<p>Bede was a monk of the joint monastery of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow in the late seventh century into the early eighth, and England&rsquo;s first historian: his &lsquo;Ecclesiastical History of the English People&rsquo; is our greatest source for the history of early Anglo-Saxon England. Yet Bede was also a leading scholar of the Church, and much of his effort went into biblical exegesis, many of his works in this field surviving to this day.</p><p>In this book, Clive Tolley looks at some events in the reigns of three early kings of Northumbria, Bede&rsquo;s own homeland, and seeks to develop a better understanding not only of what took place from a secular point of view, but also of how the recounting of these events was informed by a spiritual perception of history such as Bede and his contemporaries espoused.</p><p>The topics dealt with include the battle of Chester and the slaughter of the monks of Bangor-is-Coed by &AElig;thelfrith, the conversion of Eadwine and desecration of the pagan sanctuary of Goodmanham, and the victory of Oswald following his raising of the cross at Heavenfield.</p>