Bodleian: Cædmon's Hymn

Our first foray into the special medieval holdings of the Bodleian Library is "Cædmon's Hymn."

Bede wrote that Cædmon was an illiterate man in the late 7th century who cared for the cows at what is now Whitby Abbey. One night, in a dream, he was approached by "someone" who asked him to sing about the beginning of the world. In the dream he first refused, then created a poem.

When he woke up the next morning, he wrote down the remembered poem. Taking it to (we think) Abbess Hilda of Whitby (658–80), it was declared a gift from God. They gave him a test to make a new poem, which he did so well that they had him join the abbey and take monastic vows. They taught him history and doctrine, after which he would compose beautiful poems. (This was all in Anglo-Saxon.)

"Cædmon's Hymn" is considered the oldest surviving English poem, and one of the oldest surviving samples of Germanic alliterative verse. It is also the second most numerous of surviving manuscripts, with 22 extant.

The Bodleian Library has four copies. One is from the first half of the 10th century, two from the mid-11th century, and one from the first quarter of the 12th century. (The illustration is Hatton 43, from the mid-11th.) Below is one translation (made in 2011 by American poet Harvey Shapiro):

Guardian of heaven      whom we come to praise
who mapped creation      in His thought's sinews
Glory-Father who     worked out each wonder
began with broad earth      a gift for His children
first roofed it with heaven      the Holy Shaper
established it forever     as in the beginning
called it middle kingdom      fenced it with angels
created a habitation for man     to praise His splendor.

Tomorrow we will look at the Book of Glendalough, from pre-Norman Ireland.

Hilda of Whitby

The Synod of Whitby is a familiar name to fans of medieval history (and this blog). What is not widely known is that it was first managed by a woman, Hilda of Whitby.

Hilda (c.614 - 680) was born to Hereric, a nephew of King Edwin of Northumbria. Her father was poisoned while Hilda was very young, and she was raised at King Edwin's court, where she was exposed to the preaching of St. Paulinus of York. King Edwin's entire court, including Hilda, was baptized on Easter (12 April) 627. Hilda's sister, Hereswith, became a nun at Chelles Abbey, and Hilda followed her example by taking up the monastic life.

She eventually wound up taking on the management of a monastery at a coastal town called Streaneshalch in 657, which had just been founded by Oswy of Bernicia as an act of thanksgiving. Years later, the Danes would name the place Whitby (Old Norse for "white settlement").

The monastery at Whitby—which included both men and women—became famous for its learning. This was the home of Cædmon, the illiterate shepherd turned poet; Hilda allowed him to take monastic vows and encouraged him in his poetry. Her wisdom and administrative abilities were so revered that monks and aristocracy would travel to consult with her. Bede tells us that "All who knew her called her mother because of her outstanding devotion and grace."

When King Oswy wanted to determine definitively whether his realm should follow Celtic or Roman Christianity, he asked Hilda to hold the synod at her abbey. The Synod of Whitby presented arguments for both sides, and Oswy chose Roman Christianity. Hilda preferred Celtic Christianity, but she accepted the decision of the king.

Hilda died on 17 November 680, after several years of suffering from a constant fever that never stopped her from performing her duties. Supposedly, at her death the bells of the monastery rang out so loudly that they were heard 13 miles away.