Bede (ca. 672-735) - Often referred to as the Venerable Bede, he was a Northumbrian monk at the Saint Peter's Monastery in Monkwearwouth. One of his most significant contributions is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People), written during the Dark Ages; a time when knowledge was relatively scarce. As a result, he is generally considered the "Father of English History". Almost everything we know of him comes from his Historia ecclesiastica which was completed about 731. His death and a few other events are recorded by his disciple, Cuthbert. The only other work to mention his name is the Liber Vitae, which mentions two Bedes (Cuthbert's student was named Bede, who could be the other). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists a Bieda; however, centuries before the Northumbrian monk, so it's obviously not him. What Bede reveals about himself is that at the age of seven he was sent to the Jarrow Abbey to receive an ecclesiastical education, and taught by two monks; Benedict and Ceolfrith. He became a deacon at 19 and ordained as a priest at 30. 25 was considered the standard age for deaconship, so Bede must have been an exceptional student. As a monk, he is thought to have spent almost his entire life near his monastery, although he may have traveled once to York and once to the island of Lindisfarne. His history of England consists of five books and covers almost 800 years, from Julius Caesar, up to his own time. The first book covers the greatest period, from Caesar's invasion up to the time of St. Augustine, who introduced Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons in 597 (not the St. Augustine on this chart).