eFinder

eFinder

Home › Medieval Literature › Article

The earliest known English poem has been found in an unexpected place

EuroNews · · 733 words · By Theo Farrant
Medieval Literature Academic Discovery International Cooperation
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/05/13/lost-9th-century-manuscript-containi…

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 4
schedule Pending 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
“A 9th-century manuscript held in Rome has revealed the earliest known Old English poem, Caedmon’s Hymn, hidden within a copy of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that an early 9th-century manuscript in Rome containing Caedmon's Hymn was found within a copy of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cædmon (; fl. c. 657–684) is the earliest English poet whose name is known. A Northumbrian cowherd who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (now known as Whitby Abbey) during…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cædmon
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cædmon's Hymn is a short Old English poem attributed to Cædmon, a supposedly illiterate and unmusical cow-herder who was, according to the Northumbrian monk Bede (d. 735), miraculously empowered to si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cædmon's_Hymn
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“The lost copy of the Hymn of Caedmon was uncovered in the archives of the National Central Library of Rome.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly state the manuscript was discovered at the National Central Library of Rome.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Beowulf ( ; Old English: Bēowulf [ˈbeːowuɫf]) is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines, contained in the Nowell Codex. It is on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodleian_Library
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cædmon's Hymn is a short Old English poem attributed to Cædmon, a supposedly illiterate and unmusical cow-herder who was, according to the Northumbrian monk Bede (d. 735), miraculously empowered to si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cædmon's_Hymn
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The author of the nine-line poem is said to be a cowherd from Whitby in North Yorkshire”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Caedmon was a Northumbrian cowherd at Whitby Abbey and that the poem is nine lines long.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cædmon (; fl. c. 657–684) is the earliest English poet whose name is known. A Northumbrian cowherd who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (now known as Whitby Abbey) during…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cædmon
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. England shares a land b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Northumbria was an early medieval English kingdom, existing between 654 and 1066 AD, spanning modern-day Northern England and Southern Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþhymbre meanin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northumbria
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“The composition praising God for the creation of the world, was composed in the 7th century”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and specialized academic news, date the composition of the hymn to the 7th century.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Cædmon (/ ˈkædmən, ˈkædmɒn /; fl. c. 657–684) is the earliest English poet whose name is known. [1] A Northumbrian cowherd who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (now known…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cædmon
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Caedmon was the first Old English Christian poet, whose fragmentary hymn to the creation remains a symbol of the adaptation of the aristocratic-heroic Anglo-Saxon verse tradition to the expression of …
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caedmon
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Caedmon is recognised as the first English poet composing his Hymn in the 7th century at Whitby Abbey, as told by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English people
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Caedm…
verified
“Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an 8th century history of England written in Latin by the venerable Bede, a northern English monk and saint.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and cross-references confirm Bede's Ecclesiastical History is an 8th-century Latin history of England written by the monk Bede.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Latin: Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England gen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_History_of_the_…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bede (; Old English: Bēda [ˈbeːdɑ]; 672/3 – 26 May 735), also known as the Venerable Bede or Bede the Venerable, was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the best known writers during th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ecclesiastical History (Ancient Greek: Ἐκκλησιαστικὴ Ἱστορία, Ekklēsiastikḕ Historía; Latin: Historia Ecclesiastica), also known as The History of the Church and The Church History, is a 4th-centu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_History_(Eusebi…
+ 4 more evidence sources
info
“The copy was made in the 9th century by a monk at Nonantola, a Benedictine abbey in northern Italy”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the manuscript's existence in Rome is confirmed, the provided evidence does not mention Nonantola Abbey or a monk from that specific location.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 23, 2025 · When in Rome, visit Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum, but also take time to enjoy a cooking class and a local market or two. Discover the best things to do in Rome.
https://travel.usnews.com/Rome_Italy/Things_To_Do/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 7, 2023 · With its long, rich history, famous landmarks, museums and archaeological sites, the to-do list for visitors is enormous. 30 things to do in Rome sounds like a lot, and it is, but there …
https://www.earthtrekkers.com/best-things-to-do-in-rome/
check_circle
“The two Trinity College experts who made the discovery, Dr Elisabetta Magnanti and Dr Mark Faulkner, studied the book from Dublin, thanks to the online digital copy.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources identify Dr. Elisabetta Magnanti and Dr. Mark Faulkner of Trinity College Dublin as the researchers who identified the manuscript via a digital copy.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A manuscript, dating to the early 9th century, has been discovered at the National Central Library in Rome that contains the oldest known poem in Old English: the Caedmon Hymn. The discovery was due t…
https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/news/rome-dublin-resear…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The manuscript was identified at the National Central Library of Rome after being digitized as part of a broader archival project. Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner, both specialists in medieval l…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/rome-manuscript-long-th…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner with the Trinity copy of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History in the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/caedmon-hymn-copy-rome-lib…
info
“Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People is one of the most widely copied works in the Middle Ages, there's almost 200 manuscripts.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence confirms the work is widely known and copied, but does not provide the specific number 'almost 200 manuscripts'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This is an extract from The Venerable Bede’s epic work of literature ’The Ecclesiastical History of the English People', first written in around 731 AD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPnDcMbFXaM
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Bede's best-known work is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, or An Ecclesiastical History of the English People,[53] completed in about 731.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — VENERABLE BEDE AND ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLISH PEOPLE Prepared by : Sinde Kurt (2011010113061) Prepared to : Oya Önalan.
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/venerable-bede-and-eccl…
help
“the most famous two are the earliest two, one of which is in Cambridge, one is in St. Petersburg”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific locations of the two most famous/earliest manuscripts in Cambridge and St. Petersburg.
info
“Two older copies of the text, in Cambridge and St Petersburg show the poem in Latin with the Old English text added at the end or at the edges of the pages (margins).”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions that other versions (Cambridge and St Petersburg) have the poem in Latin with Old English in the margin or at the end, but this is not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided evidence.
schedule
“the poem in Old English is presented within the main body of the Latin manuscript.”
PENDING
schedule
“Prior to the discovery of the Rome manuscript, the earliest one was from the early 12th century.”
PENDING
schedule
“the unusual punctuation - points, or full stops - which is not present in other versions of Bede's History.”
PENDING
schedule
“This is the first early copy of Caedmon's Hymn discovered since the 1920s and the third oldest surviving text of the poem.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.