Yet, in His goodness, He opens the doors of the heart so that He Himself may enter, and by His secret inspiration pours into the human heart a revelation of Himself. Pope Boniface once more presents God as taking a hand in the affairs of men so that they might know Him. This statement within the Rome-based envelope is particularly poignant when the events recounted in the analepsis are understood. In Pope statement Boniface’s lies the suggestion of divine mercy, foreshadowing later narrative on the events Bede’s which took place during exile. The secret inspiration and revelation expressed by Edwin’s Pope Boniface, when juxtaposed with the analeptic climax of II.12, contribute to a sense of prophecy and providence surrounding exile and his nocturnal vision of the Edwin’s messenger sent by God. In II.11, the second of Pope letters, addressed to wife Boniface’s Edwin’s Æthelburh, reminds the reader that conversion was partly due to his marriage to Edwin’s that Kentish princess. By including this letter in his work, Bede alludes further to the role of revelation and grace in the events of life, foreshadowing his narrative on the Edwin’s exile and conversion: king’s ut profecto sacrae seripturae testimonium per te expletum indubitanter uir infidelis per mulierem fidelem. perclareat: ‘Saluabitur Then the testimony of holy scripture will be clearly and abundantly fulfilled in you: unbelieving husband shall be saved by the ‘The believing wife.’ marriage to a Christian would affect his reception of the concurrent missionary Edwin’s efforts of Paulinus, and the pope stresses this point in his letter. Of importance to the present discussion is the location of this letter in Book II. The letter to Æthelburh immediately precedes account of exile in the analeptic climax. Bede Bede’s Edwin’s chose to interrupt the narrative sequence of his account of life with a letter that Edwin’s might have been easily placed at either the beginning or end of the story. This is king’s significant, because decision to include Pope letter to Æthelburh at this Bede’s Boniface’s
Yet, in His goodness, He opens the doors of the heart so that He Himself may enter, and by His secret inspiration pours into the human heart a revelation of Himself. Pope Boniface once more presents God as taking a hand in the affairs of men so that they might know Him. This statement within the Rome-based envelope is particularly poignant when the events recounted in the analepsis are understood. In Pope Boniface’s statement lies the suggestion of divine mercy, foreshadowing Bede’s later narrative on the events which took place during Edwin’s exile. The secret inspiration and revelation expressed by Pope Boniface, when juxtaposed with the analeptic climax of II.12, contribute to a sense of prophecy and providence surrounding Edwin’s exile and his nocturnal vision of the messenger sent by God. In II.11, the second of Pope Boniface’s letters, addressed to Edwin’s wife Æthelburh, reminds the reader that Edwin’s conversion was partly due to his marriage to that Kentish princess. By including this letter in his work, Bede alludes further to the role of revelation and grace in the events of Edwin’s life, foreshadowing his narrative on the king’s exile and conversion: ut profecto sacrae seripturae testimonium per te expletum indubitanter perclareat: ‘Saluabitur uir infidelis per mulierem fidelem. Then the testimony of holy scripture will be clearly and abundantly fulfilled in you: ‘The unbelieving husband shall be saved by the believing wife.’ Edwin’s marriage to a Christian would affect his reception of the concurrent missionary efforts of Paulinus, and the pope stresses this point in his letter. Of importance to the present discussion is the location of this letter in Book II. The letter to Æthelburh immediately precedes Bede’s account of Edwin’s exile in the analeptic climax. Bede chose to interrupt the narrative sequence of his account of Edwin’s life with a letter that might have been easily placed at either the beginning or end of the king’s story. This is significant, because Bede’s decision to include Pope Boniface’s letter to Æthelburh at this