Although the scriptures were made available in a number of languages by the 2nd century in various countries, the people in England had only the Latin Vulgate available to them through the Roman missionaries that had come from Rome in the 5th C. invasion. Jerome had translated the scriptures into the Latin Vulgate (Latin vernacular for the common man) around 400 A.D.

The Coptic language (for Egyptians), Syriac (for those whose language was Aramaic), Gothic (for the Germanic), and Latin for the Romans and Carthagenians all preceded the English, as English was still coalescing from Anglo-Saxon and the language had not been reduced to writing. It was not until the 6th Century that any spiritual writing was to occur.

Caedmon

In the 5th Century A.D., those living in the land which was to become known as England depended for their spiritual nourishment upon the monks for any kind of instruction from the Bible. Literacy was limited mostly to the churchmen and a few of the ruling elite.

The earliest English translation was done by a seventh century monk named Caedmon, who made metrical versions of parts of the Old and New Testaments.

Bede

Actual translation of the scriptures themselves was first done by Bede, another English churchman, a skilled linguist and translator. He became known as the Father of English History as a result of his tome, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to tradition, Bede was in the midst of translating work as he lay on his deathbed in 735, his faithful assistant penning the last few verses.

Attached to the monastery of Jarrow, Bede's influence both upon English and foreign scholarship was very great, and it would probably have been greater still but for the devastation inflicted upon the Northern monasteries by the inroads of the Danes less than a century after his death.(1)

Venerable Bede, as he became known, is the earliest witness of pure Gregorian tradition in England. His works "Musica theoretica" and "De arte Metricā" (Migne, XC) are found especially valuable by present-day scholars engaged in the study of the primitive form of the chant.

Alfred the Great

A very literate king, Alfred the Great reigned from 871 to 879. Perhaps more important than defending the Anglo-Saxon land against the Vikings, Alfred encouraged military strength, moral laws for good governance, plus education and spiritual enrichment for his subjects. Though the ruling class spoke French, Alfred translated the Psalms into the English vernacular and he included parts of the Ten Commandments in his laws.

For a more detailed listing of facts,see here.