AI Insight
A previously lost manuscript, approximately 1,200 years old, has been rediscovered in Rome and identified as containing one of the earliest surviving versions of Caedmon's Hymn, widely regarded as the first known poem composed in the English language. The nine-line Old English poem is attributed to Caedmon, a Northumbrian cowherd from the 7th century, whose story was recorded by the Venerable Bede. The manuscript had been considered lost for decades before its recent identification.
Why it matters
This discovery provides scholars with an additional early witness text of Caedmon's Hymn, which may offer new insights into the transmission and variation of Old English poetry and the early history of the English language. It also underscores the importance of ongoing archival research in institutions holding historically significant collections.
A long-lost manuscript discovered in Rome has revealed one of the oldest surviving versions of the very first known poem written in English. Hidden for decades and once believed lost, the 1,200-year-old manuscript contains Caedmon’s Hymn — a nine-line Old English poem said to have been miraculously composed by a shy Northumbrian cowherd after a divine dream.
Source: Lost 1,200-year-old manuscript contains the first English poem