is the more earnestly excited to perform those Things which he knows to be good, and worthy of God. The which you also being deeply fenfible of, are defirous that the Said History should be more fully made familiar to yourself and to those over whom the Divine Authority has appointed you Governor, through your general care of their good. But to the end that I may remove all occafion of doubting of what I have written, from you, magnanimous King, or other Readers or Heavers of this History, I will take care briefly to intimate from which Authors I chiefly learnt the same.

The most Reverend Abbatb Albinus, a Man in all refpects most Learned, was the first Promoter and Assistant in this Small Work: He having been

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b Albinus, an Englishman, and the first of that Country, that was Abbat of St. Austin's near Canterbury, he was Disciple to Adrian, the Abbat, and Theodore the Archbishop; was famous for his Knowledge in Greek and Latin, and dy'd Anno 723. He has been confounded with Flaccus Albinus or Alcuinus by Baronius, Leland, and others; whereas he liv'd the Age after the other, and dy'd Abbat of Tours in the Year 804. Bede wrote to this Albinm an Epistle, De auxilii accepti Beneficio.

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Instructed in the Church of Canterbury by Archbishop Theodore of blessed Memory, and the Abbat d Adrian, Men venerable and most Learned, transmitted to me bye Nothelmus, the Religions Prieft of the Church of London, either in Writing, or by word of Mouth of the Same Nothelmus, all that he thought worthy of Memory, that had been done in the Province of Kent, or the Parts adjoining to it by the Disciples of the blessed Pope Gregory, as he had learnt the Same either from written Records, or the Tradition of his Ancestors. The fame Nothelmus afterwards going to Rome, having, with leave of the present Pope Gregory, Search'd into the Archives of the Holy Roman Church, found there some Epistles of the Holy Pope Gregory, and other Popes; and returning home, by the Advice of the aforesaid most Reverend Father Albinus, brought them to me, to be inserted into our History. Thus we learnt what we were to make publick from the beginning of this Volume, till the Time when the English Nation receiv'd the Faith of CHRIST, from the Writings of

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• Theodore, a Greek, sent over by Pope Vitalian, was Archbishop of Canterbury. Of him Bede has treated in his fourth and fifth Books.

a Adrian, Colleague with Theodore, was Abbot of St. Austin's, dy'd there, 723. and was afterwards canoniz'd.

e Nothelmus was born at London, he was Prieft of Sr. Paul's, afterwards Monk of Canterbury, and Archbishop thereof two Years after Bede's Death. He wrote (according to Pits p. 141.) one Book of the Life of St. Augustins one Book of his Miracles, one of his Translation, which he undertook at the Instance of Bede and Alcuinus his Scholar; he likewife wrote one Book of Epistles to Bedes and dy'd Ann. 7396

our Predeceffors, collected here and there; but from that Time till this present, we learnt what was transacted in the Church of Canterbury, by the Disciples of St. Gregory, or their Successors, or under what Kings the Same hapned, through the Industry of the aforesaid Abbat Albinus: Nothelmus handing the same as has been faid; who also partly acquainted me with some things relating to the Prelates, from whom, or under what Kings the Province of East-Saxons, and of the West, as also of the East-Angles, and of the Northumbrians, receiv'd the Grace of the Gospel. In short, I was chiefly encourag'd to make bold to undertake this Work by the fame Albinus's Perfuafions. In like manner, Daniel, the most Reverend Bishop of the West-Saxons, who is still living, communicated to me in writing some Things relating to the Ecclefiaftical History of that Province, and the next adjoining to it of the South-Saxons, as alfo of the Isle of Wight. How the Province of the Mercians was brought to the Faith of CHRIST, which they knew not before, and how that of the East-Saxons recover'd the same, after having expelld it, by the Ministry of Cedd and Ceadda, the Religious Priests of CHRIST, and how those Fathers liv'd and dyd, we diligently learnt from the Brethren of the Monastery, which was built by them, and is call'd Lestingae. What the Ecclefiaftical Transactions were in the Province of the East-Angles, was partly made known to us from the Writings and Tradition of our Ancestors, and partly by Relation of the most Reverend Abbat Esius. What was done towards promoting the Faith of CHRIST, and the Sacerdotal Succeffion in the Province of Lindsey, we had either from the Letters of the most Reverend Prelate

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Prelate f Cynebert, or by word of Mouth from other faithful Perfons. But what was acted throughout the several Parts of the Church in the Province of the Northumbrians, from the Time when they receiv'd the Faith of CHRIST till this present, I receiv'd not from any any one indif ferent Author, but by the faithful Testimony of innumerable Witnesses, who might know or remember the fame; befides what I had of my own Knowledge. Wherein it is to be observ'd, that what I have written, either in this Volume, or in the little Book of his Actions, concerning our most Holy Father, and Bishop & Cuthbert, I partly took from those Things I found written of him, by the Brethren of the Church ofh Lindisfarn, implicitly giving faith to the History I read; but diligently took care to add such things as I could myself have Knowledge of by the most certain Attestation of faithful Men. And I humbly intreat the Reader, that if he shall in this that we have B 3 written

f Cynebert or Cimbert, was first Monk, and afterwards Bishop of Lincoln, he is faid by Bale and Pits to have written Annals; but I suppose they had no Authority for it but this mention Bede makes of him, which was enough for them.

& Cuthbert, Bishop of Hagulstad and Landisfarn, his Life Bede wrote first in Heroick Verse, and afterwards in Prose, as it is now among his Works.

h Landisfarn is a small Island in Northumberland, call'd likewife by the Saxons, Lindisfarn, from the River Linde which furrounds it; it is now call'd Holy Island. Here ftood a Monaftery in Bede's Time, which was afterwards destroy'd by the Danes.

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