A Review of Caedmon's Hymn

''Se halga earl com mid landfyrde and draf hine ut.''

In case you didn't know, the above sentence is what Old English looks like. Many in the area of East Tennessee where I live, erroneously call The King James Bible or Shakespeare's Plays and Poems Old English. In reality, these latter works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are considered Early Modern English. 

Now it is not my purpose here, to discuss the linguistic changes from Old English to modern English, but simply analyze and discuss one of my favorite Old English poems: Caedmon's Hymn. Some of you may know by now from past posts that I have made, that it has been my view that Anglo-Saxon Christianity was actually quite different from what would later be called Roman Catholicism. Whereas the former had strong connections to Celtic Christianity, the latter is largely tied ecclesiastically to the reforming papacy of the eleventh century that gradually saw the rise of the Bishop of Rome over over all bishops and kings in Europe. While the discussion of the theological and ecclesiastical beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons may not be entirely related to this post, the more we understand their worldview the more we can appreciate their Old English Literature. 

For the record, Anglo-Saxon Literature is the same as Old English Literature. As we look at Caedmon's Hymn, I may at times call it or other works by the Anglo-Saxons simply Anglo-Saxon Literature so as to not repeat saying ''Old English'' again and again. In essence, Old English and Anglo-Saxon language and literature are the same, though Anglo-Saxon may sound clearer to those ignorant of the true meaning of Old English Literature. 

Now before, I discuss Caedmon's Hymn, I would like to add very brief summaries on Anglo-Saxon history before and after this hymn was written. For historical information on the Saxons, you should check out my five previous posts on Orthodox Britain.    

In the previous post on Anglo-Saxon Literature, I discussed some about how the Saxons wrote in Old English, which strongly differed from present English. Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, was the language of many of the English and Scottish peoples before the High Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon language included many similarities to the German language and to a lesser extant, the Scandinavian Language. This language was spoken by the barbarian Germanic peoples. Old English is the earliest written vernacular literary tradition in Europe.  The language of English became gradually replaced by French in the courts and Latin in the Church after the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century. 

According to Bede the Venerable, the Angles, the Saxons, and Jutes invaded Celtic Britain around 449 A. D. . The Anglo-Saxon invasion of the British Isles led to the foundations for many political theories that would later help establish the cornerstones of American Republicanism, as will be discussed in future posts. Prior to the coming of Christianity to Britain in the sixth century, the Anglo-Saxons had worshiped multiple deities. The coming of Augustine of Canterbury to Kent saw the emergence of Roman Christianity in Britain {some argue that Celtic Christianity had been existing in Britain since the first or second century. } Over the next several decades, Christianity spread throughout Britain. Latin and Greek Classical Literature was taught in monastery schools. When Alfred the Great came to power, he made sure various classic works were translated into West Saxon. While Saxon Literature became less common after the Norman Conquest, it never entirely disappeared. In fact, the Normans tended to admire the literature of those that they had conquered in Britain. Literature written in the English language later became more common with the popularity of Chaucer's Middle English work, The Canterbury Tales. Much of what we know about the Anglo-Saxons is recorded in the work that originated probably in the ninth century:The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

Today many graduate students spend more time being lectured by their university  professors and faculty about Marxism, Feminism, and other leftist agendas than they do the classic English Literature of the past. Books written during the 1980s are more read in many English departments than is much of early English Literature. Until recently, the study of Beowulf was essential to English readers. Now, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood or Things Fall Apart by Chinua Acheba are read more than many classics of English Literature even though neither of these writers were even English! English Literature has expanded to be far more than British Literature but as literature written in English from any country on earth. What happened to literature not about social justice or political motives? What happened to the Medieval Romances deeply influenced by Christian allegory reflecting the spiritual nature behind all things that exist? If Beowulf is avoided  from literary discussions, imagine the low status given to Caedmon's Hymn or Riddles and other Anglo-Saxon works. Many of the greatest English writers were the ones that read the great literature of the past and incorporated spiritual allegory into their own stories. J. R. R. Tolkien, professor of Anglo-Saxon, took largely from the legends of Anglo-Saxon mythology and incorporated ideas and inspirations from them into his own works. Whereas Tolkien preferred English Literature before Chaucer, C. S. Lewis tended to prefer English Literature after Chaucer. Just a few years ago, a recent publication was made of Tolkien's translation of Beowulf which I have not read yet though I plan to read it at some point. As much as I love Beowulf though, it is not the only Old English work ever written! I have just began to learn about Anglo-Saxon Literature in a college course I am taking for English Literature. I have read all the Anglo-Saxon Literature in The Nortan Anthology of the Middle Ages, though that is just a starter. Unfortunately, many books of English Literature seemed to only touch the surface of Anglo-Saxon Literature.

With all that said, we may now proceed to the beauty of Caedmon's Hymn. Caedmon's Hymn praises God for His Creation. This poem adopted the Germanic heroic poetic tradition with Christian themes, and by so doing, it set the pattern that most Old English poetry would follow. It is unfortunate that so many leftist not only in universities, but also trolls across the internet are threatened by the return of knowledge of the long held Christian literature of the west. Caedmon's Hymn is such an example. This poem is contained in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede the Venerable. 

Before Beowulf, The Seafarer and The Wife's Lament,  was Caedmon's Hymn. Several other works are attributed to its author including the Anglo-Saxon poems Genesis, Judith and Exodus which paraphrase the Biblical stories. While Caedmon's Hymn is sometimes called the oldest work of English Literature, Deor's Lament, a sixth century work, would be even older, which is contained in the tenth century, Exeter Book. Still, Caedmon's Hymn reflects the earliest of Anglo-Saxon Literature and the beginning of what we now call English Literature. 

Bede tells us in his His Ecclesiastical History of the English People that verse was composed by Caedmon, a remarkable uneducated herdsman. In this herdsman's village, a harp was sent around during evening meals and songs were composed. Caedmon at first did not take this opportunity, and would depart from the sight of the harp as he felt unable to play it. One night though, Caedmon was given a dream by which he felt God was telling him to use the harp and compose a poem about the creation. Like King David, this herdsman would find a use for the harp. Caedmon remembered the entire poem from his dream, and from this dream he contributed to English Literature much in the same way that John Bunyan did with Pilgrim's Progress.   

This simple herdsman was an elderly and untutored lay brother of the religious order at Whitby. He adopted the ars poetica of Horace and took it into vernacular English as the first person to use it for a Christian subject-matter.  Unfortunately, most of Caedmon's works no longer exist. 

The following is the poem in Old English then the translation of it into modern English from the Nortan Anthology of the Middle Ages edited by by Stephen Grenblatt. 

                                               Nu sculon herigean heoonrices Weard

                                               Meotodes meahte and his modgepanc

                                               weore Wuldor-Faeder swa vundra gehwaes

                                               ece Drihten or onstealde

                                               He aerest sceop ielda bearnum

                                               heofon to hrofe halig Scyppend

                                               oa middangeard moncynnes Weard

                                               ece Drihten aefter teode

                                               firum foldan frea aelmihtig

                                              Now we must praise heaven-kingdom's Guardian, 

                                              the Measure's Might and his mind-plans,

                                              the work of the Glory of the Glory-Father,
                                              when he of wonders every one,

                                              eternal Lord, the beginning established. 

                                              He first created for men's sons. 

                                              heaven as a roof, holy Creator;

                                              then middle earth's mankind's guardian,

                                              eternal Lord, afterwards made-

                                              for men earth, Master almighty. 

Caedmon call upon us to praise the Creator. Here, in this one paragraph, our simple herdsman gives few words yet plenty of thought. If we meditated on the glory of our God day and night I think we would find this world mean so much less to us than that of the Heavenly Kingdom. As humans, we are drawn, due to our sinful nature, to make anyone or anything in our life the idol to worship before we do God. Even good men, we often place higher in our admiration and frequent speech of than we do to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The longer I live, the more I see that the greatest works of arts in history were almost always made during eras of the past where God's beauty was dreamed of and thought of day by day. To us who realize that the Middle Ages was not ''The Dark Ages'' that it has often been falsely called, we love the beauty of Medieval art and literature that is intertwined with rich Christian allegory. What always made Western Civilization great was its deep rooted understandings of the world found in Holy Scripture and Christian tradition. 

Caedmon understands that all things began with the creation of God. Like Medieval people, he loved nature as we see here, he loved it deeply. However, he did not take it to the level of modern environmentalist that so often worship the creation rather than the Creator {Romans 1: 25.} He has a proper love of creation that points him to the great artist behind it, and concerning the handiwork of the Creator he is able to sing such beauty. Caedmon was fortunately devoid of the so many distractions of our present world, that turn people away from the love of nature. We can hardly imagine conservationism being an issue in his day as the Medieval men and woman spent much of their life in the outdoors instead of in front of their TV or computer all day. 

It is also interesting to mention that in line seven, Caedmon mentions the term ''middle earth.''  Here we see, a later foundation for The Lord of the Rings, that so many of us love. It is perhaps no surprise that Tolkien called The Lord of the Rings a Catholic work, as much like the Anglo-Saxon poems, we see it greatly influenced from the beauty of Christian tradition. Like Tolkien, we would be wise to learn the literature of our English ancestors, especially The King James Version of the Bible, which is the masterpiece of English Literature. 

Caedmon reflected truths and observations of holy creation already found in Holy Writ.  Psalm 19:1 says ''The Heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.'' What beauty are we to enjoy in the creation of God as it reflects the even greater glory and majesty of our Creator. Yet despite our Creator's unfathomable knowledge and power, He loves us. He loves you and me. He loved us enough to send Christ Jesus, His only Begotten Son, to be the propitiation of our sins on the cross so that if we believe in Him, we will be saved {Acts 16: 31, Romans 10: 9-10.}That is the foundation of our worldview, that God in His rich mercy chose to save some from damnation by His predestination of those that persevere until the end {Matthew 24: 13, Ephesians 1: 3-6}. Men should stop asking why does God damn some to hell but rather ask why he chooses to have mercy on any at all! We all deserve hell my friends! The only perfect One that ever died was Christ Himself! Romans 3 is the summary of the gospel in that it speaks of that absolutely no one but God alone is good. Only through faith in the finished work of Christ for our sins, will men first encounter an end to their enmity with the Almighty Creator. Romans 1: 20 tells us that all men are without excuse. The principle difference between a lost man and a legitimate Christian, is the latter attempts to live by faith and repentance, as unworthy as he knows he is of God's love and mercy. 

How did we come about? So far, no atheist has come about with a legitimate answer to that question. Like Caedmon, we Christians and Jews know our origins for the Holy Scriptures have spoken clearly in Genesis 1:1 that ''In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth.'' While Christians know this truth, atheist deny God' existence with no solution of their own to how we came to exist. Statistics prove the sad reality that not only are most atheists men, but fatherless men. We as humans don't always understand the justice of our Creator because we fail to comprehend that unlike humanity God's ways are truly just. Isaiah 55: 8-9 remind us of this as it speaks by inspiration from God our Creator: ''For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are Higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts more than your thoughts. ''

We will wrestle probably all our life with why God seems to show more mercy to some than He does to others. But ultimately, that is not for us to question or decide. Our responsibility is simply to know our faith and believe what God has revealed to us. We have a limited time to live in this dying mortal world and it would be better that we suffer here and live with glory in Heaven than that we be rich and powerful in this world but burn in damnation forever and ever. 

Caedmon's Hymn is more than just beautiful words in lovely poetry. The message of its words are what counts the most, for grammatical beauty can only add to where there is a strong substance of thought to build upon. I think it would be wise for us to learn from Caedmon, for us to learn our inferiority before our Creator whom continues to love us as He draws us unto Himself. Outside of Christ, we will never have joy. We will turn as lost men to everything else to satisfy ourselves with potential happiness, yet be devoid with joy as we know of our damnable condition. Only in Christ, will we find true rest. As Saint Augustine once said, ''You have made us for yourself, oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.''  

How amazing it is that such a simple herdsman would write so beautiful and significant a poem to be added to the canon of English Literature. Truly the arrogant of the world make themselves look foolish, for there is much they are either ignorant of or blind to. Like this simple poet, Holy Scripture speaks of the saints: ''But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. ''* And elsewhere, ''Let no man deceive Himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.''* If God could use so many other simple men before us, He can use us for his great glory as well. The rewards are promising to those that obey Christ {James 1: 12, Revelation 2: 10.}Let us follow our Lord Jesus as Caedmon did, and let us take up our Cross every day {Matthew 16: 24-26} as Pilgrims headed to the Celestial City. 

Much of Anglo-Saxon Literature is new to me. As I am teaching you, I am teaching myself. I am also learning from others that have pointed out occasional errors in my posts that I often attempt to fix. As an English major, I find it unfortunate that much of Anglo-Saxon language and literature is unknown, and Caedmon's Hymn in particular, is unknown to so many modern people. J. R. R. Tolkien mourned the loss of Anglo-Saxon culture, and the more I learn about it the more I see why he did. After centuries of being ignored, the Old English language is now considered the greatest Germanic language. No doubt, Caedmon's Hymn, is a must read for any that aspire to know or teach English Literature.

Caedmon's Hymn praises God for His Creation. This poem adopted the Germanic heroic poetic tradition with Christian themes, and by so doing, it set the pattern that most Old English poetry would follow. Let us help revive knowledge of Anglo-Saxon Literature to all those around us. 

*1 Corinthians 1: 27-31

*1 Corinthians 3: 18-19

Further Sources: The Nortan Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages, Edited by Stephen Greenblatt The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature by Elizabeth Kantor, English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith, Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature by Jay Ruud, The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages by Norman F. Cantor, Anglo-Saxon Poetry Translated and Edited by S. A. J. Bradley.