 At the age of seven , Bede was sent to the monastery of Monkwearmouth by his family to be educated by Benedict Biscop and later by Ceolfrith . Bede does not say whether it was already intended at that point that he would be a monk . It was fairly common in Ireland at this time for young boys , particularly those of noble birth , to be fostered out ; the practice was also likely to have been common among the Germanic peoples in England . Monkwearmouth 's sister monastery at Jarrow was founded by Ceolfrith in 682 , and Bede probably transferred to Jarrow with Ceolfrith that year . The dedication stone for the church has survived to the present day ; it is dated 23 April 685 , and as Bede would have been required to assist with menial tasks in his day @-@ to @-@ day life it is possible that he helped in building the original church . In 686 , plague broke out at Jarrow . The Life of Ceolfrith , written in about 710 , records that only two surviving monks were capable of singing the full offices ; one was Ceolfrith and the other a young boy , who according to the anonymous writer had been taught by Ceolfrith . The two managed to do the entire service of the liturgy until others could be trained . The young boy was almost certainly Bede , who would have been about 14 . 
