# Does Venerable Bede's account of the 789 Viking raid on Portland in Dorset mention the name of the bailiff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618 "2023-08-15T20:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/1 "2023-08-15T20:44:49Z")
Does Venerable Bede’s account of the 789 Viking raid on Portland in Dorset mention the name of the bailiff ? I haven’t been able to track it down. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/2 "2023-08-16T08:35:10Z")
Bede died in 735, so how could he write an account of an event that took place in 789? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/3 "2023-08-16T08:50:32Z")
> [@Octagon](#): > > account of the 789 Viking raid on Portland in Dorset Wikipedia says: > **Beaduheard** was an [Anglo-Saxon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon) [reeve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeve_(England)) who was based in [Dorchester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester,_Dorset) in [Dorset](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset), who in 789 became the first known person killed by a [Viking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking) raid in England.[ ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/4 "2023-08-16T08:59:43Z")
Thanks bob\_2 but I specifically asked about the bailiff, who is unnamed in all the sources I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/5 "2023-08-16T09:07:45Z")
> [@Octagon](#): > > bailiff I may be wrong, but AFAIK “bailiff” was a later term for the Anglo Saxon “reeve”. > **[Bailiff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailiff)** > > A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly. > Another official sometimes referred to as a bailiff was the Vogt. In the Holy Roman Empire a similar function was performed by the Amtmann. > Bailiff was the term used by the Normans for what the Saxons had called a reeve: the officer responsible for executing the decisions of a court. The duty of the ba... ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/6 "2023-08-16T09:47:47Z")
Is this a mistake? > **[A Very Brief History of the First Viking Invasions of Britain](https://thevikingdragon.com/blogs/news/a-very-brief-history-of-the-first-viking-invasions-of-britain)** > > From the late 8th century until 1066, the sight of a Viking longship on the horizon was enough to strike fear into an Anglo-Saxon heart. "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that one day in 789, three Viking ships approached the island of Portland, and, thinking them to be traders, a local bailiff called for the reeve to collect the necessary taxes to trade in Wessex. " ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/7 "2023-08-16T10:37:17Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Bede died in 735, so how could he write an account of an event that took place in 789? 👋 ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/8 "2023-08-16T10:52:42Z")
Also, from this site … > **[England and the Vikings - Medievalists.net](https://www.medievalists.net/2011/11/england-and-the-vikings/)** > > In 789 the reeve or sheriff of Wessex called Beaduheard went with several of his men to meet three ships of Norwegians who have entered the bay of Portland on the Channel. He thought that they were traders. > According to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, which is the major and at times only source for the period, in 789 the reeve or sheriff of Wessex called Beaduheard went with several of his men to meet three ships of Norwegians who have entered the bay of Portland on the Channel. Beaduheard appears to be the sheriff/reeve. I suspect he _was_ the bailiff. Most sites i can find don’t mention that he was sent by the bailiff. So i suspect … > [@Octagon](#): > > Is this a mistake? …yes. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/9 "2023-08-16T13:01:41Z")
Ok. So the account was from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, not Bede and there is (apart from some dodgy websites) no mention of a bailiff in the original account, only the reeve/sheriff Beaduheard. I think that solves the issue. I do see lots of websites distinguishing a reeve from a bailiff in the 8th century(credible?). I think the Wikipedia website has it right: " Bailiff was the term used by the Normans for what the Saxons had called a reeve". ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/10 "2023-08-16T16:59:25Z")
And later on a “reeve” became a “Shire Reeve” or Sherrif and a bailiff was a more junior and local official. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/11 "2023-08-16T18:49:01Z")
Thanks bob\_2. That development in the classification of ‘reeve’ and ‘bailiff’ makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/12 "2023-08-16T18:52:16Z")
Threads like this are the reason I’ve stayed at Straight Dope for so long 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-venerable-bedes-account-of-the-789-viking-raid-on-portland-in-dorset-mention-the-name-of-the-bailiff/988618/13 "2023-08-16T21:13:13Z")
That’s true. I had some vague ideas about this bit of history, but the question made me spend several hours reading.