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Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library
TL;DR
A lost copy of Caedmon’s Hymn, the earliest surviving poem in English, has been found in Rome. Scholars from Trinity College Dublin discovered the manuscript at the National Central Library of Rome.
Key points
- Lost copy of Caedmon's Hymn discovered in Rome
- Earliest surviving poem in the English language
- Found by scholars from Trinity College Dublin
- Transcribed by a monk in northern Italy
- Recorded by Bede in the eighth century
Mentioned in this story
BedeTrinity College DublinNational Central Library of Rome
Caedmon's Hymn
A lost copy of a poem composed in the seventh century by a Northumbrian cattle herder – the earliest surviving poem in the English language – has been discovered in Rome.
Scholars from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Library of Rome.
Bede, the medieval theologian revered as the father of English history, recorded the nine-line poem in the eighth century. The Old English version discovered in Rome is believed to have been transcribed by a monk in northern Italy between AD800 and AD830.
“When we saw it we looked at each other and I said, ‘No one knows about this’,” said Elisabetta Magnanti, who discovered the manuscript with Mark Faulkner, from Trinity’s school of English. “To make sure I wasn’t dreaming I double-checked the catalogues and there was no mention of it. It was a huge surprise, a very good one.”
The ninth-century Old English manuscript with Caedmon’s Hymn. Photograph: Rome, National Central Library
It is the third oldest surviving text of the poem, after older copies held at Cambridge and St Petersburg. Those other versions have the poem in Latin, with the Old English text added in the margin or at the end.
The Rome copy is significant because it contains the Old English version in the main body of the text, reflecting the language’s growing status in the ninth century, said Faulkner. “The absence of the poem would have been felt by the readers, I think, and so that’s why it goes in.”
The poem is punctuated with a full stop after every word, which shows that word spacing was a relatively new invention, said Faulkner. “It is part of the early development of ways of dividing words and shows text starting to come towards the presentation of English that we know today.”
The researchers have detailed their findings in Early Medieval England and its Neighbours, an open-access journal published by Cambridge University Press.
Q&A
What is Caedmon's Hymn and why is it significant?
Caedmon's Hymn is the earliest surviving poem in the English language, composed in the seventh century, and is significant for its historical and literary value.
Who discovered the lost manuscript of Caedmon's Hymn?
The manuscript was discovered by scholars Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner from Trinity College Dublin.
Where was the manuscript of Caedmon's Hymn found?
The manuscript was found at the National Central Library of Rome.
When was the Old English version of Caedmon's Hymn transcribed?
The Old English version is believed to have been transcribed by a monk in northern Italy between AD800 and AD830.
