The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede was mean to be a book celebrating the origins and challenges faced by the Catholic church in Britain, while at the same time praised the efforts of Pope Gregory the Great. As an elite Christian monk, the audience Bede was reaching would be other educated fellows within the realm of Catholicism, with the hopes of showing the merits and successes of the Catholic Church. Due to Bede being a highly educated monk, the lens through which he viewed the mission to bring Catholicism to Britain was far different than a normal historian. Bede was incredibly well read on biblical commentaries, the writings of Augustine and Gregory the Great, giving him a sound understanding of the mission the Catholic Church was undertaking. It wasn’t a mission of conquest, as the other groups had brought to Britain, but a mission to bring the vision and values of the Christian church to a barbaric land. Bede’s account paints Pope Gregory as the source of hope and encouragement for the monks commissioned to Britain. In a matter of speaking, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, was a form of publicity for the office of the Pope.
In Book One, Bede reveals that Christianity had already reached England prior to Augustine’s mission. In fact, King Ethelbert had a Christian wife, who had her own bishop. When Ethelbert met with Augustine, he was still wary of the motives of the Catholic delegation, yet he agreed to let them stay peacefully within the city of Canterbury. At first Augustine employed the tactics of the apostles, fasting and praying almost continually, and preaching as much as possible. Augustine’s mission was met with little resistance, and he wrote to the pope requesting more help to spread their message, in return the pope sent more ministers, relics, holy vestments, and other symbols of the Catholic church to promote the influence of their faith. Augustine used these relics and vestments to transform local shrines to holy alters, believing that the locals would be more comfortable worshiping God in a familiar place. By doing this, it allowed the people of Britain to maintain portions of their culture, while allowing the Christian tradition to become a part of their community and lives.
Book Two is where Bede begins to talk up the works of Pope Gregory the Great, by giving a “history” of his life. His narrative isn’t a traditional history, but more a list of accomplishments. According to Bede, Gregory’s major accomplishments were writings on how the church should be ruled, and being the instrument in which the Britains were saved from their heathen ways. The praise of the spread of Catholicism to Britain showed Gregory to embody the mission that the New Testament gives, to spread the good news to all the corners of the world; for Gregory to accomplish reaching one of the corners of the known world was huge for the Catholic church. Bede’s account of Gregory’s life reveals that medieval Christians valued the reputation of their leadership as a model for how they should live their lives. If Gregory was a pious and humble leader, concerned with reaching the barbarians of Britain, then the rest of the church should follow suit. Bede’s account brought the Catholic community a beautiful and encouraging account of the church they put their faith in.