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Cædmon's ''Hymn'' is a short Old English poem originally composed by Cædmon, in honour of God the Creator. It survives in a Latin translation by Bede in his ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' and in vernacular versions written down in several manuscripts of Bede's ''Historia''. Bede wrote about the poet and his work in the fourth book of his ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum''. Bede told the story of Cædmon who was an illiterate cow-herder who miraculously was able to recite a Christian song of creation in Old English verse. This miracle happened after Cædmon left a feast when they were passing a harp around for all to sing a song. He left the hall after feeling ashamed that he could not contribute a song. Later in a dream he said a man appeared to him and asked him to sing a song. Cædmon responded that he could not sing, yet the man told him that he could and asked him to “Sing to me the beginning of all things.” Cædmon was then able to sing verses and words that he had not heard of before. Cædmon then reported his experience first to a steward then to Hild the abbess. She invited scholars to evaluate Cædmon’s gift, and he was sent home to turn more divine doctrine into song. The abbess was so impressed with the success of his gift that she encouraged him to become a monk. He learned the history of the Christian church and created more music like the story of Genesis and many biblical stories which impressed his teachers. Bede says that Cædmon in his creation of his songs wanted to turn man from love of sin to a love of good deeds. Cædmon is said to have died peacefully in his sleep after asking for the Eucharist and making sure he was at peace with his fellow men. 〔.〕 Like many Old English and Anglo-Latin pieces, it was designed to be sung aloud and was never physically recorded by Cædmon himself, but was written and preserved by other literate individuals. The ''Hymn'' itself was composed between 658 and 680, recorded in the earlier part of the 8th century, and survives today in at least 14 verified manuscript copies. The ''Hymn'' is Cædmon's sole surviving composition. The poem forms a prominent landmark and reference point for the study of Old English prosody, for the early influence which Christianity had on the poems and songs of the Anglo-Saxon people after their conversion. Cædmon's ''Hymn'' is the oldest recorded Old English poem, and also one of the oldest surviving samples of Germanic alliterative verse. Within Old English, only the inscriptions upon the Ruthwell Cross (doubtful) or Franks Casket (7th or early 8th century) may be of comparable age. Outside of Old English, there are a few alliterative lines preserved in epigraphy (Horns of Gallehus, Pforzen buckle) which have a claim to greater age. ==Manuscript evidence== All copies of the ''Hymn'' are found in manuscripts of the ''Historia ecclesiastica'' or its Old English translation, where they serve as either a gloss to Bede's Latin translation of the Old English poem, or, in the case of the Old English version, a replacement for Bede's translation in the main text of the ''Historia''. Despite this close connection with Bede's work, the ''Hymn'' does not appear to have been transmitted with the ''Historia ecclesiastica'' regularly until relatively late in its textual history. Scribes other than those responsible for the main text often copy the vernacular text of the ''Hymn'' in manuscripts of the Latin ''Historia''. In three cases — Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 243; Oxford, Bodleian Library, Hatton 43; and Winchester, Cathedral I — the poem is copied by scribes working a quarter-century or more after the main text was first set down.〔.〕 Even when the poem is in the same hand as the manuscript's main text, there is little evidence to suggest that it was copied from the same exemplar as the Latin ''Historia'': nearly identical versions of the Old English poem are found in manuscripts belonging to different recensions of the Latin text; closely related copies of the Latin ''Historia'' sometimes contain very different versions of the Old English poem. With the exception of the Old English translation, no single recension of the ''Historia ecclesiastica'' is characterised by the presence of a particular recension of the vernacular poem. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cædmon's Hymn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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