BEDE'S CHAIR.

[Illustration: BEDE'S CHAIR.]


This curious relic is preserved in the vestry of the ancient church of
Jarrow, two miles from South Shields, in the county of Durham. It is a
large chair of oak, traditionally said to have been the seat of the
VENERABLE BEDE, the pre-eminent boast of the monastery, a portion only
of the church of which establishment remains at Jarrow. The chair is
very rudely formed, and, with the exception of the back, is of great
age. To have been possessed by Bede, it must be eleven hundred years
old; but there is no precisely authentic testimony of its belonging to
that learned writer. The Danes and Normans are said to have plundered
the monastery of all its valuables; though it is reasonable to suppose,
that the monks would preserve the seat of their principal with more
reverential care, and attach to it more importance, than they would to
any other article of furniture. Mr. Fosbroke, the diligent antiquarian,
refers to it as Bede's Chair in accredited manner; that is, as taken
for granted, or without note or comment of doubt.

Venerable Bede was born at Wearmouth, A.D. 672, only a few years after
the introduction of Christianity into Northumberland. When seven years
of age, he was received into the monastery of his native place, where
his infant mind acquired the rudiments of that knowledge which has
rendered his memory immortal. When only nineteen, he was ordained
deacon; and, even at that early age, was regarded as exemplary for
his piety and studious life: he was subsequently removed to the new
foundation at Jarrow, where he continued to study throughout a long