Caedmon's Hymn
3
Anglo‐Saxon Literature 1 Caedmon’s Hymn (c. 670) Caedmon’s Hymn (composed around AD 670) is the earliest extant poem, secular or religious, we possess in English. The story of this cowherd turned poet is told by the Venerable Bede (672/73–735) in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (AD 632), which remains an important witness to the events of the Anglo‐Saxon period. In style, the Hymn conforms to the oral tradition of Old English poetic composition, which requires that each “half‐line” (e.g. Nu sculon h erigean) alliterates with the other (i.e. h eofonrices weard). In modern editions, the division between half‐lines is indicated by several spaces, though medieval scribes, due to the cost and effort involved in preparing parchment (made of animal skin), tended to write out poetry as if it were prose (as in the ms. facsimile below). This saved space and ‘money.’ You’ll also notice that capitalization was kept to a minimum, as with ‘heofon’ in the first line below (last word). Otherwise, apart from its literary character, Caedmon’s Hymn is remarkable for the number of manuscript copies that survive—no less than twenty‐one. This number may not seem like a lot, but when you consider that most poems (including Beowulf) survive in only one manuscript, the number is great, indeed. But why so many? Because the poem is recorded in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, which circulated widely throughout and after the Anglo‐Saxon period. ms. Corpus Christi College 279b (early 11 th century), fol. 112v.
-
Upload
baris-yesilyurt -
Category
Documents
-
view
283 -
download
7
Transcript of Caedmon's Hymn
Anglo‐SaxonLiterature
1
Caedmon’sHymn(c.670)
Caedmon’sHymn(composedaroundAD670)istheearliestextantpoem,secularorreligious,wepossessinEnglish.ThestoryofthiscowherdturnedpoetistoldbytheVenerableBede(672/73–735)inhisEcclesiasticalHistoryoftheEnglishPeople,(AD632),whichremainsanimportantwitnesstotheeventsoftheAnglo‐Saxonperiod.Instyle,theHymnconformstotheoraltraditionofOldEnglishpoeticcomposition,whichrequiresthateach“half‐line”(e.g.Nusculonherigean)alliterateswiththeother(i.e.heofonricesweard).Inmoderneditions,thedivisionbetweenhalf‐linesisindicatedbyseveralspaces,thoughmedievalscribes,duetothecostandeffortinvolvedinpreparingparchment(madeofanimalskin),tendedtowriteoutpoetryasifitwereprose(asinthems.facsimilebelow).Thissavedspaceand‘money.’You’llalsonoticethatcapitalizationwaskepttoaminimum,aswith‘heofon’inthefirstlinebelow(lastword).Otherwise,apartfromitsliterarycharacter,Caedmon’sHymnisremarkableforthenumberofmanuscriptcopiesthatsurvive—nolessthantwenty‐one.Thisnumbermaynotseemlikealot,butwhenyouconsiderthatmostpoems(includingBeowulf)surviveinonlyonemanuscript,thenumberisgreat,indeed.Butwhysomany?BecausethepoemisrecordedinBede’sEcclesiasticalHistory,whichcirculatedwidelythroughoutandaftertheAnglo‐Saxonperiod.
ms.CorpusChristiCollege279b(early11thcentury),fol.112v.
Anglo‐SaxonLiterature
2
Literal,InterLinearTranslationofCaedmon’sHymn
Nusculonherigeanheofonricesweard,Nowshouldwepraise theguardianofthekingdomofheaven,
meotodesmeahteandhismodgeþanc,themightofthemeasurer andhismindplans,weorcwuldorfæder,swahewundragehwæs,theworkofthegloryfather howhe,foreachwonder,ecedrihten,oronstealde.theeternallord, establishedabeginning.
Heærestsceopeorðanbearnum 5hefirstcreated forthesonsofmenheofontohrofe,haligscyppend;heavenasaroof, holycreator;þamiddangeardmoncynnesweard,thenmiddleearth mankind’sguardianecedrihten,æfterteodetheeternallordafterwardsmadefirumfoldan,freaælmihtig.
forthemenoftheearth lordalmighty
AppendixI:TheStoryofCaedmoninBookFour(Ch.29)
ofBede’sEcclesiasticalHistory1
Therewasinthisabbess’smonastery[i.e.Hild’smonasteryatWhitby/Streanaeshalch]acertainbrother,particularlyremarkableforthegraceofGod,whowaswonttomakepiousandreligiousverses,sothatwhateverwasinterpretedtohimoutofScripture,hesoonafterwardputthesameintopoeticalexpressionsofmuchsweetnessandhumility,inEnglish,whichwashisnativelanguage.Byhisversesthemindsofmanywereoftenexcitedtodespisetheworld,andtoaspiretoheaven.Othersafterhimattempted,intheEnglishnation,tocomposereligiouspoems,butnonecouldevercomparewithhim,forhedidnotlearntheartofpoetryfrommen,butfromGod;forwhichreasonhenevercouldcomposeanytrivialorvainpoem,butonlythosewhichrelatetoreligionsuitedhisreligioustongue;forhavinglivedinasecularhabittillhewaswelladvancedinyears,hehadneverlearnedanythingofversifying;forwhichreasonbeingsometimesatentertainments,whenitwasagreedforthesakeofmirththatallpresentshouldsingintheirturns,whenhesawtheinstrumentcometowardshim,heroseupfromtableandreturnedhome.
1 Translation taken from http://www.csun.edu/~sk36711/WWW/Common%20Files/bede.htm
Anglo‐SaxonLiterature
3
Havingdonesoatacertaintime,andgoneoutofthehousewheretheentertainmentwas,tothestable,wherehehadtotakecareofthehorsesthatnight,hetherecomposedhimselftorestatthepropertime;apersonappearedtohiminhissleep,andsalutinghimbyhisname,said,“Caedmon,singsomesongtome.”Heanswered,“Icannotsing;forthatwasthereasonwhyIlefttheentertainment,andretiredtothisplacebecauseIcouldnotsing.”Theotherwhotalkedtohim,replied,“However,youshallsing.”“WhatshallIsing?”rejoinedhe.“Singthebeginningofcreatedbeings,”saidtheother.HereuponhepresentlybegantosingversestothepraiseofGod,whichhehadneverheard,thepurportwhereofwasthus:
WearenowtopraisetheMakeroftheheavenlykingdom,thepoweroftheCreatorandhiscounsel,thedeedsoftheFatherofglory.HowHe,beingtheeternalGod,becametheauthorofallmiracles,whofirst,asalmightypreserverofthehumanrace,createdheavenforthesonsofmenastheroofofthehouse,andnexttheearth.
Thisisthesense,butnotthewordsinorderashesangtheminhissleep;forverses,thoughneversowellcomposed,cannotbeliterallytranslatedoutofonelanguageintoanother,withoutlosingmuchoftheirbeautyandloftiness.Awakingfromhissleep,herememberedallthathehadsunginhisdream,andsoonaddedmuchmoretothesameeffectinverseworthyoftheDeity.Inthemorninghecametothesteward,hissuperior,andhavingacquaintedhimwiththegifthehadreceived,wasconductedtotheabbess,bywhomhewasordered,inthepresenceofmanylearnedmen,totellhisdream,andrepeattheverses,thattheymightallgivetheirjudgmentwhatitwas,andwhencehisverseproceeded.Theyallconcluded,thatheavenlygracehadbeenconferredonhimbyourLord.Theyexpoundedtohimapassageinholywrit,eitherhistorical,ordoctrinal,orderinghim,ifhecould,toputthesameintoverse.Havingundertakenit,hewentaway,andreturningthenextmorning,gaveittothemcomposedinmostexcellentverse;whereupontheabbess,embracingthegraceofGodintheman,instructedhimtoquitthesecularhabit,andtakeuponhimthemonasticlife;whichbeingaccordinglydone,sheassociatedhimtotherestofthebrethreninhermonastery,andorderedthatheshouldbetaughtthewholeseriesofsacredhistory.ThusCaedmon,keepinginmindallheheard,andasitwerechewingthecud,convertedthesameintomostharmoniousverse;andsweetlyrepeatingthesame,madehismastersintheirturnhishearers.Hesangthecreationoftheworld,theoriginofman,andallthehistoryofGenesis:andmademanyversesonthedepartureofthechildrenofIsraeloutofEgypt,andtheirenteringintothelandofpromise,withmanyotherhistoriesfromholywrit;theincarnation,passion,resurrectionofourLord,andhisascensionintoheaven;thecomingoftheHolyGhost,andthepreachingoftheapostles;alsotheterroroffuturejudgment,thehorrorofthepainsofhell,andthedelightsofheaven;besidesmanymoreabouttheDivinebenefitsandjudgments,bywhichheendeavouredtoturnawayallmenfromtheloveofvice,andtoexciteinthemtheloveof,andapplicationto,goodactions;forhewasaveryreligiousman,humblysubmissivetoregulardiscipline,butfullofzealagainstthosewhobehavedthemselvesotherwise;forwhichreasonheendedhislifehappily.
