Hidden copy of the oldest known poem in the English language leaves researchers speechless'

Caedmon's Hymn, a nine-line Old English poem, was composed about 1,300 years ago by Caedmon, a cowherd in Whitby, England. The hymn praises a Maker and eternal Lord who created Earth for humankind. The poem is widely regarded as the beginning of English literature. Records of the hymn survive through copies of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede, where Latin versions were often included and Old English translations were sometimes added later. A newly digitized copy held in an Italian library contains the Old English hymn within the manuscript’s main text, not as a later addition, prompting major surprise among researchers.

"The hymn itself is nine lines long. It's attributed to a cowherd named Caedmon, who is thought to have composed the poem in a burst of inspiration following a religious dream. Translated into modern English, the poem celebrates a Maker and eternal Lord who created Earth for humankind. As the oldest known poem in Old English it is today celebrated as the beginning of English literature."

"There's no record of Caedmon jotting the poem down himselfbut records of it can be found in copies of a history of Christianity in England written by the Venerable Bede, an English monk and scholar, called the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. These copies primarily include a version of the poem in Latin, with the Old English translation sometimes added later."

"The new version of the poem, however, found in a digitized version of the Ecclesiastical History held at the National Central Library of Rome, includes Caedmon's Hymn in Old Englishand appears to be part of the manuscript's main text, not added in later. We were extremely surprised. We were speechless, Elisabetta Magnanti, a visiting research fellow at Trinity College Dublin who helped lead the work, told the Associated Press."

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