Manuscript in Rome Holds Oldest English Poem

Why this is here: The Rome manuscript embeds the Old English poem within the Latin text, unlike previous copies which added it as an afterthought or marginal note.

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin discovered a 1,200-year-old manuscript in Rome containing one of the earliest known versions of Caedmon’s Hymn, the first poem written in English. The manuscript, held by the National Central Library of Rome, dates to between 800 and 830.

Unlike older copies kept in Cambridge and St. Petersburg, this version integrates the Old English poem directly into the main Latin text.

This placement suggests that medieval readers valued poetry in their native language. Caedmon’s Hymn recounts the creation of the world in nine lines of Old English and originated with a cowherd named Caedmon, who reportedly composed it after a divine dream. The manuscript’s journey involved safekeeping during the Napoleonic Wars, a subsequent theft, and decades believed lost to scholars.

The library’s digitization efforts allowed the Irish researchers to identify the manuscript’s significance. Though roughly three million words of Old English survive, texts from this early period remain rare, making this find particularly valuable. Researchers will continue to study the manuscript and its context within the broader history of English literature.