Lost Old English Copy of 'Caedmon's Hymn' Discovered in Rome

A lost version of 'Caedmon's Hymn', recognized as the oldest poem in English, has been uncovered in a manuscript at the National Central Library of Rome. This work, created by the uneducated Northumbrian cowherd Caedmon during the seventh century C.E., consists of just nine lines. The newly discovered manuscript, which dates back to the early ninth century, is entirely in Old English, contrasting with previous versions that included the vernacular only in margins or at the end. Medieval historian Elisabetta Magnanti, who requested the digitization of Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People', collaborated with Trinity College Dublin's Mark Faulkner to identify the text. This manuscript retains elements of Caedmon's Northumbrian dialect, while only two older Latin copies exist at Cambridge University and in Saint Petersburg. The find indicates that Old English was gaining status by the ninth century, and the poem itself celebrates God's creation, marking it as the earliest known English Christian verse.