By Bede’s title it seems that he is writing to the English people and intended for his book to be used as a history of their people. His writing, however, seems to be aimed at the church leaders in England to give them an understanding of the circumstances that resulted in their conversion to Christianity. His books also served to rationalize the decisions of the then pope, Gregory the Great. Bede’s position influences his narrative in many ways the most notable being the stance he takes on the conversion of the English people, that being that it was ultimately good and that before they were converted they were heathens and barbarians and only through changing religions did they gain any redeeming qualities. He also glorifies the process of conversion to an almost cartoonish extent, I’ve talked to people on the streets who claim to be Christian and when I ask them certain questions about their beliefs or try to talk about scripture I’ve been screamed at and threatened. I can only imagine that the process of converting people who are a completely different religion in a time when murder was pretty much justifiable if enough people were ok with it would be a little bit more difficult than Bede explains. But I think he uses this simplification as a way to show the power of God to bring peace to otherwise chaotic situations and also, to a lesser extent, to glorify the decision making ability and apostolic foresight of Pope Gregory in his attempt to make him seem infallible. Bede reveals that very little information about Christianity had reached England by the time that Augustine had arrived and the small amounts that had had come via the King of Kent’s wife Bertha who was Frankish and had brought her bishop with her to England. Augustine had hired Frankish interpreters, by command of Pope Gregory, which could have been a way to pander to the queen and help them get an opportunity to speak with the King, Ethelbert. Bede describes Augustine’s life in Canterbury as reminiscent of that of the early apostles, constantly engaged in prayer, vigils and fasts and preaching to as many as they could. After hearing of their favorable reception Pope Gregory sent many more clergymen along with supplies to start building churches. According to Bede, Pope Gregory’s greatest accomplishments were that he was able to renounce all worldly things after being very successful and make his home into a monastery, that his soul was “above all transitory things” meaning that his soul was not changed or enticed by things of this world and that he was only focused on heaven and glorifying God. Which is great but should, ultimately, be taken with a grain of salt according to Madigan. Bede’s description of Gregory is incredible he is portrayed as a man entirely free from temptation which an contemporary Christian would know as incorrect and almost blasphemous, but it makes it easier to rationalize his decisions if you can claim that he had no worldly desire for any gain and was pure of heart and mind and was only doing what was best for everyone else. This sheds light on many medieval Christian values one of them being the emphasis on works which is in line with the Apostle James’ writings, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Another value it talks about is their valuing community. It describes how Gregory brought some brothers from his monastery to live with him in Constantinople, and “protect his observance of the Rule.”