The Time of the Warlords

In contrast to the fifth and sixth centuries, our sources for the seventh century are relatively abundant. Chief among them is Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, completed in 731. Indeed we see the seventh century very largely through Bede’s eyes, which has drawbacks as well as advantages. Bede was an historian of genius, but he had little interest in secular affairs as such. He betrays extreme reluctance to divulge any scandal or unpleasantness, though he cannot quite conceal the sheer thuggery often practised not only by secular, but also ecclesiastical magnates.1 An antidote to Bede’s sweetness and light is provided by the Life of Wilfrid, bishop of York, composed by Eddius Stephanus within ten years of Wilfrid’s death in 709. Wilfrid’s episcopal office brought him closer than the cloistered monk to the violence and treachery of seventh-century politics and, though ostensibly a saint’s life, Eddius’s work differs from the usual hagiographies in advancing a polemical justification for his hero’s stormy career.2