Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 29

There are many converts and not enough bishops, "the harvest was great and the workers were few," so Pope Gregory sends more men (Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus and Rufinianus) and ecclesiastical objects, such as vessels, clothes, manuscripts and relics needed for the administration of the churches. In a separate letter, he sends Augustine a pallium of white wool to be worn on special occasions. The pallium signifies Augustine's status of archbishop and confers the power to ordain bishops.

Augustine is to ordain 12 bishops and will have authority over them. London, however, is an exception and has its own archbishopric. In addition, he is to ordain a bishop at York of his own choosing. Once enough people have converted, the bishop of York, will then become an archbishop who will ordain 12 bishops under him. Augustine will have authority over these men and all the bishops of Britain. After Augustine's death, the bishop of London will have no authority over York and the one consecrated first will be the senior of the two. Pope Gregory expects them to share authority and confer with one another.

Points noted:

• The bishops of London and East Saxony have special privileges. Could this be because they were established when the Romans occupied Britain?
• Pope Gregory must really trust Augustine to give him oversight of all the bishops in Britain. An ecclesiastical hierarchy is being created in Britain and Augustine is head of it. 

Liberation Philology's Old English iPhone App

I've been using Liberation Philology's Old English iPhone app for a while now and have come to really appreciate it. Although I have been using it to learn new vocabulary, I haven't really used the verb and noun flashcards to identify the verb tenses and noun declensions until now.

I tried memorizing the some of the paradigms in Mitchell and Robinson's A Guide to Old English by using my Flashcard app, but memorizing the endings was tedious and challenging. I much prefer reviewing them using the Old English app. The quizzes are in the multiple choice format using a specific set of words for each level. The endings are not studied in isolation (which is what I was doing), but are appended to words which are to be parsed. The only negative is that it is not possible to cumulatively test vocabulary, verb and noun forms learned from previous levels because each level is independent of the others. Overall though, at $2.99, the app is a great tool when used with a good textbook.

Mitchell and Robinson's book, is considered an excellent textbook by many. However, I am troubled by the book's format. The first part of the book is densely packed with information and paradigms regarding the declensions of nouns, verb forms and tenses and grammar, while the second part contains actual Old English text, appendices and a glossary. Ambitious autodidacts are given a list of objectives to master and must skip around from section to section in a disjointed pattern, while keeping in mind that this should be done in conjunction with the readings. After reassuring the student that it might actually be possible to understand OE after a page or two of easy reading (which look a lot like modern English), the book plunges into the murky depths of actual medieval texts. This is probably akin to having a first semester Latin student read The Twelve Caesars by the ancient Roman historian Suetonius!

Since OE is not a modern language and does not have the popularity of ancient Latin, there seems to be very few books which teach it in the same manner whereby the budding foreign language student is introduced to a few useful everyday words, simple grammar and graded reading exercises with each section building upon the last. Many Latin books, such as the classic Wheelock's Latin are designed this way and it would be nice to see a similar book for OE.

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 28

This chapter contains a letter that Pope Gregory wrote in 600/601 AD to Vergilius, the bishop of Arles, in advance of Augustine's visit as a bishop. Gregory advises Vergilius to welcome Augustine with "kindness and goodwill," as they are now spiritual brothers. As if Gregory knew that Augustine's criticism might provoke indignation from Vergilius, he instructs him that if Augustine should notice any faults regarding the "bishops and others," these claims are to be thoroughly investigated.

In the previous chapter, Augustine had written a letter to Gregory asking him "How ought we to deal with the bishops of Gaul and Britain?" This question makes it seem as if some of the bishops were up to no good. What those faults were, were never discussed, but they were probably serious allegations since phrases such as "restore the minds of the depraved"and "check whatever is contrary to our Creator's commands," and "the perverse corrected" are used. Augustine noted these problems and brought it to Gregory's attention. Gregory tells him that he has no jurisdiction over Arles, although he is given authority over the bishops of Britain. However, he is only encouraged to discuss matters and point out his concerns to the bishop in Gaul.

Also, it seems that Augustine was not exactly welcome in Arles. Pope Gregory writes, "The fact that we usually invite our brethren because we love them shows how much affection ought to be lavished on those brethren who come uninvited." Was Augustine vocal in his admonitions? In Chapter 27, he was told that he has no authority over the Gaulish bishops, but was advised to bring up his concerns without "put[ting] a sickle" "through the standing corn of another." Gregory is obviously concerned about what is going on, but does not want Augustine, perhaps in his "zeal," to rub them the wrong way. The word "zeal" is used several times to describe Augustine: "Augustine, the servant of God, of whose zeal we are assured" (p. 38), "If he should happen to be slack in his discipline he must be kindled by your zeal (p. 46).

Augustine is Gregory's trusted man as he was chosen by Gregory to be sent to Britain to convert the people.

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 27

Bede writes that Augustine went to Arles to be consecrated archbishop of Canterbury by the Archbishop Elutherius who had a longstanding relationship with Rome. However, in the footnote, it is stated that he was probably consecrated bishop before he went to Kent.

Augustine then sends Lawrence and Peter to Pope Gregory in Rome along with some questions about how matters are to be handled. Bede consolidates Augustine’s questions and Pope Gregory’s replies. There are 9 topics:

1. How should bishops live with their clergy and how should donations be shared/divided?

2. Reconciling customs of different churches – e.g., Roman vs. Gaulish churches. Gregory said that it is okay to maintain various local customs that are not part of the Roman church.

3. Punishment for those who rob the church. Gregory’s answer – it depends on circumstances. Harsh punishment, if necessary, meted be done out of love.

4. Marriage between two brothers and two sisters is okay.

5. Marriage between kindred is frowned upon. No grandfather rule for those who convert; if they are already married, they must abstain from intimate relationship. If they abstain, they may take communion.

6. Can a person be made bishop without other bishops to witness the event. Making of a bishop is akin to a marriage and should be celebrated and witnessed.

7. How to deal with bishops in Gaul and Britain. Augustine has no jurisdiction over Gaulish bishops, but Augustine can influence those in Britain.

8. On the topic of women, their menstrual cycles, sex and giving birth.

9. Communion, priests and illicit dreams. Pope Gregory compares it to a 3 step process, “suggestion, pleasure, and consent.”