Caedmon's Hymn
From University of Virginia
 

Cædmon's Hymn Nu we sculon herigean       heofonrices Weard, Meotodes meahte         ond his modgeþanc, weorc Wuldorfæder,       swa he wundra gehwæs, ece Drihten,       or onstealde. He ærest sceop       eorðan bearnum heofon to hrofe,       halig Scyppend. Þa middangeard       monncynnes Weard, ece Drihten,       æfter teode firum foldan,       Frea ælmihtig.

Cædmon's Hymn Now we must praise    the kingdom of heaven's guardian The might of the Creator    and his purpose, The work of the Father of Glory    as he of each miracle, Eternal Lord,    established the beginning. He first created    for the sons of the earth Heaven as a roof,    holy Creator. The the middle earth,    mankind's guardian, Eternal Lord,    afterwards adorned The earth with people,    the Lord Almighty.

 

Dr. K-D's notes about Anglo-Saxon Poetry

First, listen to the sound file for this poem in Anglo-Saxon (provided in column 1 of the table).

To understand why Cædmon's Hymn was such a miraculous poem, emerging as is reported in Bede from the mouth of a person incapable of writing poetry, we need to talk about what made a good poem from the perspective of the Anglo-Saxons. Here are some of the rules:

1. Anglo-Saxon Poetry was written in lines called stiches (pronounced like "stitches"). Each stiche was divided in half, forming two "hemi stiche."
2. In each hemi stiche, there should be two stressed syllables. (You mark stresses using apostrophes (') )
3. Not many words rhymed in Anglo-Saxon, especially because the forms of words changed so much depending upon their functions in sentences. Consider, for instance, these words derived from the word dæg, which in modern English is day: todæg means "today," and gedæghwamlican means "daily." So Anglo-Saxon poets used alliteration in their poetry (the repetition of initial sounds). Note the alliteration in each stiche (or line) above.
4. Variation was highly valued in Anglo-Saxon poetry. Looking at the modern English translation, how many different variations for the name of God can you find?
5. Our translation of Beowulf is printed in our book in block style, but it, too, was written in hemi-stiches in the manuscript we have.

Instructor