VENERABLE BEDE, BORN IN THE BISHOPRIC OF DURHAM, ENGLAND, IN A.D. 672 OR 673; DIED ON MAY 26, A.D. 735; BURIED IN THE CHURCH OF THE ABBEY OF ST. PAUL, AT JARROW, IN THE PALATINE OF

DURHAM.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 01:55:30 UTC

THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE BAEDA VENERABILIS (672-735)

TWELVE centuries have passed since Baeda (Beda, Bede), one of the first of the British scholars of the Middle Ages, completed his work at Jarrow. Four years before his death, which probably occurred in 735, he added a note to his Magnum Opus, the "Historia Ecelesi- astica gentis Anglorum," setting forth in brief the major events of a life passed in the monasteries of St. Peter in Wear- mouth and St. Paul in Jarrow. The note reads in part: "I was born in the terri- tory of the said monastery, and at the age of seven I was, by the care of my relations, given to the reverend Abbott Benedict-to be educated. From that time I have spent the whole of my life within this monastery devoting all my pains to the study of the scriptures; and amid the observance of monastic dis- cipline, and t;he daily charge of singing in the chureh, it has ever been my delight to learn or tIo teach or to write "-semper autt discere autt docere att scribere dulce hab,ti. What more noble epitaph for a scholar!

Since the current year marks the twelve-hundlredth anniversary of the death of Baeda, it is fitting to recall in a scientific journal his contributions to science, even though they were of minor importance when compared with the "Ecelesiastical History," which he com- pleted in 731. In this field he wrote upon physical sciences ("De Natura Re- rum,") his material being chiefly gath- ered from sLich writers as Isidore of Seville who, in turn, had depended largely upon various earlier Latin writ- ers. This is seen in his treatment of such subjects as the rainbow, volcanoes, thunder and the salt in the seas. He also ventured upon the vexed question of the church calendar ("De Temporum Ratione"), chronology, finger reckoning ("Tractatus de computo, vel loquela per

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gestum digitorum "), fractions (" De ra- tione unciarurn") and the difficult sub- ject of computation in the age of Roman numerals and of calculation by counters.

It was he who introduced into En- gland the measuriing of time from the birth of Christ, attributing, it to Diony- sius, who had announced his system in Rome beginning with March 25, 527, although it appeared in papal documents somewhat earlier.

The represe-nting of numbers by means of fingers has a long history, as indeed has the computation by similar devices. Even at the present time in certain parts of the world -people multiply 8 by 6 by leaving three fingers up on the left hand to represent 5 + 3, the rest (2) being, closed; they also leave 1 finger upon the right hand, the rest (4) being closed. Then they add the upright fingers (3 + 1 4) and multiply those which are closed

(2 x 4 8), thus obtaining 48. The pro- cess requires the learning of multiplica- tion facts only to 4's.

The contribution made by Baeda was to the representing by the fingers of larger numbers than were commonly used in the period in which he lived. A manuscript copy of his works, with illus- trations of the finger arrangements, is now in the F3iblioteca National at Ma- drid, dated about 1140. Another de- scription of these symbols is in the "Codex Alcobatiensis" in the same li- brary. Of the several early printed il- lustrations of finger numerals the one in Pacioli 's " Silma de Arithme tica Geo- metria Proportioni & Proportionalita" (Venice, 1494) and a similar one in the "Abaevs" of Johannes Aventinus (Niirnberg, 1522) are the best. The latter writer, in his title page, pays tribute to Baeda in these words: Abacvs atqve vetvstissimna, vetervnm latinorunt per digitos mtanasqz nunerandi (qui-

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on Sat, 16 May 2015 01:55:30 UTC

280 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

nettian loquendi)costetudo, Ex beda cu- picturis & itagini bus.... From the 1532 edition).

A further contribution to arithmetie is th- one on the study of fractions. This appears in his brief essay "De ratione vneiarvm, " referring to the Roman sub- multiples of the as into unciae, practi- cally the scale of twelve applied to men- suration (linear and monetary). It is particularly valuable since there is given (in the 1525 edition, Venice, which I am here consulting) the symbols for such measures as the "Deunx, vel Dextans," often puzzling to the beginner in the stutdy of medieval documents. This edi- tion contains also extracts from the works of M. Valerianus Probus, Petrus Di- aconus and Demetrius Alabaldus-all germane to his own subject.

A man of such repute as a scholar and of prominence in the church naturally attracted the attention of the faithful in all parts of Britain. So great was his renown, even after his death, that his tomb at Jarrow became a shrine for pil- grims, urged by the belief that his relics could perform miracles in this world and could relieve souls in purgatory. Espe- cially on the anniversaries of his death did priests and people assemble at his place of burial to watch and pray and chant the services for which he had led the singing in his monastery for many years.

In the ninth century Aleuin of York urged the monks of Northumbria to fol- low the path laid out by Baeda and not to forget the praise which he had re- ceived from men and the glorious reward from God. It was because of his great repute and the miracles reported by visitors to his shrine that his grave was later rifled for the purpose of carrying relies to various churches. In the eleventh century one Elfred (Alfred), a priest in the cathedral at Durham, an- nounced himself as commissioned by heaven to collect bones from the graves of saints and expose them to the faithful.

In this way it is asserted that he stole the bones of Baeda from Jarrow and carried them to Durham. The story is too long for repetition here, but to-day the trav- eler may see in the Galilee chapel of the noble cathedral of that city a slab bear- ing the inscription, "Hac sunt in fossa Boedwe venerabilis ossa. "

As to the term "Venerable," this can hardly have been given him on account of his great age, since he died at or abont the age of sixty-three. It is more prob- able that it was a title used somewhat as in the case of archdeacons in the Church of England to-day and for another pnr- pose in the Church of Rome.

The portrait accompanying this sketch is from an engraving of the eighteenth or the nineteenth century and can hardly lay claim to any antiqntity. In those professing to be authentic, however, there is a general resemblance which suggests an earlier drawing from which all were taken.

For those who care to follow more at length the contribntions of Bede to sci- ence, reference may be made to his col- lected works, edited by J. A. Giles (twelve volnmes, 1843-44), and the es- say prefixed to his " Historia Ecele- siastica" by Charles Plnmmer (Oxford, 1896).

Baeda's works were pnblished several times in the sixteenth century as in Basel (1521, 1563), the 1563 edition ap- pearing in eight volnmes bonnd in four. The first of these volumes contains "De Arithmeticis nvmeris liber," chiefly de- voted to an extensive table of prodncts; "De Arithmeticis proportionibvs"; "De ratione calcvli," dealing with Roman nmoney; "De loqvela per gestvm digi- torvm, et temporvm ratione"; "De ratione vnciarvm" and a treatise on the calendar with a description on the astro- labe. There was also an edition by Noviomagus (Cologne, 1537). The "De natura Rerum" was published at Basel in 1529.

DAVID EUGENE SMKITH

on Sat, 16 May 2015 01:55:30 UTC