New copy of earliest poem in English, written 1,3k years ago, discovered in Rome
18 hours ago
- #Old English Poetry
- #Medieval Manuscript
- #Digitization in Research
- Researchers from Trinity College Dublin discovered a 9th-century manuscript in Rome containing Caedmon's Hymn in Old English, dated 800-830, making it the third oldest copy.
- The manuscript is significant as it includes the Old English poem in the main text, unlike older copies which have it only in margins or at the end, showing early readers valued English poetry.
- The manuscript was produced at the Abbey of Nonantola in Italy, stolen in the 1810s, and later acquired by the National Central Library of Rome, where digitization revealed its contents.
- Caedmon's Hymn is a nine-line poem composed by a cowherd in North Yorkshire after a divine vision, praising God's creation, and is considered the earliest known poem in English.
- The discovery highlights cultural connections between England and Italy in the early Middle Ages and underscores the importance of digitization for scholarly research and accessibility.