At Caedmon’s GraveA Poem by Michael R. BurchAt Caedmon’s Grave At the monastery of Whitby, while the wind and time blew all around, of Carroll, Stoker and good Bede to write, and with each line, remember Here, as darkness falls, at last we meet. Originally published by The Lyric “Cædmon’s Hymn,” composed at the Monastery of Whitby (a North Yorkshire fishing village), is one of the oldest known poems written in the English language, dating back to around 680 A.D. According to legend, Cædmon, an illiterate Anglo-Saxon cowherd, received the gift of poetic composition from an angel; he subsequently founded a school of Christian poets. Unfortunately, only nine lines of Cædmon’s verse survive, in the writings of the Venerable Bede. Whitby, tiny as it is, reappears later in the history of English literature, having been visited, in diametric contrast, by Lewis Carroll and Bram Stoker’s ghoulish yet evocative Dracula. © 2020 Michael R. Burch |
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Added on January 11, 2020 Last Updated on January 11, 2020 Tags: Caedmon, Old English, Anglo-Saxon English, First English Poem, Oldest English Poem, Whitby, Monastery, Cowherd, Goatherd, Shepherd, Monk, Angel, Gift, Poetic Composition, Translation Author
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