The Earliest States of Eastern Europe

This is a review of Richard Shaw’s book dedicated to a systematic attempt to find out which were Venerable Bede’s sources of information on the late 6^th- and 7^th-century events in Kent, and which were his methods of building the narrative. The author of the review expresses some minor objections (concerning Bede’s usage of epigraphic sources, his probable source akin to the Tribal Hidage, etc.) but points out that Shaw’s book is an elegant and very careful study of Bede’s sources and methods which has several important implications for the studies of early Anglo-Saxon period.

Keywords:

England, Anglo-Saxons, Kent, Northumbria, Venerable Bede, church, source studies, historical writing, writing, epitaphs, the Tribal Hidage

References

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