Researchers Find Oldest Known English Poem In Medieval Book In Rome

Researchers from Ireland have discovered what is believed to be the oldest surviving copy of the earliest known English poem, "Caedmon's Hymn," during a study of medieval manuscripts in Rome. The finding has surprised scholars and highlighted the importance of early English literature preserved through centuries of history, reported People.com

The poem, "Caedmon's Hymn," was first composed in the 7th century by Caedmon, a Northumbrian agricultural worker, according to the Associated Press.

Elisabetta Magnanti, a visiting research fellow at Trinity College Dublin's school of English, said the team was extremely surprised by the discovery. She said they were speechless and could not believe what they had seen when they first looked at the manuscript.

The poem appeared in copies of Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by the Venerable Bede, a monk and saint whose work became one of the most widely reproduced texts of the Middle Ages.

Mark Faulkner, an associate professor of medieval literature at Trinity College Dublin, and Magnanti explained that they found a manuscript from the 9th century. Earlier copies of the poem existed, but the verses were written only in the margins rather than included in the main text.

Valentina Longo, curator of medieval and modern manuscripts at Rome's National Public Library, said the copy of Bede's history was transcribed by monks at the Benedictine abbey of Nonantola.

Over the centuries, the manuscript passed through several places, including another Roman abbey, the Vatican and a small church. It was later owned by English antiquarian Thomas Phillipps, Swiss bibliophile Martin Bodmer and Austrian bookseller HP Kraus before eventually reaching the library.

Faulkner said that before the discovery of the Rome manuscript, the earliest known copy dated back to the early 12th century. He explained that the newly identified manuscript was around three centuries older and showed that English writing was already receiving importance in the early 9th century.

Magnanti said she knew the book was listed in the library's catalog and believed it was still preserved there. She added that because of the manuscript's complicated history, no Bede scholar had properly studied it before, leaving it virtually unexamined.