Cædmon facts for kids

This memorial to Cædmon is in the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Whitby. It says he was the "father of English Sacred Song" and died around 680 AD.

Cædmon (pronounced KAD-mon) lived in England between about 657 and 684 AD. He is the very first English poet whose name we know! He worked with animals at a special place called a double monastery in Streonæshalch (which is now Whitby Abbey). This was when St. Hilda was in charge there.

At first, Cædmon couldn't sing or write poems. But one night, he had a dream where he learned to compose songs. This amazing story comes from a historian named Bede, who lived in the 700s. After his dream, Cædmon became a dedicated monk and a very talented Christian poet.

Cædmon is one of only twelve Anglo-Saxon poets whose names are known from old writings. He is also one of just three poets from that time for whom we have both information about their life and examples of their poems. Bede wrote about him in his book, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (which means "Ecclesiastical History of the English People"). Bede said that Cædmon was special because he could turn parts of the scriptures into beautiful poems in Old English. His poems often made people want to live a better life and think about heaven.

Cædmon's only poem that we still have today is called Cædmon's Hymn. It's a nine-line poem that praises God, and he supposedly learned it in his dream. This poem is one of the earliest examples of Old English writing. It's also one of the oldest known poems written in a Germanic language. In 1898, a cross was put up in his honor at St Mary's Church in Whitby.

Some experts, like Clare Lees and Gillian Overing, think that the story of Cædmon might be more than just facts. They believe it could be a special story that helped explain the importance of poetry and faith at that time. But they also agree that a person named Cædmon probably did exist.

Cædmon's Life Story

Bede's Account of Cædmon

Almost everything we know about Cædmon comes from Bede's book, Historia ecclesiastica. Bede tells us that Cædmon was a lay brother (someone who works for a monastery but isn't a priest) who took care of the animals at Whitby Abbey.

One evening, the monks were having a party, singing and playing a harp. Cædmon felt shy because he couldn't sing, so he left early to go sleep with the animals. While he was asleep, he had a dream. In his dream, someone came to him and asked him to sing about "the beginning of created things." At first, Cædmon said he couldn't sing. But then, he started to sing a short poem praising God, who created heaven and earth.

When he woke up the next morning, Cædmon remembered the whole poem. He even added more lines to it! He told his boss about his dream and his new gift. His boss immediately took him to see the abbess, who was St Hilda. The abbess and her advisors listened to Cædmon's story. They believed his gift was from God.

To test him, they asked Cædmon to write a poem about a part of the Bible. The next morning, he came back with the poem they asked for. Because he passed the test, he was invited to become a monk. The abbess then told her scholars to teach Cædmon more about the Bible and Christian teachings. Bede says that after thinking about what he learned each night, Cædmon would turn it into beautiful poems. According to Bede, Cædmon wrote many wonderful poems about different Christian topics.

Bede says that Cædmon lived a long and very religious life. He died like a saint. He knew his death was coming, so he asked to be moved to the abbey's special room for sick people. There, he gathered his friends around him and died after receiving a special blessing, just before the monks' night prayers. Even though he is often called a saint, Bede doesn't actually confirm this.

Many experts today don't believe every detail of Bede's story, especially the part about the dream being a miracle. However, they do believe that a poet named Cædmon really existed. Bede was a very smart and educated man, and his story shows that he thought Cædmon was a very important person in English history and religious life.

When Did Cædmon Live?

Bede doesn't give exact dates for Cædmon's life. But he does say that Cædmon became a monk when he was older. He also lived at Whitby Abbey during the time Hilda was abbess (from 657 to 680 AD).

Bede's book suggests that Cædmon died around the same time as a fire at Coldingham Abbey. This fire is thought to have happened around 679 AD. The next event Bede mentions is a raid in Ireland in 684 AD. So, it seems Cædmon was actively writing poems between 657 and 680 AD, and he died sometime between 679 and 684 AD.

New Discoveries About Cædmon

Modern studies have added a little more to Bede's story. We now know that Cædmon's name comes from a Celtic language, even though Bede said English was Cædmon's "own" language. His name comes from an old Welsh word, Cadṽan.

Some scholars think that Cædmon might have spoken two languages because of his name. This is also because Hilda, the abbess, had close ties with Celtic leaders and religious groups. Other scholars have noticed that his name sounds a bit like 'Adam Kadmon', which is a name from a different religious tradition. This makes some wonder if the whole story might have a deeper, symbolic meaning.

Cædmon's Poems

His Many Works

Bede wrote that Cædmon created many religious poems in English. Unlike other poets of his time, Cædmon's poems were only about religious topics. Bede said he "could never compose any foolish or trivial poem, but only those which were concerned with devotion."

Bede listed the kinds of poems Cædmon wrote: stories about creation, parts of the Old and New Testaments, and songs about what happens after death, the "horrors of hell," and the "joys of the heavenly kingdom." But out of all these poems, only his very first poem still exists today.

There are other old religious poems found in a book called the "Junius" or "Cædmon" manuscript. People used to think Cædmon wrote these too, but now we know they are probably not his. These poems are written in different styles, and they don't quite match Bede's descriptions of Cædmon's other works.

Cædmon's Hymn

This is one of the oldest copies of Cædmon's Hymn, found in a book called "The Moore Bede" from around 737 AD. It's kept at the Cambridge University Library.

The only poem by Cædmon that we still have is his Hymn. We know about this poem from 21 different old copies. This makes it one of the most copied Old English poems!

The Hymn is found in different dialects (ways of speaking) and in five slightly different versions. It is one of the earliest examples of written Old English and one of the first long poems written in a Germanic language. Along with some old inscriptions on the Ruthwell Cross and the Franks Casket, Cædmon's Hymn is one of the oldest examples of Old English poetry.

There's still a debate among experts about the poem we have today. Some think it's a very accurate copy of Cædmon's original poem. Others believe it might have been translated back from Bede's Latin version, and that the true original poem is lost.

The Oldest Copy

The oldest known version of the poem is from the Northumbrian region of England. The two oldest copies we have are from the mid-700s. One of these, called M (kept at Cambridge University Library), is thought to have been copied at Bede's own monastery during his lifetime.

Here is the oldest version of the poem, from the M copy, along with how it might have sounded and what it means in modern English:

Bede also wrote a Latin version of the poem, which means: "Now we must praise the author of the heavenly realm, the might of the creator, and his purpose, the work of the father of glory: as he, who, the almighty guardian of the human race, is the eternal God, is the author of all miracles; who first created the heavens as highest roof for the children men, then the earth."

Studying Cædmon

Experts like Clare Lees and Gillian Overing call Cædmon the "father" of English poetry. They note that the story of an ordinary worker like Cædmon becoming a poet inspired by God has become almost like a legend. They believe that Cædmon probably existed. But they also suggest that his story might have been used to make Whitby Abbey (especially when Hilda was in charge) and English religious life seem more important.

Images for kids

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  These are the ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, England. The first abbey was started in 657 AD by St. Hilda. It was destroyed by Vikings in 867 AD, then rebuilt later, and finally destroyed again in 1540 by Henry VIII.

See also

In Spanish: Caedmon para niños