""I came across conflicting references to Bede's History in Rome, some pointing to its existence and some indicating it was lost. When its existence was confirmed by the library and the manuscript was digitised for us, we were extremely excited to find that the manuscript contained the Old English version of Caedmon's Hymn and that it was embedded in the Latin text.""
""The magic of digitisation has allowed two researchers in Ireland to recognise the significance of a manuscript now in Rome, containing a poem miraculously composed in Northern England by a shy cowherd a millennium and a half ago. This discovery is a testament to the power of libraries to facilitate new research by digitising their collections and making them freely available online.""
A manuscript containing Cædmon's Hymn, the oldest known poem in English, was rediscovered in Rome. Dating from the early ninth century, it is part of Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Historians from Trinity College Dublin identified the manuscript, which had been lost to scholars. The manuscript was digitized in May 2025, revealing its significance. This discovery highlights the importance of digitization in accessing historical texts and the role of libraries in facilitating research.
Read at Medievalists.net
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