Bede
was England's first scholar, first theologian, and first
historian. He wrote poetry, theological books, homilies, and
textbooks on grammar, rhetoric [public speaking and debating],
arithmetic, and astronomy. He adhered to the doctrine that death
entered the world by the sin of Adam, the first man. He began the
practice of dating years from the birth of Christ and believed
that the earth was round. Over the earth was a fiery spherical
firmament. Above this were the waters of the heavens. Above this
were the upper heavens, which contained the angels and was
tempered with ice. He declared that comets portend downfalls of
kingdoms, pestilence, war, winds, or heat. This reflected the
church's view that a comet was a ball of fire flung from the right
hand of an angry God as a warning to mankind, usually for
disbelief. Storms were begun by the devil.
A famous poem, the oral legend of Beowulf, a hero who led his men
into adventures and performed great feats and fought monsters and
dragons, was put into writing with a Christian theme. In it,
loyalty to one's lord is a paramount virtue. Also available in
writing was the story of King Arthur's twelve victorious battles
against the pagan Saxons, authored by Nennius.
There were professional story tellers attached to great men.
Others wandered from court to court, receiving gifts for their
story telling. Men usually told oral legends of their own feats
and those of their ancestors after supper.
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