Bede

Born around 672 on monastery lands in Northumbria, Bede entered Monkwearmouth at seven and moved to Jarrow under Abbot Ceolfrith. In 686 a plague killed most of the population there; he and Ceolfrith survived. He spent nearly his entire life within those walls, writing biblical commentaries, works on computus (the science of calculating calendar dates), and above all the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which earned him the title "Father of English History." He helped popularize Anno Domini dating — counting forward from Christ's birth — a practice that became standard across medi…