Caedmon — a remark

From the V2Melody quotations library — share the card, then explore the poet and poems below.

“I have just now been taught a song by someone, and I must sing it.”

Describing the mysterious experience that led to his calling as a poet · Bede, Ecclesiastical History, IV.24; translated speech

About Caedmon

Caedmon

c. 600–c. 681

In the dim, torch-lit mead hall of a seventh-century Northumbrian monastery, a solitary figure slipped quietly away from the gathering. While his companions sat in warm camaraderie, passing around the harp and singing verses of praise and legend, Cædmon, the cowherd, chose exile over embarrassment. He could not sing…

More by Caedmon

Poems by Caedmon

All poems by this poet

More remarks by Caedmon

All remarks by this poet

Poet page · All remarks · Quotations hub

Skip to main content