05.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Anglo-Saxon Prose and Short Poetry

2

The Venerable Bede

05.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Bede (673-735) is known as the earliest prose writer and

first historian for the island of England.

His writings help established a sense of nationalism for a developing country and

offer a strong recognition for the variety of people who made up the collection of

merging cultures under a united church.

• hisliferevolvedaroundtheBenedictinemonastery

• therecordingofBeowulfwaspossiblyduringthetimeofBede’slife

• bothwriterslivedinasectionofthecountrycalledNorthumbria,atatime

whenitwasamedievalkingdomintheNorthwestterritory,beforebecoming

a part of the larger central Anglo-Saxon kingdom

• hisfullmanuscriptAn Ecclesiastical History of the English People

(Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum)wascompletedin731,afewyears

before his death in 735

• thebookoutlineshowChristianitydevelopedacrossthepaganlandscape;

fully composed in Latin

305.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

The poem “Caedmon’s Hymn” exists in many different versions.

BederecordedtheonlyLatinversionofthework,paraphrasingthepoem

from an oral source;approximately19OldEnglishprintedversionsexist—

allbasedofftheLatintextbyBede,allslightlydifferentversionsofeachother.

• theoriginalpoemwouldhavebeencomposedbyCædmonaround

658to680inthelaterhalfoftheseventhcentury—thedatesareuncertain

duetothelackofdata;Cædmon’sbirthanddeathdateswereneverrecorded

• Bederecordedthelyricsroughlyagenerationlater,duringtheeighthcentury

• theonereferenceistheonlysurvivingresourceofthepoet’sfullmaterial;

itisassumedhecomposedotherversesbasedonbiblicaltexts,butthese

were not written down because they were intended to be memorized

andperformedinthetraditionalscopfashionorasamonk’schantingchorus

The Venerable Bede and Cædmon

405.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Bede’s recording of the hymn/poem is considered significant for a

number of reasons.

AsahistorianthisactisimportantbecauseBedechoseacontemporary,creative

work to represent in his collection of historical information.

• thepoemlikewiserepresentsthetimeperiodjustafterpagan-dominated

ruleinEngland

• also,thispiecedisplaystheactualtransitionofliteraturefromthe

traditional,oral-based practice to a printed record

• Europeansocietywasshiftingfromculturallearningthroughmemory

to communication through recorded texts as a standard practice

• rhetoricalconceptsofcommunicatinghistoricaleventswerechanging

on a larger scale

• itisraretohaveanameattributedtoanyOldEnglishpoem

The Venerable Bede and Cædmon

505.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

The monks transcribing the material were trained men.

There is much discussion over how much these people were educated.

• thecreationofahandmadebookrequiresmorethanoneindividual

• thescribesandtranslatorswouldhavehadsomeintenselearninginthe

cultures and writing of Ancient Greek and Rome.

• oftenmaterialinLatinwouldbetranslatedintoOldEnglishfortheaverage

rulerandhis/hercourt;aLatin-basededucationwasnotascommonasthe

EnglishRenaissanceperiod

• inthisregard,thetransitionintheeducationalprocesscanbeseenin

itsearlystagesofdevelopment,amodelwhichwillbeusedinlatercenturies

Cultural Learning

605.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Bede sometimes models his writings on hagiographic prose—

thatis,heemulatesexistingtextsrecordingthelivesofsaintsandmartyrs.

• ThistopicbecameagenreontoitselfduringtheEighthCentury:

recording the miracles and religious teachings of people deemed holy by

the church.

• Thesewritingsinturnsometimesbecameinasensepropagandainorder

to promote the church. Sometimes local folk-heros and pagan house gods

were reinvented or inserted into divine stories of a saint or martyr to help

confirmreligiousphilosophiesandtoenlistnewmembers.

• BedewillfocushisthemescloselytotheperceivedChristiandoctrine.

• NoticehowBedeconcentratesinformationonChristiantraditionsof

LastRitesandtheEucharistwithinhisnarrativeonthepoet.

Bede’s “Cædmon’s Hymn”

705.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Cædmon is shown receiving a divine epiphany through a dream.

NoticealsoadivinebeingspecificallytalkstoCædmoninthedream,offeringhim

the gift of poetry.

• ThisissimilartootherOldTestamenttalesin:

Genesis:

> Jacobdreamsofangelsmovingupanddownagoldenladder;

thevoiceofGodaddresseshim,providingagoal

> Joseph and his various dream interpretations in Genesis

TheBookofDaniel

BookofRevelation

• Duetothenatureofthegift,CædmonthereforcreatesasongoftheCreation

itself,explainingtheGrandPurpose

Bede’s “Cædmon’s Hymn”

805.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Notice the full theme of Bede’s prose piece.

For the most part he shows how someone lowly or someone of working class

can have their true potential recognized and their reputation exalted.

• Manymythsandbiblicalstoriesfollowthesamepattern;insomeregards

thecharacterizationofCædmonwhichBedepresentsdisplaysthepoetas

aChrist-likefigure,asymbolofhumilityanddevotion:

• heis“born”inastable

• heistestedbyagroupofhigherauthority

• hisworkbecomesrecognizedbyall

• hisworkcentersonareligious,philosophicaltheme

Bede’s “Cædmon’s Hymn”

905.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Also of interest the construction of the death scene.

ComparethisconceptagainstthecloseofBeowulf.Bedeneedstoestablishbasic

differentialqualitiesinordertoprovehispointofhowChristianconceptsarea

value over the warrior-based pagan ideologies.

• oneobvious,immediatedifferenceisthefactCædmonisshowninacalm,

non-violentsituation:hediespeacefullyinhissleep

• CædmonisshownasanexampleofonewholedaproperlifeasaChristian

• initiallyBeowulfisshownsacrificinghimselfforthegreatergood

Bede’s “Cædmon’s Hymn”

1005.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Bede’s “Cædmon’s Hymn”

However, notice how similar the scenes actually are:

• bothCædmonandBeowulfweremenwhofollowedanestablishedcode

• bothmeninitiallystartouttheirstoriesunrecognized;theyprovetheirworth

with their deeds and talents

• bothareshowninthewinteroftheiryearsafterasuccessfullife

• botharemadeawarethattheirdeathisimminent;theyacceptthenotion

of their fate

>withBeowulf,onceheseesthetarnishedtreasure,hegivesa

acknowledgedprayertotheChristianGodacceptingthefacthehas

achievedasignofhisworthforhiswork;hedieswithWiglaf

>withCædmonafterhereceivestheEucharist,hedieswithChrist

1105.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Although titled as a hymn, the work by Cædmon is considered a poem.

This is due to its formal structure following Anglo-Saxon verse (including the epic

Beowulf)whichtypicalutilizes:

• alliteration:repetitionofkeysoundsatthebeginningsofwordsinoneline

• cæsura:avisualspaceinalineofpoetrytorepresentaslightpause

• hemistitch:ahalf-lineofverse;whatresultswhenacæsuraisplaced

withinaline;forspatialreasons,adouble-linecanbeusedaswell

torepresentthedivision:

Nowweoughttopraise||themakeroftheheavenlykingdom

thepoweroftheCreator,||andhisintention

Cædmon

1205.23.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Typically, each line contains four stresses per line, separated by

a caesura.

Ofcourse,forthecontemporaryreader,whenpoetryiscomposedinModernEnglish,

thispatterniseasiertosee.However,belowaretheopeninglinesfromthesecondstanzaof

“Cædom’sHymn”:

He aerest sceop aelda bearnum

Heofon to hrofe Halig Scyppend

HE AERest sceop AELda BEarnum

(He first made || for the children of men)

HEOfon to HROfe HALig SCYPpend

(Heaven as a roof || Holy Creator)

Cædmon

1http://www8.georgetown.edu/departments/medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a32.2.html