Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and People

CHAPTER CXIl[XXIV]. That there was in her monastery a brother who was divinely
granted the gift of song.

In the monastery of this abbess there was a certain brother specially distinguished by the
divine grace, in that he used to compose songs suited to religion and piety; so that
whatever he learnt by translators from the divine Scriptures, he soon after put into poetic
words with the greatest sweetness and humility, and brought it forth in his own language,
that is, English. By his songs the minds of many were often fired with contempt of the
world and with desire for the heavenly life. And indeed others after him in the English
nation attempted to compose religious poems, but no one could equal him. For he had not
learned that art of singing from men, nor taught by man, but he received freely by divine
aid the gift of singing. For this reason he could never compose any trivial or vain poem,
but only those which belonged to religion suited his religious tongue. For he had lived in
the secular habit until he was well advanced in years, and had never learnt anything of
versifying; and for this reason sometimes at an entertainment, when it was resolved for
the sake of merriment that all should sing in turn, if he saw the harp approaching him, he
would rise from the feast and go out and return home.

When he did this on one occasion, and having left the house where the entertainment
was, had gone to the stable of the cattle which had been committed to his charge that
night, and there at the proper time had composed himself to rest, there appeared to him
someone in his sleep, and greeting him and calling him by his name, he said: ``Caedmon,
sing me something.'' But he replied: ``I cannot sing; and for this reason I left the
entertainment and came away here, because I could not sing.'' Then he who was speaking
to him replied: ``Nevertheless, you must sing to me.'' ``What'', he said, ``must I sing?''
And the other said: `` Sing of the beginning of creation.'' On receiving this answer, he at
once began to sing in praise of God the Creator, verses which he had never heard, of
which this is the sense: ``Now must we praise the Maker of the heavenly kingdom, the
power of the Creator and his counsel, the deeds of the Father of glory; how he, since he is
eternal God, became the Author of all wondrous works, who, as the almighty Guardian of
the human race, first created the heaven as a roof for the sons of men, and next the
earth.;quot; This is the sense, but not the order of the words as he sang them in his sleep;
for verses, though never so well composed, cannot be translated word for word from one
language to another without loss of their beauty and grandeur. Awaking from his sleep, he
remembered all that he had sung when sleeping, and soon added more words in the same
manner in song worthy of God.

In the morning he came to the reeve, who was over him, and told him of the gift he had
received; and he was conducted to the abbess and ordered to tell his dream and sing the
song in the presence of many learned men, that it might be tested by the judgment of
them all what this which he related was, and whence it came. And it seemed to them all
that heavenly grace had been conferred on him by the Lord. They expounded to him a
passage of sacred history or doctrine, enjoining him, if he could, to put it into verse. And
having undertaken this task he went away, and returning the next morning, he rendered
what they had ordered composed in most excellent verse. Whereupon the abbess, joyfully
esteeming the grace of God in the man, advised him to give up the secular habit and take
upon him the monastic way of life, and she received him into the monastery, and with all
her people she joined him to the company of the brothers and ordered that he should be
taught the course of sacred history

Caedmon's Hymn

(composed c. 670, the earliest example of religious verse, in its West Saxon version )

Nu we sculon herian heofonrices Weard,

Now we shall praise heaven-kingdom's Guardian,

Metodes mihte and His modgethanc,

Creator's might and His mind-thought (=intention, design),

weorc Wuldorfader, swa He wundra gehwaes,

work Glory-Father's how He of-wonders of-each,

ece Dryhten, or onstealde.

eternal Lord, (the) beginning established.

He aerest scop eorthan bearnum,

He first created earth for-men,

heofon to hrofe, halig Scieppend.

heaven to (as) roof holy Creator.

Tha middangeard mancynnes Weard,

Then middle-yard (earth) mankind's Guardian,

ece Dryhten, after teode

eternal Lord, afterwards fashioned

firum foldan, Frea almihtig.

for-men earth, Lord almighty.