Religion
Cædmon's Hymn
Translated by Cosette Faust Newton & Stith Thompson (1918) · From Preserved in Bede's Ecclesiastical History
Now shall we praise the Prince of heaven,
The might of the Maker and his manifold thought,
The work of the Father: of what wonders he wrought
The Lord everlasting, when he laid out the worlds.
He first raised up for the race of men
The heaven as a roof, the holy Ruler.
Then the world below, the Ward of mankind,
The Lord everlasting, at last established
As a home for man, the Almighty Lord.
Codex Note
The earliest datable poem in English, nine lines of praise for the Creator that Cædmon is said by Bede to have composed in a dream. Preserved in both Northumbrian and West Saxon versions; this is a translation of the West Saxon text.
Cite this poem
MLA
Cædmon. “Cædmon's Hymn.” Translated by Cosette Faust Newton and Stith Thompson. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/caedmon/0/.
Chicago
Cædmon. “Cædmon's Hymn.” Translated by Cosette Faust Newton and Stith Thompson. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/caedmon/0/.
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