ABSTRACT

Bede was vehemently opposed to overt apocalyptic speculation of any kind and he repeatedly had cause to remind his readership that the hour and date of the end of the world are known only to God. To presume to predict when the sixth world age will end is futile and heretical. This is certainly a crucial aspect of Bede’s eschatological thought but it is only a single element of a more complex picture. Chapters 4 and 5 have shown that Bede was fascinated by the subject of what would happen at the end of time. Although Bede was adamant that the end of the age must not be a matter for speculation, he was very keen to determine exactly what will happen in the last days and explain this to his readers. It is now necessary to seek answers for the following questions: in Bede’s mind, where did the present day fall within the wider context of universal history? Were the events of the end-time sequence close or distant? Chapters 6, 7 and 8 of this book concern Bede’s ‘eschatological perspective’. This term covers the issue of where Bede perceived his own era to be in relation to the end of time. This topic requires careful and detailed analysis. Bede’s eschatological perspective was not static or fixed; it was a variable concept that ebbed and flowed over the course of his life. Bede’s ideas about the proximity of the present era to the end of time were affected by contemporary circumstances, such as political difficulties in the kingdom of Northumbria or perceived lapses in ecclesiastical standards. Like his understanding of the world ages analogy, Bede’s thoughts on this matter evolved considerably as his career progressed and circumstances changed. At times, Bede’s works transmit a sense that the eschatological events of the future are not an immediate concern. Elsewhere, Bede gives us the impression that the beginning of the end-time sequence is not far away (this view is expressed especially clearly during the period of intense personal stress that Bede experienced in the summer of 716).