Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Trinity researchers have discovered a lost copy of the first known poem in English - but do you know the full story behind Cædmon and his 7th century hymn?
Dr Elisabetta Magnanti and Dr Mark Faulkner, experts in medieval manuscripts at Trinity School of English, have uncovered a rare copy of Cædmon’s Hymn, a poem inspired by a divine visitation experienced by Northumbrian farm labourer in the 7th century. Previously thought lost, after some digital sleuthing by our experts, the National Central Library of Rome was able to locate, digitise and email pages of the manuscript containing a version of the poem in Old English dating from between 800 and 830, making it the third oldest surviving version of the text.
The poem itself is known today thanks to its inclusion in some copies of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an 8th century history of England written in Latin by the Venerable Bede, a northern English monk.
Details of the discovery have now been published by Cambridge University Press in the open-access journal ‘Early Medieval England and its Neighbours’: cambridge.org/core/journals/early-medieval-england-and-its-n/article/new-earlyninthcentury-manuscript-of-caedmons-hymn-rome-biblioteca-nazionale-centrale-vitt-em-1452-122v/2496FC9C9E4876935BB4190048C7C8A9
Medieval manuscripts are key to our understanding of the written word today. In fact, Caedmon’s Hymn is so significant that it is one of the first texts analysed by undergraduate students of English Literature at Trinity College Dublin. Enjoy this exclusive, fly on the wall tutorial-style discussion between our student and their lecturers, featuring:
Prof Mark Faulkner, Associate Professor at the TCD School of English
Dr Elisabetta Magnanti, Research Fellow also the School of English
Maria Charisi, 1st year undergraduate in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin.
Aurora Ventoruzzo, 4th year undergraduate, also in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin
Timestamps and chapter titles
00.00.00
A poem in praise of God
00.00.28
The context of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.01.16
A divine visitation
00.02.14
Significance of the written word
00.03.06
Pagan descriptors and everyday vocabulary
00.03.58
Unique and new words for God
00.05.03
Has Caedmon’s Hymn influenced modern poetry?
00.05.49
Who was the Venerable Bede?
00.06.29
The history of the English Church
00.07.17
7th century culture and hierarchy of language
00.08.27
Latin vs. English translations
00.09.17
Bede’s translational approach
00.09.58
A new version of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.10.40
Unusual aspects of the new manuscript
00.11.02
Adding to our knowledge of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.13.46
How Trinity researchers made an exciting discovery
00.14.39
The importance of digital archives
00.12.53
The condition of the new manuscript
00.16.09
The work of manuscript reconstruction
00.16.58
Contextualising Old English in modern literature studies
00.22.19
Summary and what next!
Speakers:
Prof Mark Faulkner, Associate Professor at the TCD School of English, Dr Elisabetta Magnanti, Research Fellow also the School of English, Maria Charisi, 1st year undergraduate in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Aurora Ventoruzzo, 4th year undergraduate, also in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin
https://www.tcd.ie
cambridge.org/core/journals/early-medieval-england-and-its-n/article/new-earlyninthcentury-manuscript-of-caedmons-hymn-rome-biblioteca-nazionale-centrale-vitt-em-1452-122v/2496FC9C9E4876935BB4190048C7C8A9
Trinity researchers have discovered a lost copy of the first known poem in English - but do you know the full story behind Cædmon and his 7th century hymn?
Dr Elisabetta Magnanti and Dr Mark Faulkner, experts in medieval manuscripts at Trinity School of English, have uncovered a rare copy of Cædmon’s Hymn, a poem inspired by a divine visitation experienced by Northumbrian farm labourer in the 7th century. Previously thought lost, after some digital sleuthing by our experts, the National Central Library of Rome was able to locate, digitise and email pages of the manuscript containing a version of the poem in Old English dating from between 800 and 830, making it the third oldest surviving version of the text.
The poem itself is known today thanks to its inclusion in some copies of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an 8th century history of England written in Latin by the Venerable Bede, a northern English monk.
Details of the discovery have now been published by Cambridge University Press in the open-access journal ‘Early Medieval England and its Neighbours’: cambridge.org/core/journals/early-medieval-england-and-its-n/article/new-earlyninthcentury-manuscript-of-caedmons-hymn-rome-biblioteca-nazionale-centrale-vitt-em-1452-122v/2496FC9C9E4876935BB4190048C7C8A9
Medieval manuscripts are key to our understanding of the written word today. In fact, Caedmon’s Hymn is so significant that it is one of the first texts analysed by undergraduate students of English Literature at Trinity College Dublin. Enjoy this exclusive, fly on the wall tutorial-style discussion between our student and their lecturers, featuring:
Prof Mark Faulkner, Associate Professor at the TCD School of English
Dr Elisabetta Magnanti, Research Fellow also the School of English
Maria Charisi, 1st year undergraduate in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin.
Aurora Ventoruzzo, 4th year undergraduate, also in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin
Timestamps and chapter titles
00.00.00
A poem in praise of God
00.00.28
The context of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.01.16
A divine visitation
00.02.14
Significance of the written word
00.03.06
Pagan descriptors and everyday vocabulary
00.03.58
Unique and new words for God
00.05.03
Has Caedmon’s Hymn influenced modern poetry?
00.05.49
Who was the Venerable Bede?
00.06.29
The history of the English Church
00.07.17
7th century culture and hierarchy of language
00.08.27
Latin vs. English translations
00.09.17
Bede’s translational approach
00.09.58
A new version of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.10.40
Unusual aspects of the new manuscript
00.11.02
Adding to our knowledge of Caedmon’s Hymn
00.13.46
How Trinity researchers made an exciting discovery
00.14.39
The importance of digital archives
00.12.53
The condition of the new manuscript
00.16.09
The work of manuscript reconstruction
00.16.58
Contextualising Old English in modern literature studies
00.22.19
Summary and what next!
Speakers:
Prof Mark Faulkner, Associate Professor at the TCD School of English, Dr Elisabetta Magnanti, Research Fellow also the School of English, Maria Charisi, 1st year undergraduate in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Aurora Ventoruzzo, 4th year undergraduate, also in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin
https://www.tcd.ie
cambridge.org/core/journals/early-medieval-england-and-its-n/article/new-earlyninthcentury-manuscript-of-caedmons-hymn-rome-biblioteca-nazionale-centrale-vitt-em-1452-122v/2496FC9C9E4876935BB4190048C7C8A9
