List of manuscripts of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica
This list of manuscripts of Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica" gives the location and name of known surviving manuscripts of Bede's most famous work, the "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum" "(Ecclesiastical History of the English People)". The "c" and "m" texts. The majority of the manuscripts of Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica" fall into one of two groups, known to scholars as "c" and "m". The distinction between these two groups was first noticed by Charles Plummer, in his "Baedae Opera Historica", published in 1896. Plummer gives five significant differences between the two: Colgrave , in his 1969 edition of the text, adds one more to this list, though he attributes this distinction to Plummer also: The "c" text is now thought to be an earlier form of the work, since it is unlikely Bede (or any reviser) would have removed IV.14. In Britain, only the "c" text circulated, whereas almost all the copies on the continent were of the "m" form. Important early manuscripts. There are three early manuscripts of the "c" text, and five of the "m" text, which are regarded as the basis of these versions of Bede's work. The letters  at the start of each manuscript description are used by scholars to refer to the main manuscripts; these were mostly assigned by Plummer, with some modifications by Colgrave. The "CLA" number quoted refers to the "Codices Latini Antiquiores", a published series of manuscripts that includes several of the Bede manuscripts. The following are "c" text manuscripts. The following are "m" text manuscripts. The "m" text in England. Only one manuscript of the "m" type remained in England. The "c" text in England. The numerous "c" text manuscripts in England can be assigned to groups with greater or lesser certainty according  to the correspondences between the manuscripts, though how they are derived from the original is not always clear. Two manuscripts may have direct lineal relationship with C: Durham group. This group, so named by Plummer, consists of a manuscript from Durham cathedral and eight further manuscripts that are derived from it. The parent is: The derived manuscripts are: Winchester group. This group consists of three manuscripts, the earliest of which is from Winchester. Manuscripts of the "c" text containing the miracle of St. Oswald. One of the distinguishing marks of the "c" text is the omission of IV.14, which tells  of a miracle performed by St Oswald. However, by the end of the 11th century the missing chapter had been recovered from an "m" text manuscript. The following groups of manuscripts are all of "c" type but contain IV.14. Gloucester group. This group shares with B, above, a pair of additions to the text. Other manuscripts. Other copies that include the chapter on St Oswald exist, but for the relationships with other manuscripts are more obscure. Yorkshire group. This group is identified by the omission of the text from part way through V.24 onwards; the manuscript from which these manuscripts  derive was presumably damaged or unfinished. There are also four copies recorded in medieval catalogues that may have been related to this group. These are: Southern text. These manuscripts are described by Colgrave as representing "the common text of southern England in the later Middle Ages". It is characterized by several changes made to the manuscripts; Colgrave gives several examples from chapters in book I of the text. This group falls into two parts, with each set characterized by commonalities in the text. Digby group. The first set, named the "Digby group", consists of: Colgrave suggests that a manuscript known  to have been given to Pembroke College, Cambridge by Hugh Damlett in 1476 was probably in this group also. Rochester group. The second group is characterised by, among other things, the inclusion of an Old English text on the resting places of English saints (known as the "Secgan"). It consists of: Three others in this group may be listed separately; one is now lost, and the other two are less closely related to the manuscripts listed above. Uncertain lineage. Several English manuscripts, though clearly "c" texts, have not been placed in relationship to the other surviving manuscripts. These include: Manuscripts  not clearly of "m" or "c" type. Other manuscripts exist that cannot be traced to the "m" or "c" texts. A record survives in a catalogue of Glastonbury manuscripts from 1247 of a copy titled "Historiae Anglorum scriptae a Beda", but it is not known what became of it.