Bede, Plummer, and the Letter to Nechtan: a reassessment

Abstract

In his Historia ecclesiastica, Bede includes a letter on the dating of Easter and the tonsure, addressed to Nechtan, king of the Picts, written in the name of Ceolfrith (died 716), abbot of Wearmouth-Jarrow. A reassessment of Charles Plummer's assertion of Bede's authorship, expounding Plummer's case at greater length and in more detail, shows that his arguments continue to convince. Bede's authorship provides the best key to the text; and, given the scale of the evidence in its favour, this conclusion should become the default scholarly view, statable without qualification. Accepting the arguments for Bede's authorship of the Letter also casts light on his role in the Wearmouth-Jarrow community early in his career and is evidence for his involvement in high-level diplomacy. Bede's role in the paschal negotiations can also potentially help to contextualise some of his other contemporary literary products, or work towards them – including the Historia ecclesiastica itself.