Gregorian Mission to Kent in Bede's Ecclesiastical History

Richard Shaw is Associate Professor and Chairman of the History Department at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College. He has published on Antony of Egypt, Cassiodorus, Gregory of Tours, Augustine of Canterbury, Bede, Ælfric of Eynsham, Thomas Aquinas and François de Laval. He was awarded the 2014 Eusebius Essay Prize by the Journal of Ecclesiastical History and was shortlisted for the 2016 Medium Ævum Essay Prize.

• 1. Introduction: An Early Medieval Historian at Work PART ONE Constructing the Narrative of the Gregorian Mission to Kent 2. Gregory and the Mission: HE 1.23-33 3. The Mission Fathers: HE 2.1-11 and 15-20 4. Canterbury before Theodore: HE 3.8, 3.14, 3.20, 3.29 and 4.1 PART TWO Bede’s Sources for Kent before Theodore 5. Bede’s Sources Reconstructed 6. Bede’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ 7. Conclusion: Bede’s Methods and Ours Bibliography

‘Shaw writes convincingly, cogently and methodically and there is much valuable and stimulating material in this book for scholars of Bede and for historians of early medieval Britain’ – Peritia, 31 (2020). ‘... a major contribution to the study of Bede and his work... a text that will serve as an invaluable resource for both students of Bede and historians of the earlier Anglo-Saxon period more broadly’ – Speculum, 94/3 (July 2019).‘Shaw admires Bede’s achievement without ever being seduced by it—his book makes a useful contribution to the study of the Anglo-Saxon conversion and should substantially advance our understanding of the Historia ecclesiastica’ – The English Historical Review.‘[I] strongly recommend Shaw’s book not only to students of Bede and early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (for whom it is of principal importance) but also to those interested in any early medieval narrative as a historical source’ – Timofey V. Guimon.‘This highly technical and well-researched book will make its mark in the field of scholarly study of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon England’ - Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, Vol 41, No. 3.‘Richard Shaw has written a very interesting and important book examining the sources Bede had available when discussing the Gregorian mission to Kent from Augustine to the arrival of Theodore in the Historia Ecclesiastica (HE) … this is a very important book that makes a significant contribution to the field … highly recommended’ - Anglican and Episcopal History