The genius of Wearmouth-Jarrow
Born in AD 673, on land that would form part of the monastery estates, Bede was only 7 when he was sent to join the monks at Wearmouth. Although he never left the area, his gift for collecting and connecting information gave him a truly unique view of the world. He corresponded with monks at other monasteries across Britain, and even sent the Bishop of London to research the papal archives in Rome on his behalf. He wrote the seminal 'History of the English Church and People', was the first English person to use the term 'English', two centuries before England would be united, popularised the AD/BC dating system, devised the method we use to calculate when Easter falls and worked out how the moon affects the tide. He was a true Renaissance man, 700 years before the Renaissance!
