Read this excerpt from a commentary on the venerable bede, which appears in an introductory chapter of a translation of bede's an ecclesiastical history of the english people.
a characteristic akin to [bede's fairness to opponents] is his love of truth. it shows itself in his scrupulous care [as a historian] in investigating evidence and in acknowledging the sources from which he draws. nowhere is his intellectual honesty more apparent than in dealing with what he believes to be the miraculous element in his history. in whatever way we may regard these anecdotes, there can be no doubt that bede took the utmost pains to assure himself of their . he is careful to acquire, if possible, first-hand evidence; where this cannot be obtained, he scrupulously mentions the lack of it. he admits only the testimony of of high character and generally quotes them by name.