ABSTRACT
One of the last conversations I ever had with Patrick was about Bede and the Britons.1 I had planned to give a paper on the subject at a conference which he had attended but I had had to pull out at the last minute because of family illness. Patrick, always anxious to hear – and talk – about Bede, was disappointed. With characteristic energy and generosity he urged me nevertheless to finish off the work. This I have now done – but sadly it is offered in his memory and is not, as we had hoped, a piece produced in discussion with him and informed by his amazing knowledge and ever-incisive comment.
