Caedmon's Hymn

While this damaged medieval manuscript from the late 700s may not appear to be as impressive or eye-catching as a well-preserved illuminated manuscript, it holds an important piece of English history: the story of Caedmon, the first English poet. As the blog on the British Library describes him, “he is also a significant figure in the history of people who hate singing in public, people who develop new talents later in life, and of cowherds” (Hudson, Wellesley). The author of the manuscript—an excerpt from A History of the English Church and People—was Bede, a prolific scribe at Jarrow Abbey. He played a key role in the Vernacular Renaissance, especially in his praise of Caedmon’s ability to create enchanting Christian poetry in Old English. According to Bede, Caedmon was an shy, uneducated cowherd who received inspiration during a dream to create this poem:

Now we ought to praise the Guardian of the heavenly kingdom,
The might of the Creator and his conception,
The work of the glorious Father, as he of each of the wonders,
Eternal Lord, established the beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, holy Creator;
Then the middle-earth, the Guardian of mankind,
The eternal Lord, afterwards made
The earth for men, the Lord almighty.

He was brought to the Abbey at Whitby, governed by the renowned Hilda. “Believing his skills were heaven-sent, she admitted him to her monastery and arranged for his religious instruction” (Bennett, 46). Caedmon used this newfound knowledge to create more poetry. Unfortunately, the poem that Bede recorded is the only one that has survived, making this manuscript all the more valuable. 

Not only does this manuscript inform us of the past, but it bears evidence of the passage of time. This manuscript was preserved for almost a millennium before a fire in 1731 CE damaged the pages. It is part of the Cotton Collection—a large collection of medieval manuscripts that would become an integral part of the British Library itself. The manuscript is still part of this extensive collection, and the full document is available online. While this manuscript certainly provides a window into the past, it also allows us to appreciate the time that has passed since the story was first recorded.

References

Bennett, Judith. Medieval Europe: A Short History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Hudson, Alison, and Mary Wellesley. “The Earliest English Poet.” Medieval Manuscripts, The British Library Board, 2/11/2016, https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2016/02/today-is-the-feast-day-of-caedmon-the-first-known-english-poet-as-well-as-being-the-first-named-poet-in-the-english-literar.html

“The Story of Caedmon’s Hymn” Discovering Literature: Medieval Collection Items, The British Library Board, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-story-of-caedmons-hymn