Bede and Time: Computus, Theology and History in the Early Medieval World

Awarded the Irish Historical Research Prize 2021.The Venerable Bede (c. 673–735) was the leading intellectual figure of the early Anglo-Saxon Church, and his extensive corpus of writings encompassed themes of exegesis, computus (dating of Easter and construction of calendars), history and hagiography. Rather than look at these works in isolation, Máirín MacCarron argues that Bede’s work in different genres needs to be read together to be properly understood. This book provides the first integrated analysis of Bede’s thought on time, and demonstrates that such a comprehensive examination allows a greater understanding of Bede’s writings on time, and illuminates the place of time and chronology in his other works. Bede was an outstanding intellect whose creativity and ingenuity were apparent in various genres of writing. This book argues that in innovatively combining computus, theology and history, Bede transformed his contemporaries’ understanding of time and chronology.

About the Author

Máirín MacCarron is Lecturer in Dgtl Humanities at University College Cork, having previously held posts at NUI Galway and the University of Sheffield. Her research interests include Time, Chronology and the writing of History; Women in the Middle Ages; and Dgtl approaches to studying the past.