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Oldest English Poem Found in Rome!
24 May
Summary
- Researchers found the oldest surviving English poem manuscript.
- The poem was discovered in a 9th-century manuscript in Rome.
- This discovery predates previous earliest known copies by three centuries.
A significant discovery has been made in Rome, with Irish researchers unearthing the oldest known manuscript of "Caedmon's Hymn." This pivotal find dates back to the 9th century, significantly predating previously held earliest copies by approximately three centuries. The poem, traditionally attributed to a 7th-century Northumbrian agricultural worker, was found within a transcription of the Venerable Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People."
This manuscript, which has a complex provenance including various abbeys and private collectors, was acquired by Rome's National Public Library in 1972. Researchers Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner of Trinity College Dublin identified the poem's unique placement, noting it was within the margins of earlier copies but integrated into this 9th-century text. The library has since made the manuscript collection digitally accessible globally.
