A 7th-century relic has recently been discovered in Rome’s National Central Library, delighting the literary community.
Scholars at Trinity College Dublin have discovered a poem written by a Northumbrian cattleman.
The manuscript, which was hidden for centuries, is known as ‘Caedman’s Hymn’ and is widely believed to be the oldest surviving poem in English.
“We looked at each other when we saw it, and I said, ‘No one knows about this,'” Elisabetta Magnanti, who revealed the landmark paper with Marley Faulkner, told the Guardian.
“To make sure I wasn’t dreaming, I double-checked the catalog, and there was no mention of it. It was a huge surprise, very nice.”
Going back to mythological poetry, Venerable Bede, the father of English history, was the first to record it.
According to Monk, an illiterate cattleman from Whitby had a divine dream that inspired him to write a poem praising God for creating the world.
Meanwhile, the latest discovery made the document the third oldest known copy of the poem, behind other copies held in Cambridge and St. Petersburg; However, they are mainly in Latin.
