Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard
metudæs maecti end his modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihuaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe haleg scepen.
tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectigprimo cantauit Cædmon istud carmen.
Nu scilun herga hefenricæs uard
metudæs mehti and his modgithanc
uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihuæs
eci dryctin or astelidæ.
he ærist scop ældu barnum
hefen to hrofæ halig sceppend
tha middingard moncynn&ealig;s uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmehtig
MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven's kingdom,
The might of the Creator, and his thought,
The work of the Father of glory, how each of wonders
The Eternal Lord established in the beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
Then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind,
The Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
The earth for men, the Almighty Lord.
In the beginning Caedmon sang this poem.
Notes
Composition Date:
ca. 657.Form:
alliterative four-stress lines, where at least
two of the four stressed words alliterate (e.g., line 9) or
assonate (e.g., line 5).
1. 17 manuscripts of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica
Gentis Anglorum (finished in 731), dated
from the 8th to the 15th centuries, contain the Anglo-Saxon
version of the first poem by the first known English poet,
Cæ;dmon. The two earliest of these manuscripts render the
poem in a Northumbrian dialect. The Cambridge University
Library "Moore" manuscript appears in an 8th-century
hand, and the Leningrad manuscript can be precisely dated
in 746. For the circumstances of the making of this poem,
see the notes on Cæ;dmon's life.
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Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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You can break it down to many things. Pull it apart at the seams. But one thing remains. What ever his inspriation, what ever the mans life. This is beautiful. Whether read as a poem or sung in hymn. A hymn is meant to be uplifting, elevated, to bring you closer to God. He accomplished that. Like Grandma Mose's, the gift or the realization of the gift came late in life. The point is, he shared this gift. This poem/hymn is beautiful in it's contrast of simplicity and yet so wonderfully deep and rich in emotion.
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Caedmon's Hymn was a part of the Medieval genre of "dream visions narrative." This narrative style produces a dreamer which falls asleep and has a dream in which he is lead by an authoritative figure (in Caedmon's case, God) through a trip of self discovery. Yes, he was seen as a gift from God by the monks of his time because he was a mere cow herder and yet was given these messages directy from God himself. Therefore, the monks took him in. To finish off the dream vision, the dreamer must re-tell his dream to others so that they learn from it. Caedmon learned how to write from listening to the monks and in turn, taught them some things too.
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From what I understand Caedmon had a prophetic experienced and was demanded to sing this hymn. Although he was illiterate, once his master discovered Caedmon had the poetic gift he was immediatly taught how to write. This story reminded me of the prophet Muhammad.
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Oldpoetry.com did all the translation - I just looked it up. You can find loads of old and international stuff there under your AP log in.
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I didn't- this is from Oldpoetry.com - they've translated it!
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I liked it, how did you translate from latin to English? That was wonderfully done. Good write on this GOD BLESS AND TAKE CARE LAURA
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Thanks for putting that in english or I would never have been able to read it LOL! This is a good piece! Unfortunately it is kind of bland to me! Even though it gives much inspiration and speaks in a religious manner I find it to be sort of dull! No offence meant here it is mearly my opinion! Good Piece!
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In over 1000 years, it appears that the English language has transformed completely, and it takes a scholar to translate the poem. It is interesting that the subject is a hymn to God, since Latin hymns from the period also survive, and might have been in use there as well. Vernacular worship evidently is not a protestant innovation.
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different - confusing - stunning and well written
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I'm a bit confused about the 'not only french' bit in your comment. Please re-read my original critique.
When Scops (verbal sung poets) were working on 'old English', influences such as the Normans (French), Celts (Irish), and Germanic languages had not influenced English fully. Current English has taken words from these, plus (in the Victorian times) words from Asian and other languages, and has changed in sound and strucure. That was my point; there was no insinuation about rhe development of languages which are 'not French' or implication that some languages are more developed than others.
Language (no matter what tongue) is continually developing. It is impossible for a language to reach 'modernity' and stay there- because every language changes with the times. Therefore, every language is modern for the time in history it was written.
The simple style is to do with his vocal tradition and simple, religious message. It is deliberate- not a bad translation, just a poem of its time. To say it is 'too simple' is like saying a haiku is 'too short' - it is what it is. -
I hate to shatter egg's dreams, but Asian languages have formed almost nothing of our modern English, nor have Asian languages been evolving for 10,000 years. Also, Caedmon's Hymn is fairly flat, which is not only appropriate for his time period but also for his later vocation. Not all poets have to be overly deep.
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Yes. It is fascinating how languange NOT ONLY FRENCH has evolved over years. And I believe certain Asian languages evolved into modern langauge over 10,000 years. As far as the poem goes, the translation is weak. Not that I'm a foreign language major but I'm sure Caedmon had more depth to his theme than his praise for earth even in the times when he lived
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The first poem in English. Strange no one has commented here; I thought people would know about this and be curious. It is fascinating to see how language has evolved with the introduction of French, Asian and other languages over the 1000 years or so since it was spoken - amazing too that poetry has become a written, not a sung/spoken form. Caedmon couldn't even write!! He made the rhymes up and sang them to a monk. As a scop, his 'skill' as an individual wasn't important- the poetic product of his community and his cultural heretage were where the 'glory' lay- thus there was as much honour in listening, recording and remembering a great piece as there was in creating it.
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