Bede Miracles

The Purpose of Miracles in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Bedes’ main objective in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People is to describe the spreading of Christianity throughout Britain and how the English churches were unified over time with the Catholic Church. And to support his accounts, Bede consistently structures his writing around two main themes: (1) miracles, which are events that are not explicable by nature, (2) hagiography, which is a type of writing that idealizes the lives of saints. Bede uses these two themes throughout several accounts in his History as evidence of God’s support for the spread of Christianity throughout England, while simultaneously presenting these themes through a historical

The first example of both a miraculous and hagiographical event within the History is of St. Alban and the beneficial relationship he establishes with God. This account is told in a historical context in the Roman city of Verulamium in 305 A.D. during a time in which a purge of Christians is taking place. This backdrop of trepidations times in which Christians are being systematically eliminated is used to connect readers to a specific place in time and give them a sense of hopelessness that can only be overcome by God. In Book I, chapter 7, St. Alban is addressed as a pagan that converts to Christianity after a spiritual experience, "This man he observed to be engaged in continual prayer and watching day and night; when on a sudden the Divine grace shining on him, he began to imitate the

The accounts that Bede writes about are persuasive, exciting, and gave people of his time hope for the possibility of a more prosperous way of