Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Bede, an English monk and scholar of European renown, stood at the heart of the cultural fluorescence of North Europe. His ecclesiastical history of the English people (completed 731) was informative, researched and wonderfully readable, earning him a reputation as the father of English history. His Bible commentaries were circulated to monasteries throughout Europe and were much admired for their illuminating insights. In the confines of the monastery at Jarrow, Bede helped to keep learning and literature alive." [DK Timelines, p. 132]