"Venerable" writer (4)
I believe the answer is:
bede
'venerable writer' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for bede that I've seen before include "venerable person?" , "Adam ___, novel by George Eliot" , "'Venerable' English monk" , "Venerable English historian, d. 735" , "old monk" .)