Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/50

 about the year 1068, to the death of John Wyclife, 1384, who so persistently denounced and opposed the Roman Catholic claims and doctrines.

However, before I begin the special subject of this Lecture, it may be well to say a few words about the events which happened between the death of Archbishop Theodore and the accession of William to the throne.

After the administration of Theodore, the Church of England gained power and influence in the country. It bred and nurtured many men of world-wide fame. Two of them bare names which are household words. Caedmon, the monk of Whitby, is one. He it was who thought that he could not sing the praises of God in verse, but who, when he tried, found that his fellow men were entranced with his metrical writings of Scripture history. Bede, the scholar, priest, and abbot, is another faithful son of the Church. You have heard how we are indebted to him for his histories. You have heard the story of his persistent work even to the hour of his death.

There have been scores of such men as these since the days of Theodore, who worked hard for the Church before the time of the Norman Conquest.

As the Church grew in influence, it was recognized by the princes and kings of the land in their laws. Up to the time of Theodore the Church was allowed to work and live more as private societies than as a great national institution. But as the Church gained in influence, the desire grew to recognize it by the law of the land. We see it first noticed in this way as far back as 605, in the dooms of Ethelbert. But its position and power were much more distinctly recognized