Juxta morem omnibus sanctis consuetum: os cristãos insulares na visão de Beda, o venerável

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss how book III of Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (ca. 731), written by the monk Bede the Venerable (673–735), describes Aidan, Finan and Colman, monks from the monasteries of Columba, in Iona, who migrated to the kingdom of Northumbria, in 7th century Britannia. The author, the source and the differences between the monastic fronts (the Roman, by Bede, and the insular, which is that of the aforementioned monks) will be problematized. The theoretical scope that supports the analysis are related to those of transnational history, which explains the fluidity of processes, and christianity as an element of connection between Britannia and Ireland. As a result, it is observed that Bede's positive and even apologetic descriptions about monks belonging to competing christianities may have been due to transnational processes, in which christianities from different places, such as Ireland or Iona, impacted the christian forms that spread throughout Britannia, making them reflect on what aspects could bring a cleric closer to sainthood.