Cædmon's Hymn

Now [we] must honor the guardian of heaven, the might of the architect,
and his purpose, the work of the father of glory as he, the eternal lord,
established the beginning of wonders.

He, the holy creator, first created heaven as a roof for the children of men.
Then the guardian of mankind, the eternal lord, the lord almighty,
afterwards appointed the middle earth, the lands, for men.

The Story

Cædmon loved to listen. Music thrilled him, and other people’s stories, songs and ballads carried him along as helplessly as a small boat on a rising tide.  But he couldn’t play a note on the harp.  Nor could he sing a note in tune.  If he tried to join in with a song when he was a child everyone else was unable to keep singing.  Besides, he could never remember any words.  He couldn’t even tell a joke and get it right.  His head got all confused, and the words tumbled out back to front.

So a night like tonight was torture for him.  Heaven and hell, that’s what it was.  To hear each person share a song, to listen to the music of the harp as it was passed along, strummed by one, touched gently by another – nothing could be sweeter.  But the nearer it came to Cædmon’s turn, the more a sickness rose from his stomach and his bowels stirred uneasily.  A the last possible moment he ran out of the hall.

Once outside, he went straight to the cattle shed to check on his beasts, then threw himself down on his bed and passed into a fitful sleep.  

In his dreams a man stood before him, “Sing for me, Cædmon,” he said.  “Sing for me.”

“I can’t sing,” Cædmon protested.  “Why do you think I’m out here in the cattle shed, instead of inside at the feast?”

“Sing anyway, sing for me.”

“I don’t know what to sing.”

“Sing about the beginning of the world, and sing about creation.”

So Cædmon sang a song of praise to the Guardian of heaven, the Father of glory.  And in his dream he was able to sin a song so beautiful that it could make you cry.

When he awoke the song was still with him, and he sang it for God and for himself.  H sang it fro the steward of all the farmlands of the abbey.  H sang it for Abbess Hild herself when the steward told her what had happened. He sang it for all the scholars and the holy men and women of the abbey whom the Lady Hild had called for.  He sang it for the people of Whitby and everyone in the countryside round about.

Now someone looked after the cattle, while whoever could read aloud translated the Scriptures for Cædmon .  Each night he sang aloud the things he had heard until a new song was prepared, explaining the Bible to his people in their own language.  And for the rest of his life his mouth spoke out the truth the filled his heart. (Celtic, 2002)

This is an excerpt taken from Celtic Daily Prayers: Prayers and readings from the Northumbria Community.  Copyright 2002 by The Northumbria Communiy Trust Ltd. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, NY