Bede's History- How accurate could Bede really be?

Bede's History
How accurate could Bede Really be?



Bede, also known a Venerable Bede, is believed to have been one of the greatest scholars and writers of his time. Much of what modern historians know of England in the time before the Norman invasion of the British Isles in 1066 is attributed to Bede. However with such a large and well known source, one cannot help but wonder if Bede took too much creative licence with his Ecclesiastical History of Britain. Bede can backed up somewhat by archaeological evidence in Jarrow, the area where the monastery Bede served in is located, as well as evidence of the kings and battles mentioned by Bede in his writing. Much like the location of places like Jericho and Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible Bede worked so painstakingly to translate have been found, proving to a degree that the Bible is a valid historical document. Bede may have written his history with a favorable slant toward the King in charge at the time, but he also cited his sources, much like modern scholars do, and even though many of these sources have been lost over the last seventeen hundred years, the fact that he took the time to do so lends credibility to his work.