It has seemed desirable to complete the sequence of Continental expositors to the eleventh century, and then to take up the prophetic expositors of Britain, from Bede onward, in a single chapter, since they were more independent. And inasmuch as the beginnings of British Christianity, little known generally, had a bearing on this spirit of independence, it may be well to take a backward glance over the historical development and relationships of the church in Britain during the first seven centuries as a background for Bede and the other interpreters to follow. PFF1 595.1