 Bede 's stylistic models included some of the same authors from whom he drew the material for the earlier parts of his history . His introduction imitates the work of Orosius , and his title is an echo of Eusebius 's Historia Ecclesiastica . Bede also followed Eusebius in taking the Acts of the Apostles as the model for the overall work : where Eusebius used the Acts as the theme for his description of the development of the church , Bede made it the model for his history of the Anglo @-@ Saxon church . Bede quoted his sources at length in his narrative , as Eusebius had done . Bede also appears to have taken quotes directly from his correspondents at times . For example , he almost always uses the terms " Australes " and " Occidentales " for the South and West Saxons respectively , but in a passage in the first book he uses " Meridiani " and " <unk> " instead , as perhaps his informant had done . At the end of the work , Bede added a brief autobiographical note ; this was an idea taken from Gregory of Tours ' earlier History of the Franks . 
