Benedict Biscop was born in about 628. A Northumbrian nobleman, he underwent a religious conversion in 653. He became a monk and after five pilgrimages to Rome, became an abbot in Canterbury (669-671).

In 674 Benedict Biscop founded a monastery at Wearmouth where established an extensive library of books. He founded a second monastery at Jarrow in 682. One of Benedict Biscop's students was the early historian, Bede.

Benedict Biscop died in 689.