Caedmon, << KAD muhn, >> was an English poet who lived in England in the late 600’s. An uneducated herdsman, Caedmon entered the monastery of Whitby late in life. Saint Bede reported in his Ecclesiastical History that Caedmon dreamed he was commanded to sing the praises of God (see Bede, Saint). To the monks’ surprise, Caedmon sang what is now known as Caedmon’s Hymn. This song, the only authentic poem Caedmon left, praised God in the heroic tradition of Anglo-Saxon poetry (see English literature (Old English literature)). The monks believed that they had witnessed a miracle.
The Hymn influenced much later Anglo-Saxon poetry. Scholars once credited paraphrases of the books of Genesis, Exodus, and part of Daniel to Caedmon, but they now believe these paraphrases confirm his influence, not his authorship.
