Heresy and authority in Bede’s Letter to Plegwine

Scholarly perceptions of the Northumbrian monk and scholar Bede underwent seismic changes at the turn of the twenty-first century as a variety of previously commonplace assumptions concerning the individual and his writings were dismantled one by one. Rarely is Bede now seen as a passive and uncritical transmitter of earlier texts, or as isolated from others and withdrawn from the world beyond Wearmouth-Jarrow. An important essay by this volume’s honouree in 1983, ‘Bede’s Ideal of Reform’, was a critically important stage in the realisation of these transitions. That essay explains that Bede’s later writings were charged by a desire to influence the society in which he lived, and it does this by bringing a range of exegetical texts into dialogue with better-known parts of Bede’s canon such as the prose Life of St Cuthbert, Ecclesiastical History and Letter to Ecgberht. The reforming impulse highlighted in that essay of 1983 is now established as a cornerstone of modern interpretations of Bede’s writings. Many scholars would agree with the view expressed in Alan Thacker’s subsequent contribution to an influential collection published in 2006, (which

accuser appears to have subscribed to the view that world ages and millennia were in some way linked (this position was afforded superficial credence in the early Middle Ages by chronologies that followed the Septuagint Bible in which the year of the Incarnation was calculated to c. 5199). 13 Bede's chronology severed any implicit link between millennia and the six aetates saeculi by locating Christ in the fourth millennium of historical time. In the eyes of the accuser (according to Bede's version of events) it seems that this somehow amounted to a denial of the Incarnation, an allegation which Bede dismisses in the second paragraph of the Letter to Plegwine by employing the following rhetorical question to point out that such a position would have led him towards an existential crisis: 'Quomodo enim christum uenisse negans christi in ecclesia potuissem esse sacerdos (For if I had denied that Christ had come, how could I be priest in Christ's Church'?). 14 Such caricaturing of opponents' positions as absurd was a tactic which was commonly employed in arguments about heresy in Late Antiquity. 15 Bede believed that the defamatory remarks spoken against him had been made in the presence of Bishop Wilfrid. 16 By 708 Wilfrid was living out the last years of his eventful life in his home kingdom of Northumbria, the monasteries of Ripon and Hexham having been returned to him at the reconciliatory Synod of Nidd in 706. 17 The letter was sent to Plegwine to be passed on to a mutual acquaintance known as David, so that David could read it aloud in the presence of Wilfrid. 18 The fact that Bede felt the need to go through these channels to reach the incumbent bishop of Hexham in 708 is very interesting, especially in light of the 13 E.g. the chronologies of Isidore and Eusebius-Jerome. See: Landes, 'Lest the millennium be fulfilled'. 14 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,2,ed. by Jones,p. 307,Reckoning of time,p. 405. 15 Cameron, 'How to read heresiology', pp. 473-77. 16 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,17,ed. by Jones,p. 315, Stephen of Ripon,Vita Wilfridi,60,ed. and trans. by Colgrave,Bede,Historia ecclesiastica,V.19,ed. and trans. by Colgrave and Mynors, David is a cognomen for a member of the bishop's inner circle who was known personally to Bede in some capacity. See further: Wallis, 'Why did Bede write a commentary on Revelation? ', pp. 28-29. The Letter to Plegwine captures a significant moment in its author's career because it was one of the first works to have been written by Bede for an audience outside Wearmouth-Jarrow. On times and On the nature of things were compiled for students within the monastery, 24 and the commentary on Revelation was dedicated to Hwaetberht, a member of 19 For 710 as the date of Wilfrid's death see Stancliffe, 'Dating Wilfrid's death and Stephen's Life'. 20 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,3,ed. by Jones,p. 307,14,ed. by Jones,22,p. 611, For the view that these texts should be regarded as a coherent trilogy see Darby, 'Time shift of 703'. On the dates of the individual works see: Wallis, Commentary on Revelation, pp. 39-57; Kendall and Wallis, On the nature of things and On times, pp. 1-3. 22 An overview of the development of Bede's career is offered by Darby and Wallis, 'Many futures of Bede'. Attempts to present Bede's writings in chronological order of composition have been made by Plummer, Venerabilis Baedae opera historica, I, pp. cxliii-clv; Brown, Companion to Bede,and O'Brien,Bede's Temple, Many of the issues surrounding the dates of individual works are set out by Lapidge, Storia degli inglesi, I, pp. xlviii-lviii. 23 On the circulation and dissemination of Bede's writings after his death see: Whitelock, After Bede; Bonner, 'Bede and his legacy'; Pfaff, 'Bede among the Fathers?'; Rollason, Bede and Germany; Hill, 'Carolingian perspectives on the authority of Bede'; Brown, Companion to Bede,Westgard,'Bede and the Continent'. 24 Bede,De temporum ratione,preface,ed. by Jones,p. 263, the community who would later serve as its abbot. 25 Two other works with claims to a date before 708the paired tracts On the art of metre and On schemes and tropeswere dedicated to a 'beloved son and fellow deacon Cuthbert (dulcissime fili et conleuita cuthberte)', a form of address which seems to hint at somebody in Bede's immediate circle. 26 I know of no evidence to suggest that the metrical Life of St Cuthbert and On the Holy Places, two further works which are sometimes assigned to the period before 708, were originally written with wide circulation in mind. 27 There is, admittedly, some uncertainty regarding the circumstances of composition for several of Bede's other writings, but the evidence so far as we have it identifies the Letter to Plegwine as the first text that Bede overtly addressed to the world beyond  There are contextual factors relating to format and delivery which undermine any attempts to treat the Letter to Plegwine in a straightforward and uncomplicated fashion. First of all, we must not forget that we only have Bede's account of what happened in 708. The letter is very clear about what Bede intended: he expected the letter to be read aloud in Wilfrid's presence by 'David', and also asked that Plegwine petition David to speak to the perpetrator of the accusation on a one-to-one basis. 29 Bede therefore presented his case before Wilfrid through a speech delivered by proxy; there would be (so far as we know) no trial, 25 Bede,Expositio Apocalypseos,preface,ed. by Gryson,p. 221,. Hwaetberht is identified as Eusebius in In primam partem Samuhelis, IV, ed. by Hurst,p. 212, Bede,De arte metrica,25,ed. by Kendall,p. 141, 28 Darby and Wallis, 'Many futures of Bede', Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,17,ed. by Jones,p. 315, personal interrogation, or formal submission to a church council. In assessing the content of the letter we must keep the occasion of its public reading in mind and be duly sensitive to the performative aspect of Bede's prose. But, as the following analysis will show, the Letter to Plegwine is rich in allusions to biblical and extra-biblical material which one could not realistically expect any listener to be fully attuned to in the course of a single reading. It is significant that the letter is included in the autobiographical list of writings offered in the Ecclesiastical History's final chapter because this suggests that posterity was also an important consideration for Bede. 30 We are therefore dealing with a document intended to serve two different purposes at once: it addresses the immediate problem of clearing Bede's name before the bishop, and it presents a version of record to be read by a wider audience after the controversy had been resolved. The historical circumstances and literary qualities of the Letter to Plegwine are closely entwined, and both of these aspects of the source must be considered in tandem. 31 The aforementioned observation that the Letter to Plegwine was considered worthy of inclusion in Bede's autobiographical list of writings is additionally important because it suggests that he thought of the letter as part of his official canon. That list, which appears to present the various letters of Bede in their chronological order of composition, refers to 'a book of letters to different people (librum epistularum ad diuersos)', and records that the first of these concerned the six ages of the worldan unambiguous reference to the Letter to Plegwine. The entry for the liber epistularum describes four other letters but that group does not represent the sum total of Bede's correspondence. 32 Several epistolary prefaces to various 30 Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, V.24, ed. and trans. by Colgrave and Mynors, Cf. Constable,Letters and letter collections, Two of the letters were addressed to Acca and written c. 716: the first (De mansionibus filiorum Israel) discusses locations visited by the Israelites during the Exodus and the second (De eo quod ait Isaias) concerns Isaiah 24.22. The remaining letters discuss technical aspects of time-reckoning: one to Helmwald on the leap year; the other to Wicthed on the equinox. accusation directed towards him to be serious enough to warrant a public letter of defence. 41 Allusions made to the episode in the preface to Bede's On the Reckoning of time, written for the benefit of his brethren some seventeen years after the Letter to Plegwine, suggest that he continued to regard it as a significant matter long after Wilfrid's death. 42 Bede was acutely aware that the faintest whiff of heresy had the potential to taint his reputation for many years to come. In his commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles, when tackling James 3.5 ('the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts; consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark'), Bede wrote: Sicut enim a modica scintilla ignis excrescens magnam saepe siluam incendit, ita incontinentia linguae suis nutrita leuitatibus magnam bonorum operum materiam, multos uitae spiritalis fructus, ubi adtaminauerit perdit sed et innumera plerumque optima quae uidebantur locutionis folia consumit.
Just as from a small spark a spreading fire often ignites a great forest, so an unrestrained tongue, feeding on its own trivialities, destroys the great substance of good works, the many fruits of a spiritual life, after it has spoiled them; but it also devours innumerable and countless folios of speech which appeared most excellent. 43 That the danger posed by the words of others was one of the things on Bede's mind here is suggested by his response to the subsequent pericope: 'no one, however, is able to tame the tongue' (James 3.8). This invites the comment that 'no learned good man can tame the tongue of those who neglect to restrain themselves from foolish outbursts (stulta uerbositate)'. 44 It is tempting to relate these comments, and indeed certain other statements from Bede's collection of commentaries on the Catholic Epistles, to the events of 708 (not least a passage from the tract on 3 John which explains how to deal with slanderous babbling, and a discourse on false teachers from the commentary on 1 Peter which advocates patience in the face of insulting words from adversaries and recommends the reading of John Chrysostom to protect against the threat of heresy). 45 The adjective stultus ('foolish, stupid') and the associated noun stultitia ('foolishness, folly') are often used by Bede in connection with the subject of heresy. Indeed 'foolish stubbornness (stulta obstinatione)' is described as a defining characteristic of heretics in Bede's commentary on 2 Peter. 46 Stultitia is also used in Paragraph 11 of the Letter to Plegwine, where Bede rejects any suggestion that a shorter reckoning of years was followed in the Old Testament era by rounding off a citation from Augustine's City of God with a rhetorical question which is designed to draw attention to the supposed absurdity of the position he disagreed with. 47 A great deal of recent research on the subject of Bede and heresy has focussed upon Bede's engagement with the subject on an intellectual level. That is not to say that the scholarship implies that Bede's statements about heresy are in any way abstract or detached 44 Bede, In epistulas septem catholicas, In epistolam Iacobi, ed. by Hurst,p. 206,: 'nullus doctorum bonorum potest domare linguam eorum qui se ipsos a stulta uerbositate cohibere neglegunt'; trans. by Hurst,Seven Catholic Epistles,p. 41. 45 Bede, In epistulas septem catholicas, In epistolam III Iohannis, ed. by Hurst,p. 333, In epistolam I Petri, ed. by Hurst,p. 245,. The evidence for Bede's knowledge of the works of Chrysostom is examined by Love, 'Bede and John Chrysostom'. 46 Bede, In epistulas septem catholicas, In epistolam II Petri, ed. by Hurst,p. 268, Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,11,ed. by Jones,p. 312, from late-seventh-and early-eighth-century issues; indeed, quite the opposite is often true, especially in the biblical commentaries where statements about heresy connect to a wide range of important concerns. Alan Thacker has shown that Bede was very concerned about Pelagian writings circulating in Anglo-Saxon England under Jerome's name, and he has also demonstrated that the issue of what to do with penitent heretics, which is addressed at considerable length in the commentary On 1 Samuel, had acute contemporary relevance for Bede. 48 Faith Wallis's contribution to this volume shows that many of the comments in that he stood accused of subscribing to an existing heresy; instead the second sentence of the letter's first paragraph expresses the belief that his accusers had placed him 'inter hereticos (among the heretics)'. 53 The idea that heretics existed as a group of shady individuals who stood together in opposition to the Church is a common trope in Bede's writings. The letter's next sentence describes Bede's reaction to learning that his accusers considered him worthy of membership of this group, which was to ask of which heresy he stood accused. This question demonstrates an awareness of what Averil Cameron has described as a 'family tree' approach to heresy in which divergent beliefs are categorised using pre-existing labels. 54 Hurst, p. 264, ll. 2220-28;In Ezram et Neemiam, III, ed. by Hurst, p. 356, ll. 683-5. Also pertinent are the occurrences of the phrase in: Augustine, De haeresibus, 57 and 81, ed. by Plaetse and Beukers,p. 326,and Cassiodorus,Expositio Psalmorum,22,ed. by Adriaen,p. 211, Cameron, 'How to read heresiology', pp. 476-77; also Flower, 'Genealogies of unbelief'. The way that Bede describes Monotheletism is a good example of this practice, on which see: Thacker, 'Why did heresy matter to Bede?',; and now O'Reilly, 'Bede and Monotheletism'. 55 Lyman, 'Heresiology'. 56  This passage, which employs a verb in the imperative mood to convey a sense of urgency (audi), describes the devious tactics that the perpetrator of a heresy would be expected to resort to upon the discovery of their error. Rather than hide behind a denial, as a duplicitous scheming heretic would, Bede assumes the mantle of a catholic doctor and tackles the accusation by proceeding to restate the words that he had written five years before. A further point of interest is the letter's use of the term 'heresiarch' to describe the author of a chronographical text which Bede had encountered in his youth. 57 This figure had devised a simplistic reckoning which was loosely based upon the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. 58 The problem, in Bede's view, was that the text promoted annus mundi 6000 as a target year for the apocalypse in contravention of the Scriptural assertions that the hour of the Lord's coming is known to God alone. 59 The unusual categorisation of the proponent of this chronology as an arch-heretic adds further weight to the notion that Bede considered the matters at stake in the Letter to Plegwine to be serious. Bede used the term 'heresiarch' just eight times in his writings, and five of those are in the plural. 60 One of the two remaining singular usages is assigned to Arius of Alexandria, and the other to Diotrophes, a figure mentioned in 3 John, verse 9. 61 Nearly three decades ago Roger Ray invoked the Letter to Plegwine in support of his view that Bede was familiar with the classical tradition of rhetoric, proposing that the letter was constructed according to guidelines for the construction of public speeches which 57 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,14,ed. by Jones,p. 313, For discussion: Darby, Bede and the end of time, pp. 47-51. 59 E.g. Mark 13.32 and Matthew 24.36. Both of these verses are cited in paragraph 14 of the Epistola ad Pleguinam. 60 Bede, In prouerbia Salomonis, II, ed. by Hurst,p. 123, In Lucae euangelium expositio, VI, ed. by Hurst, In Marci euangelium expositio, IV, ed. by Hurst,p. 596, In primam partem Samuhelis, IV, ed. by Hurst, p. 260, ll. 2053-59;In Ezram et Neemiam, III, ed. by Hurst, p. 356, ll. 695-702. 61 Bede, Expositio actuum apostolorum, ed. by Laistner,p. 13,; In epistulas septem catholicas, In epistolam III Iohannis, ed. by Hurst,p. 333, (whether directly or indirectly) ultimately derive from Cicero. 62 The manuscript evidence for direct knowledge of Cicero's writings in early Anglo-Saxon England is problematic, as Ray himself acknowledges. 63 Nevertheless, Ray asserts that the Letter to Plegwine adheres to certain well-established rhetorical structures and devices. For example, he points out that the argument made by Bede towards the end of the letterthat the person who slandered him is in fact the one guilty of heresy and not himselfis a deployment of a rhetorical strategy known as 'remotio criminis', the act of turning the tables on one's accuser by accusing them of a crime to set aside the original charge. 64 Bede could have learnt about this tactic from reading the section on legal arguments in Book Two of Isidore of Seville's Etymologies, an important reference point for several of his pre-708 writings. 65 Ray suggests that Bede's attitude towards classical rhetoric owes a considerable debt to a position expounded by Augustine that it is acceptable to deploy pre-Christian eloquence in the service of the Church.
Interestingly, Ray points out that Bede's views on this matter often intersect with his comments on the struggle against heresy. An example of this is a statement of Bede's regarding the council of Nicaea, which explains that Athanasius needed knowledge of classical eloquence to defeat Arius, an opponent who was himself a highly accomplished rhetorician. 66 The salutation 62 Ray, 'Bede and Cicero', pp. 9-12. Cf. Knappe, 'Classical rhetoric in Anglo-Saxon England', and the response to Knappe by Ray in his 'Who did Bede think he was? ', pp. 28-29. 63 'The internal evidence of Bede's writings compels me even though I cannot now claim that the surviving manuscripts of Cicero's works tell for my case'. Ray, 'Bede and Cicero', p. 14. 64  If rhetorical strategies help to ensure that the case for Bede's defence is suitably amplified, the case itself is ultimately grounded in the authority of Scripture and the world of patristic exegesis. Close study of the protocol and opening paragraph of the Letter to Plegwine reveals several interesting allusions to biblical and patristic themes and phrases which serve to establish Bede's credentials as an orthodox and knowledgeable authority figure. It is here, at the very beginning of his interaction with the letter's oral and textual audiences, that Bede establishes the pillars upon which his defence will be built. We begin with the curious The Pauline expression complements the superlative adjective (dilectissimo) to communicate warmth and respect for the recipient. The suggestion is that Plegwine deserves to be recognised as embodying Christian values in a manner which is completely beyond reproach.
It is unequivocally a warm greeting.
In his biblical commentaries Bede frequently aligned verses from different parts of the Bible to cast light on one another, a method which has been described as 'exegesis by concordance'. 68 A close examination of the wording of these citations occasionally reveals that Bede's phrasing does not correspond exactly with any of the versions of the Bible that he had at his disposal, which gives the impression that Bede sometimes cited verses from memory in the course of his scriptural work. 69 The implication is that Bede and, one presumes, many of the men and women who read or listened to his works, had an extensive 67 Bede, Epistola ad Pleguinam, ed. by Jones, p. 307, ll. 1-2. 68 Hurst, p. 347, ll. 178-204;Expositio Actuum Apostolorum, IV, ed. by Hurst, p. 28, ll. 80-82;In Ezram et Neemiam, I, ed. by Hurst, p. 283, ll. 1673-74;De templo, II, ed. by Hurst, p. 218, ll. 1035-41. See further the comments of O'Reilly, 'Introduction', pp. xxxivxxxv, and Heuchan, 'Apostle Paul', especially pp. 427-28. 77 Bede, In Ezram et Neemiam, I, ed. by Hurst, p. 283, ll. 1670-86;3, p. 355-6, ll. 664-83. connected this particular Pauline epistle with important doctrinal issues on account of the famous Christological discourse at the beginning of its second chapter in which Paul reflects upon the relationship between Christ and God the Father (Philippians 2.5-11). 78  It is probably no coincidence that Bede framed the Letter to Plegwine with an allusion to the viscera Christi, a phrase drawn from an epistle renowned for its Christological content, and one which itself asserts a belief in the miracle of the Incarnation.
Additional layers of meaning are recoverable with reference to Patristic tradition. The salutation employed in the Letter to Plegwine reaches back to Paul but it does so through the letters of Augustine, a figure whose writings had a profound impact upon Bede. 81 Bede's exegetical works and writings on time and nature demonstrate that he was familiar with a substantial body of Augustinian epistolary material. 82 It is notable, therefore, that Bede's salutation mirrors a formula used by Augustine: 78 This part of Paul's letter to the Philippians was invoked against Monotheletism in the acta of the Lateran Synod of 649; a copy of the acts was made at Wearmouth and known to Bede: O'Reilly, 'Know who and what He is', pp. 313-14. See also MacCarron, 'Christology and the future', p. 168. 79 Collectio Bedae presbyteri ex opusculis sancti Augustini in epistulas Pauli Apostoli, 344-45. On this work, which is yet to receive a critical edition, see: Wilmart, 'La collection de Bède le Vénérable sur l'Apôtre', and Fransen, 'Description de la collection de Bède le Vénérable sur l'Apôtre'. 80 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,1,ed. by Jones,p. 307, Thacker, Bede and Augustine of Hippo. 82 The following analysis draws upon the consolidated list of citations of Augustine's letters provided by Lapidge, Anglo-Saxon library, p. 201.
Two days ago, beloved brother, a messenger from your Sanctity came to me bearing gladsome words of peaceful salutation from you. But thereafter he threw these into disorder by adding something very unfortunate, namely that you had heard it babbled out by lewd rustics in their cups that I was among the heretics. I confess I was terrified; blanching, I asked of what heresy I was accused. 86 The statement 'I was terrified' (exhorrui) communicates the horror that Bede felt upon receiving the messenger's news. The verb exhorreo is a comparatively rare word in Bede's writings, and the statement in the Letter to Plegwine is the only instance in which Bede uses it in its first person singular form. It is used just four further times throughout his corpus, typically in connection with acts that Bede considered especially shocking: in a passage from the commentary on Luke (which is redeployed verbatim in the commentary on Mark) Bede employs this word in his discussion of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas; 87 it is also used in the Ecclesiastical History's account of Adamnán, the Irishman at the monastery of Coldingham who was so horrified by a sin he had committed that he devoted himself to a life of extreme penance; 88 the fourth instance is found within a citation from Josephus which features in Bede's commentary on Acts. 89 Over two hundred and fifty uses of the various forms of this verb by Christian writers in the period up to and including Bede are recorded in the Brepolis 86 Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,1,ed. by Jones,p. 307, translation Wallis, Reckoning of time, p. 405, with minor modifications. 87 Bede, In Lucae evangelium expositio, VI, ed. by Hurst,p. 374,In Marci euangelium expositio,4,ed. by Hurst,p. 608,. 88 Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, IV.25, ed. and trans. by Colgrave and Mynors, pp. 420-27. 89 Bede, Expositio Actuum Apostolorum, ed. by Laistner,p. 60, Library of Latin Texts database, and more than half of these are found in the writings of St Augustine, a remarkably large proportion even allowing for the sizable nature of Augustine's output. 90 By way of contrast, Gregory the Great, the next most prolific user of this verb from the period in question, employed exhorreo just nine times. Bede's use of a word with distinct Augustinian resonances in the Letter to Plegwine is worth investigating further, especially in light of the observations made above concerning the letter's salutation formula and Alan Thacker's suggestion that the bishop of Hippo was the most important reference point for Bede's understanding of heresy. 91 Two specific examples where Augustine also uses the verb exhorreo are instructive.
The first of these is in On heresies, a text produced shortly before Augustine's death at the behest of Quodvultdeus of Carthage. Significantly, the excerpt in question is also featured in the anthology of excerpts from Augustine's writings compiled by Eugippius. 92  This subdeacon, posing as a Catholic, not only believed but also taught, with all the energy he could, these intolerable blasphemies. For he was exposed as teaching them when he entrusted himself to people who posed as his students. After he confessed that he was a hearer in the Manichees, he in fact asked me to bring him back to the path of truth, which is Catholic doctrine. But, I admit, I was aghast at his pretense in the guise of a cleric, and I took measures to expel him from the city after chastising him. 96 This excerpt shares much in common with the opening paragraph of Bede's Letter to Plegwine. First, Bede and Augustine both pair the deponent verb fateor (meaning 'I confess, I admit') with the first person singular, perfect tense form exhorrui ('I shuddered, I was terrified'). 97 Secondly, the two passages are preserved in letters, and thirdly, both of those letters concern the subject of heresy. As with the citation from Philippians in the salutation, Bede is channelling authority into his prose by using language carefully chosen to resonate with earlier epistolary material. When Bede came to express the extreme terror that he felt upon learning of the allegation made against him he chose to do so by drawing on a verb from Augustine's register which has specific connotations with the fight against heresy. This allowed Bede to place himself on the side of the righteous by casting his reaction to the controversy of 708 in a distinctly Augustinian mould.

Conclusions
The Letter to Plegwine reveals that Bede was a fluent and knowledgeable participant in the Christian discourse over heresy. The letter's prose is evidently rich and complex. It is clear that Bede wove biblical and patristic linguistic touchstones into the letter in order to align himself with major figures from the Christian tradition and add weight to the case for his defence. Additional investigation would no doubt reveal a great many further examples of 96 Augustine,Epistulae,236,ed. by Goldbacher,vol. 4,p. 525,translation Teske,Augustine: Letters,II,p. 135. 97 Compare: 'Exhorrui, fateor, et pallens percunctabar, cuius hereseos arguerer' (Bede,Epistola ad Pleguinam,1,ed. by Jones,p. 307, and 'sed, fateor, eius finctionem sub clerici specie uehementer exhorrui eum que coercitum pellendum de ciuitate curaui' (Augustine,Epistulae,236,ed. by Goldbacher,vol. 4,p. 525,. this beyond those considered at length here. For example, Paragraph 3 invokes an interesting combination of Petrine authorities by alluding to Gregory the Great's repertoire of teachings on the active and contemplative lives whilst steering the reader's mind towards a statement concerning 'brotherly love' from the first epistle of Peter. 98 Likewise, Bede's letter ends with a pointed remark about snakes and charmers which echoes Ecclesiastes 10.11, but the specific wording of the Letter to Plegwine appears to combine an uncommon usage twice found in the Conferences of Cassian with the Vulgate reading which had formerly been used by Augustine and Jerome. 99 To conclude, it is worth reflecting once again on the two-day timeframe for the composition of the Letter to Plegwine. Bede emerges from a microscopic investigation of the beginning of his letter as an extremely impressive figure: he seems to have been able to draw out multiple scriptural allusions and exegetical inferences at will, and he was able to execute those techniques in haste in the midst of a significant personal crisis. The Letter to Plegwine offers us a rare glimpse of an embattled Bede fighting to preserve his reputation. The intellectually sophisticated nature of the prose employed in the Letter to Plegwine underscores the extent of its author's learning, but the deft manner in which Bede selfconsciously aligns himself with authority figures from the Christian tradition is also revealing. It is appropriate to finish this essay with an ending borrowed directly from Alan Thacker. Reflecting on Bede's career as a whole, Thacker remarked: 'Bede, I suspect, was