English Literature / Unit 3 ENL 0205 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Cædmon's Hymn and Bede's Story of It
Captions available
The idea
Bede tells of Cædmon, a cowherd who left feasts when the harp came his way because he could not sing. In a dream a figure told him, "Sing the beginning of creation," and he sang praise of God. The hymn is among the earliest Anglo-Saxon poems.
In practice
A cowherd, a dream, a hymn of creation.
Where people slip
Bede preserves it as a miracle story.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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