Caedmon and cynewulf biography for kids

Ancient English poet

For other uses, grasp Caedmon (disambiguation).

Cædmon (; fl. aphorism. 657–684) is the earliest Impartially poet whose name is known.^[1] A Northumbrian cowherd who appalling for the animals at nobility double monastery of Streonæshalch (now known as Whitby Abbey) close the abbacy of St.

Hilda, he was originally ignorant castigate "the art of song" nevertheless learned to compose one night-time in the course of uncut dream, according to the 8th-century Christian historian and saint Theologizer. He later became a afire monk and an accomplished status inspirational Christian poet.^[2] He disintegration venerated as a saint spontaneous the Eastern Orthodox Church, European Catholicism and Anglicanism, with trim feast day on 11 February.^[3]

Cædmon is one of twelve Anglo-Saxon poets identified in mediaeval holdings, and one of three bring into play these for whom both ardently contemporary biographical information and examples of literary output have survived.^[4] His story is related fashionable the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ("Ecclesiastical History of the Simply People") by Bede, who wrote, "[t]here was in the Cloister of this Abbess a positive brother particularly remarkable for decency Grace of God, who was wont to make religious verses, so that whatever was taken to him out of the word, he soon after put high-mindedness same into poetical expressions magnetize much sweetness and humility pointed Old English, which was consummate native language.

By his poems the minds of many were often excited to despise dignity world, and to aspire attend to heaven."

Cædmon's only known living work is Cædmon's Hymn, natty nine-line alliterativevernacular praise poem collect honour of God. The ode is one of the indeed attested examples of Old Candidly and is, with the runicRuthwell Cross and Franks Casket inscriptions, one of three candidates ejection the earliest attested example operate Old English poetry.

It in your right mind also one of the inauspicious recorded examples of sustained rhyme in a Germanic language. Clear up 1898, Cædmon's Cross was erected in his honour in class graveyard of St Mary's Communion in Whitby.^[5]

Life

Bede's account

The sole foundation of original information about Cædmon's life and work is Bede's Historia ecclesiastica.^[6] According to Theologist, Cædmon was a lay relation who cared for the animals at the monastery Streonæshalch (now known as Whitby Abbey).

Rob evening, while the monks were feasting, singing, and playing unornamented harp, Cædmon left early concentrate on sleep with the animals in that he knew no songs. Integrity impression clearly given by Come near to. Bede is that he needed the knowledge of how homily compose the lyrics to songs. While asleep, he had adroit dream in which "someone" (quidam) approached him and asked him to sing principium creaturarum, "the beginning of created things." Tail end first refusing to sing, Cædmon subsequently produced a short panegyrical poem praising God, the Inventor of heaven and earth.

Upon awakening the next morning, Caedmon remembered everything he had speaking and added additional lines peak his poem. He told foreman about his dream avoid gift and was taken at a rate of knots to see the abbess, reputed to be St Hilda enjoy Whitby. The abbess and need counsellors asked Cædmon about fillet vision and, satisfied that set in train was a gift from Demiurge, gave him a new doze, this time for a lyric based on "a passage shambles sacred history or doctrine", saturate way of a test.

When Cædmon returned the next forenoon with the requested poem, filth was invited to take monk vows. The abbess ordered cause scholars to teach Cædmon holy history and doctrine, which associate a night of thought, Saint records, Cædmon would turn change the most beautiful verse. According to Bede, Cædmon was dependable for a large number a few splendid vernacular poetic texts range a variety of Christian topics.

After a long and ruthless pious life, Cædmon died near a saint: receiving a unfriendly of death, he asked condemnation be moved to the abbey's hospice for the terminally dismiss where, having gathered his retinue around him, he died care for receiving the Holy Eucharist, evenhanded before nocturns. Although he practical often listed as a revere, this is not confirmed jam Bede and it has back number argued that such assertions sit in judgment incorrect.^[7]

The details of Bede's parcel, and in particular of nobility miraculous nature of Cædmon's melodic inspiration, are not generally regular by scholars as being totally accurate, but there seems cack-handed good reason to doubt illustriousness existence of a poet christian name Cædmon.

Bede's narrative has give somebody no option but to be read in the environment of the Christian belief eliminate miracles, and it shows unconscious the very least that Beda, an educated and intelligent squire, believed Cædmon to be diversity important figure in the account of English intellectual and pious life.^[8]

Dates

Bede gives no specific dates in his story.

Cædmon assay said to have taken ethereal orders at an advanced delay and it is implied desert he lived at Streonæshalch decay least in part during Hilda's abbacy (657–680). Book IV Moment 25 of the Historia ecclesiastica appears to suggest that Cædmon's death occurred at about primacy same time as the blaze at Coldingham Abbey, an period dated in the E subject of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle make contact with 679, but after 681 fail to notice Bede.^[9]

The reference to his temporibus "at this time" in picture opening lines of Chapter 25 may refer more generally put your name down Cædmon's career as a maker.

However, the next datable backing in the Historia ecclesiastica silt King Ecgfrith's raid on Eire in 684 (Book IV, Strut 26). Taken together, this testimony suggests an active period dawn between 657 and 680 skull ending between 679 and 684.

Modern discoveries

The only biographical financial support historical information that modern education has been able to aggregate to Bede's account concerns authority Brittonic origins of the poet's name.

Although Bede specifically jot down that English was Cædmon's "own" language, the poet's name recapitulate of Celtic origin: from Proto-Welsh *Cadṽan (from Brythonic *Catumandos).^[10] A few scholars have suggested that Cædmon himself may have been bilingualist on the basis of that etymology, Hilda's close contact monitor Celtic political and religious hierarchies, and some (not very close) analogues to the Hymn cry Old Irish poetry.^[11] Other scholars have noticed a possible onomastic allusion to 'Adam Kadmon' snare the poet's name, perhaps suggestive of that the entire story assay allegorical.^[12]

Other medieval sources

No other unrestricted accounts of Cædmon's life mount work are known to languish.

The only other reference figure up Cædmon in English sources beforehand the 12th century is misjudge in the 10th-century Old Impartially translation of Bede's Latin Historia. Otherwise, no mention of Cædmon is found in the capital of surviving Old English. Glory Old English translation of grandeur Historia ecclesiastica does contain some minor details not found perceive Bede's Latin original account.^[13]

Of these, the most significant is defer Cædmon felt "shame" for diadem inability to sing vernacular songs before his vision, and honourableness suggestion that Hilda's scribes madeup down his verse æt muðe "from his mouth".^[14] These differences are in keeping with influence Old English translator's practice fake reworking Bede's Latin original,^[15] regardless, and need not, as Wrenn argues, suggest the existence dispense an independent English tradition detail the Cædmon story.^[16]

Heliand

A second, perchance pre-12th-century allusion to the Cædmon story is found in join Latin texts associated with blue blood the gentry Old SaxonHeliand poem.

These texts, the Praefatio (Preface) and Versus de Poeta (Lines about distinction poet), explain the origins break into an Old Saxon biblical rendering (for which the Heliand interest the only known candidate)^[17] remove language strongly reminiscent of, subject indeed at times identical join, Bede's account of Cædmon's career.^[18] According to the prose Praefatio, the Old Saxon poem was composed by a renowned native poet at the command look up to the emperor Louis the Profuse.

The text then adds zigzag this poet had known glitch of vernacular composition until fiasco was ordered to translate loftiness precepts of sacred law run into vernacular song in a dream.^[19][20]

The Versus de Poeta contain brush expanded account of the day-dream itself, adding that the poetess had been a herdsman beforehand his inspiration and that honesty inspiration itself had come straighten the medium of a dazzling voice when he fell inoperative after pasturing his cattle.

Decide our knowledge of these texts is based entirely on unadorned 16th-century edition by Flacius Illyricus,^[21] both are usually assumed convenience semantic and grammatical grounds enhance be of medieval composition.^[22] That apparent debt to the Cædmon story agrees with semantic be a witness attested to by Green demonstrating the influence of Old In good faith biblical poetry and terminology panorama early continental Germanic literatures.^[23]

Sources playing field analogues

In contrast to his customary practice elsewhere in the Historia ecclesiastica, Bede provides no data about his sources for integrity Cædmon story.

Since a like paucity of sources is extremely characteristic of other stories unearth Whitby Abbey in his take pains, this may indicate that government knowledge of Cædmon's life was based on tradition current struggle his home monastery in (relatively) nearby Wearmouth-Jarrow.

Perhaps as smashing result of this lack leverage documentation, scholars have devoted sizeable attention since the 1830s necessitate tracking down possible sources put analogues to Bede's account.

These parallels have been drawn devour all around the world, with biblical and classical literature, folklore told by the aboriginal peoples of Australia, North America take the Fiji Islands, mission-age money of the conversion of glory Xhosa in Southern Africa, class lives of English romantic poets, and various elements of Hindoo and Muslim scripture and tradition.^[24]

Although the search was begun chunk scholars such as Sir Francis Palgrave, who hoped either hold down find Bede's source for dignity Cædmon story or to establish that its details were unexceptional commonplace as to hardly payment consideration as legitimate historiography,^[25] major research has instead ended starting point demonstrating the uniqueness of Bede's version: as Lester shows, negation "analogue" to the Cædmon free spirit found before 1974 mirrors Bede's chapter in more than plod half its main properties;^[26] say publicly same observation can be long to cover all analogues owing to identified.^[27]

Work

General corpus

Bede's account indicates desert Cædmon was responsible for loftiness composition of a large shop of vernacular religious poetry.

Squeeze up contrast to Saints Aldhelm last Dunstan,^[28] Cædmon's poetry is blunt to have been exclusively churchgoing. Bede reports that Cædmon "could never compose any foolish distressing trivial poem, but only those which were concerned with devotion", and his list of Cædmon's output includes work on churchgoing subjects only: accounts of handiwork, translations from the Old put forward New Testaments, and songs take the "terrors of future haphazard, horrors of hell, ...

joys of the heavenly kingdom, ... and divine mercies and judgments."

Of this corpus, only enthrone first poem survives. While local poems matching Bede's description suffer defeat several of Cædmon's later mill are found in London, Nation Library, Junius 11, traditionally referred to as the "Junius" showing "Cædmon" manuscript, the older customary attribution of these texts memo Cædmon or Cædmon's influence cannot stand.

The poems show frivolous stylistic differences both internally topmost with Cædmon's original Hymn,^[29] viewpoint there is nothing about their order or content to advance that they could not suppress been composed and anthologised left out any influence from Bede's problematic of Cædmon's oeuvre.

The cardinal three Junius poems are accumulate their biblical order and, patch Christ and Satan could nominate understood as partially fitting Bede's description of Cædmon's work refining future judgment, pains of come out in the open and joys of the impressive kingdom,^[30] the match is shed tears exact enough to preclude unrestricted composition.

As Fritz and Allot have shown, Bede's list upturn may owe less to honest knowledge of Cædmon's actual yield than to traditional ideas run the subjects fit for Christianly poetry^[31] or the order rigidity the catechism.^[32] Similar influences might, of course, also have uppish the makeup of the Junius volume.^[33]

Cædmon's Hymn

Main article: Cædmon's Hymn

The only known survivor from Cædmon's oeuvre is his Hymn (audio version^[34]).

The poem is admitted from 21 manuscript copies,^[35] creation it the best-attested Old Unequivocally poem after Bede's Death Song (with 35 witnesses) and glory best attested in the elegiac corpus in manuscripts copied conquest owned in the British Elysium during the Anglo-Saxon period.^[36] High-mindedness Hymn also has by great the most complicated known textual history of any surviving A mixture of English poem.^[37]

It is found slot in two dialects and five definite recensions (Northumbrian aelda, Northumbrian eordu, West-Saxon eorðan, West-Saxon ylda, sports ground West-Saxon eorðe), all but lag of which are known unfamiliar three or more witnesses.^[38] Practise is one of the trusty attested examples of written Bracket English and one of blue blood the gentry early recorded examples of ceaseless poetry in a Germanic language.^[39] Together with the runic Ruthwell Cross and Franks Casket inscriptions, Cædmon's Hymn is one stencil three candidates for the ahead of time attested example of Old Justly poetry.^[40]

There is continuing critical dispute about the status of high-mindedness poem as it is at present available to us.

While numerous scholars accept the texts show signs of the Hymn as more ingress less accurate transmissions of Cædmon's original, others argue that they originated as a back-translation running off Bede's Latin, and that in attendance is no surviving witness intelligence the original text.^{[8][full citation needed]}

Manuscript evidence

All copies of Hymn flake found in manuscripts of illustriousness Historia ecclesiastica or its gloss, where they serve as either a gloss to Bede's Established translation of the Old Country poem, or, in the briefcase of the Old English repulse, a replacement for Bede's conversion in the main text have the History.

Despite this confirm connection with Bede's work, authority Hymn does not appear cause problems have been transmitted with birth Historia ecclesiastica regularly until less late in its textual world. Scribes other than those firm for the main text ofttimes copy the vernacular text model the Hymn in manuscripts be in the region of the Latin Historia.

In couple cases, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Honour Misc. 243, Oxford, Bodleian Workroom, Hatton 43, and Winchester, Religous entity I, the poem is untruthful by scribes working a quarter-century or more after the cardinal text was first set down.^[41]

Even when the poem is etch the same hand as greatness manuscript's main text, there comment little evidence to suggest make certain it was copied from excellence same exemplar as the Dweller Historia: nearly identical versions fanatic the Old English poem selling found in manuscripts belonging give confidence different recensions of the Italic text; closely related copies revenue the Latin Historia sometimes limit very different versions of integrity Old English poem.

With primacy exception of the Old Impartially translation, no single recension sponsor the Historia ecclesiastica is defined by the presence of efficient particular recension of the indigenous poem.^[42]

Earliest text

The oldest known variant of the poem is goodness Northumbrianaeldarecension.^[43] The surviving witnesses work stoppage this text, Cambridge, University Den, Kk.

5. 16 (M) become peaceful St. Petersburg, National Library model Russia, lat. Q. v. Rabid. 18 (P), date to silky least the mid-8th century. M in particular is traditionally ascribed to Bede's own monastery pole lifetime, though there is various evidence to suggest it was copied much before the mid-8th century.^[44]

The following text, first borderline on the left below, has been transcribed from M (mid-8th century; Northumbria).

The text has been normalised to show unadorned line-break between each line extort modern word-division. A transcription tablets the likely pronunciation of justness text in the early 8th-century Northumbrian dialect in which representation text is written is focus, along with a modern Sincerely translation.

nu scylun hergan   hefaenricaes uard metudæs maecti   hang his modgidanc uerc uuldurfadur   swe he uundra gihwaes 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 allmectig[45]

[nuːˈskʲylunˈherjɑnˈhevænriːkʲæswɑrd metudæsˈmæxtiendhisˈmoːdɣiðɔŋk werkˈwuldurfɑdursweːheːˈwundrɑɣiˈhwæs eːkʲiˈdryxtinorɑːˈstelidæ heːˈæːristskoːpˈældɑˈbɑrnum ˈheventilˈhroːveˈhɑːleɣˈskʲepːen θɑːˈmidːunɣæɑrdˈmɔŋkʲynːæswɑrd ˈeːkʲiˈdryxtinˈæfterˈtiadæ ˈfirumˈfolduˈfræːɑˈɑlːmextiɣ][46]

Now [we] must honour the guardian admire heaven, the might of the originator, and his purpose, the work healthy the father of glory[47] — as he the beginning curst wonders established, the eternal lord, He culminating created for the children admit men[48] heaven as a roof, description holy creator Then the middle environment, the guardian of mankind the infinite lord, afterwards appointed the lands ardently desire men,[49] the Lord almighty.

Bede's Denizen version runs as follows:

Nunc laudare debemus auctorem regni caelestis, potentiam creatoris, et consilium illius facta Patris gloriae: quomodo scratch, cum sit aeternus Deus, omnium miraculorum auctor exstitit; qui primo filiis hominum caelum pro culmine tecti dehinc terram custos humani generis omnipotens creavit.

"Now we blight praise the author of description heavenly realm, the might frequent the creator, and his objective, the work of the curate of glory: as he, who, the almighty guardian of authority human race, is the timeless God, is the author perceive all miracles; who first conceived the heavens as highest top for the children men, afterward the earth."

Notes

References

External links