The title of the Venerable Bede’s History of the English Church and People is best understood as a compound noun of the type often encountered in German. Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän (trans. Danube Steamship Company Captain) is a classic example of the form.
This is not simply an eccentric literary conceit. Bede and his 7th Century contemporaries regarded the English Church and the English people as not merely inextricably entwined, but as two facets of the same coin.
For them, the Church and the people were one and the same thing. To speak of one was to speak of the other.
It was a situation evident in the manner in which the realm was governed. Unlike the kingdoms and principalities not only in Europe, but also in its close neighbours Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, there was no such thing as a separation of Church and State in England.
Anglo-Saxon king with his witan. Biblical scene in the Illustrated Old English Hexateuch (11th century), portraying Pharaoh in court session, after passing judgment on his chief baker and chief cupbearer. From Wikipedia.
This system continued until 1066 when the Norman Duke William laid claim to the English crown and invaded England. William’s troops killed England’s elected King Harold during the Battle of Hastings, and shortly afterwards suppressed the Witanaġemot.
Traditions, however, die hard. A century and a half or so later, a reconstituted Witanaġemot emerged—albeit with a newly coined Norman French name Parliament—and the ancient alliance of English clergy and laity set about acquiring the powers the Witan had enjoyed.
The uniquely close relationship between England’s church and people has exerted a profound influence on the development on all aspects of life—temporal and spiritual—throughout the English-speaking world.
It has not only shaped our government institutions, framed our legal system, moulded our social institutions, inspired our sense of duty and honour, and created our language, it has brought into being the concept of the modern, unified nation state.
Indeed, were it not for the unique relationship between the English Church and people, it is likely the political geography of the British Isles prior to the present era would closely resemble that of Europe during the 16th and 17th Centuries—a constantly squabbling gaggle of mini-states.
It is also probable that the world would be a very much more dangerous place because it is unlikely that great democracies like the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India would have been brought into being.
This year’s Lenten Study will explore the extraordinary influence of the unique relationship between the ancient English Church and people has had not just on our own nation, but on English-speaking peoples throughout the world—even those who do not share our Christian faith.
The first of the five-part series will begin after Evening Prayer at 6.45pm on Wednesday, 17 February, and will continue at the same time on each Wednesday evening until 17 March. Each session will be completely contained so you can miss one but not lose the thread of the story.
As usual we will be offering you both food for both body and soul—not least a choice of hearty soups, beverages, and the best bread in Baltimore. If you think that you’ll need more than that, just bring a sandwich.
Join us to learn, among other things, how the Book of Common Prayer created the English language as we speak it today.
Discover how the relationship between the English Church and people accounts largely for the difference in the development of North and South America.
Explore the role this unique relationship played in the creation of America’s representative republic.
Discover why we consider a person who is on trial for a crime innocent until his guilt has be proven to the satisfaction of a jury of his peers.
Learn why King Edward VIII had no choice but to abdicate when he decided to marry Mrs Wallace Simpson. GPH✠
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The actual title of the Venerable Bede’s work is “Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum” probably written about 731 AD, “The Church history of the people of the English” and it was written in Latin as is the title. It is primarily a work about the Church in the period before Bede, from the invasion of Julius Ceasar to Bede’s day and it deals with the church in the East of what is now known as England, and is unaware of the work of the Church to the West where the Celtic influence was strong. The kingdoms of the time that we know of were Northumbria where Bede lived, Essex, Mercia, Kent, Sussex and Wessex. We know that modern English people today have a DNA which shows they are primarily of Celtic descent. This shows that the numbers of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings invading from the East were few in number, but influential in culture. Bede wishes to promote the discipline of the Roman Church in regard to Calendar, Language, Contemporary Heresies, Discipline and Liturgy to achieve an ecclesial unity where none existed politically.
From the time of Constantine, the Church had been used by the state to achieve a consensual unity. Bede’s Church History was thus very popular on the Continent. Charlemagne 742-814 used the Church and especially the Monasteries to civilise and educate the people. Thus in Europe it is normal for the Monarch to be anointed as such by the senior bishops after an acclamation. In turn Bishops (who had no heirs) were endowed with land and expected to govern and rule on behalf of the King, and to advise at court in the House of Peers. They were to rule their Diocese and look after their vassals, the Clergy. These systems have lasted down to modern times in England, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Vatican, Andorra, and Monaco. Queen Elizabeth realised that Bishops were essential to preserve the Monarchy, for the Puritains would set up a Commonwealth with no need for Queen or Bishops! Many of the latter left England in those centuries for North America where they could and did set up such a Commonwealth.