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IMC 2011: Sessions

Session 201: Bede and the Future, II: The Anglo-Saxon Context

Monday 11 July 2011, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Medieval Research Centre, University of Leicester
Organiser:Peter Darby, School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester
Moderator/Chair:Joanna Story, School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester
Paper 201-aBede's Purposes in the Ecclesiastical History: The Tricky Business of Reforming the King
(Language: English)
Nick Higham, School of Arts, Languages & Cultures, University of Manchester
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Political Thought
Paper 201-bWhy Did Bede Think Heresy Mattered?
(Language: English)
Alan Thacker, Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Religious Life
Paper 201-cThe Reception of Bede in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
(Language: English)
Nicholas Sparks, Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Language and Literature - Latin, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

These papers explore Bede and his works with reference to Anglo-Saxon England and its short-term or long-term future. Paper -a (Higham) considers Bede's attempts to influence the political realities of 8th-century Northumbria through the selection and presentation of material in his Historia ecclesiastica. Paper -b (Thacker) demonstrates that Bede's concerns about heresy were fundamentally linked to his vision for the ecclesiastical and political future of Anglo-Saxon England. Paper -c (Sparks) considers Bede's posthumous influence by examining the reception of passages from the Historia ecclesiastica in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.