Caedmon's Hymn and Material Culture in the World of Bede

by Allen Frantzen, John Hines

The essays in this book use the nine-line poem known as "Caedmon's Hymn" as a lens on the world of Bede's Ecclesiastical History. A cowherd who is given a divine gift, Caedmon retells the great narratives of Christian history in the traditional form of Anglo-Saxon verse. An immense amount has been written about this episode, much of it concentrating on the hymn's significance in the history of English literature. Relatively little attention has been paid to what the story of Caedmon and his hymn might tell us about the material as well as the textual culture of Bede's world. The essays in this collection seek to connect "Caedmon's Hymn" to Bede's material world in various ways. Each chapter begins with the hymn and moves from the text to the worlds of scientific thought, settlements and social hierarchy, monastic reform, ordinary things, and others. The connections explored here are a sampling of the material concerns this one text, "Caedmon's Hymn," raises.

Genres: Poetry

265 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mark Jessop]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTuDj...

[Linds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this poem because I follow the chosen titles of the (highly recommended to anyone that loves classic literature prior to the 20th century) podcast “Critical Readings”.