Caedmon's Hymn

Described as an “illiterate cowherd,” Caedmon went on to create one of the greatest and well-known religious verses (24). After waking from a dream in which a man asked him to sing, Caedmon was blessed with the memory of having wrought a beautiful verse of Genesis and the glory of God. The idea of spiritual awakening – whether it be through song, scripture, or some other religious facet – through dreams is something that has come up time and again since the beginning of Christianity; the narrator of Dream of the Rood (discussed later) even claimed that particular spiritual wonder came to him in dream. Previously considered to have no vocal talents, Caedmon’s masterpieces went on to be described as thus: “It often happened that his songs kindled a contempt for this world and a longing for the life of Heaven in the hearts of many men” (25). Even Bede, after having translated the hymn, wrote “…it is impossible to make a literal translation, no matter how well-written, of poetry into another language without losing some of the beauty and dignity” (26). Such things speak of the magnitude of Caedmon’s ability for spiritual verse.