Caedmon (17)

 

1. What happened to Caedmon in the cowshed?

He slept there and as he slept he dreamed. In the dream he was ordered to sing but he replied that he coud not. However, he was commanded to sing the creation and he found that when he tried he could. When he woke in the morning he found he could still sing.

2. Caedmon telling the Abbess Hilda how he came to sing

Abbess Hilda last night the most remarkable thing happened to me. When everyone was singing and in good spirits last night the harp was passed to me and I was unable to sing, as had always been the case, and so I left the company and went to sleep in the cowshed. As I slept I heard a voice that called on me to sing. I explained that I was unable to sing but the voice insisted I sing the creation and when I tried I found I could. Even since I woke I have found anew ability to do ths thing I never could before. Do you think it is a miracle from God?

3. What kinds of songs did Caedmon sing?

There is only one poem by Caemon that has survived and it is a piece of worship that focuses on the creation. Any other poems would most likely have been based on things found in the Bible. Bede rendered Caedmon's hymn thus: "Now we must praise the Maker of the heavenly kingdom, the power of the Creator and his counsel, the deeds of the Father of glory and how he, since he is the eternal God, was the Author of all marvels and first created the heavens as a roof for the children of men and then, the almightly Guardian of the human race, created the Earth."