Bede's

in Paraphrasing

Strategy

Daniel Paul O'Donnell,

In Book

of Caedmon's

Nunc

laudare

consilium
omnium
culmine

tecti,

(Now
Creator

we must

he

mighty
In sixteen

dehinc

his

praise
counsel,

dmoris Hymn

of Lethbridge

ecclesiastica, Bede

regni

Patris

the Maker
the deeds

of

caelestis,

quomodo

gloriae:
auctor
extitit,
terram Custos

et
Creatoris
potentiam
sit aeternus
ille, cum
Deus,
filiis hominum
caelum
pro

qui primo
humani
generis
the heavenly
the Father

of

eternal

(Cambridge,

of

the Historia,2

University

including

the

two

creauit.

omnipotens

kingdom,
of glory

as a

copies

a Latin

provides

song:

auctorem

was
of all marvels
the Author
and
God,
of
of men
the] roof for the children
[gable
of the human
the earth.1)
Guardian
race, created

is the

heavens

first

debemus

illius, facta
miraculorum

and

University

24 of the Historia

4, Chapter

translation

the power
how He,

and

first
and

of

created
then,

earliest-known

Library Kk. 5. 16 [M] and St. Petersburg,

the

since
the
the

al

witnesses

National

I thank Inge Genee, Michael

and an anonymous
reviewer
for JEGP for their com
Twomey,
on earlier drafts of this article. Research
ments
for this article was funded by the University
of Lethbridge
Research
Fund and Internal SSHRC.
i. Bede's Ecclesiastical History
and R. A. B. Mynors
of theEnglish People, ed. Bertram Colgrave
transla
(Oxford: Clarendon,
(Latin text) and 417
(Modern English
196g), IV.24, pp. 416
to the text of the Latin Historia
ecclesiastica are to this edition.
I have
tion). All references
to reflect Bede's Latin more
modified
translation
Colgrave's
closely.
texts belonging
to five different
2. These
sixteen manuscripts
contain
recensions
of the
in manuscripts
of the Old English
transla
(five other copies of the Hymn are found
Hymn
to the Hymn have been transcribed
tion of the Historia
in Elliott
ecclesiastica). Most witnesses
Van Kirk Dobbie,
The Manuscripts
of Caedmon's Hymn and Bede's Death Song, with a Critical Text
Studies
in English
and Compara
of theEp?stola Cuthberti de Obitu Bedce, Columbia
University
tive Literature,
Univ. Press, 1937). Manuscripts
of the Hymn not
128 (New York: Columbia
were subsequently
to Dobbie
known
identified
and transcribed
in K. W.
(with some errors)
and A. S. C. Ross, "Further Manuscripts
of Bede's
'Historia Ecclesiastica,'
of the
Humphreys
De Obitu Bedae,'
and Further Anglo-Saxon
Texts of 'Caedmon's Hymn'
'Epistola Cuthberti
and
'Bede's Death
See also Daniel
Paul
50-55.
(1975),
Song,'" Notes and Queries, 220
of 'Caedmon's Hymn'
"A Northumbrian
Version
Eordu Recen
O'Donnell,
(Northumbrian
: Identification,
Ef. 62r2-vi
Edition
and
sion) in Brussels, Biblioth?que
Royale MS 8245-57
in Beda Venerabilis: Historian, Monk and Northumbrian,
ed. L. A. J. R. Houwen
and
Filiation,"
A. A. MacDonald
and Paul Cavill,
"The
1996), pp. 139-65,
(Groningen:
Egbert Forsten,
of Caedmon's
118 (2000), 499-530.1
have recently completed
'Hymn'," Anglia,
Manuscripts
a comprehensive
contexts:
and its textual and cultural
C dmon's Hymn
study of the poem
of America,
MA: Medieval
Academy
forthcoming).
(Cambridge,
are found
of all known witnesses
in Old English Verse Texts from
Black and white facsimiles
in Facsimile
[EEMF] ,23,
Many Sources: A Comprehensive Collection, Early English Manuscripts
Rosenkilde
and Bagger,
and E. G. Stanley
ed. Fred C. Robinson
1991 ), pll.
(Copenhagen:
in O'Donnell,
C dmon's Hymn.
2.1-2.21.
Color digital facsimiles will be available

Journal
? 2004

of English
and Germanic
by the Board of Trustees

Philology?October
of the University

of Illinois

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

O'Donnell

418

of Russia [formerly Leningrad, M.E. Saltykov-Schedrin

Public Li
v.
lat.
I.
18
Bede's
Latin
is
[P]),3
Q.
brary],
by
"paraphrase"
accompanied
an Old
English version of what is clearly intended to be the same text:

Library

Nu
scilun
herga
metudaes
mehti,
uerc uuldurfadur?
eci dryctin,
aerist scop
5 He
to hrofae,
hefen
tha middingard,
eci dryctin,
firum
foldu,

hefenricaes
and

uard

his modgithanc,
sue he uundra

gihuaes,

or astelidae.
aeldu
halig

barnum
sceppend;

moncynnaes
aefter tiadae
frea

uard,

allmehtig.4

are traditionally
to 737 (M) and 731 (or 732x746)
dated
(P) on
3- These manuscripts
notes associated
to Bede's final chapter. The va
the basis of chronological
with the capitula
as evidence
chal
for the manuscripts'
date has been vigorously
lidity of these "memoranda"
see R. D. Fulk, A History
For a discussion
and bibliography
of Old English
lenged, however.
C d
Meter (Philadelphia:
Univ. of Pennsylvania
D, and O'Donnell,
Press,
1992), Appendix
mon 'sHymn,
Appendix.
on pal?ographie
are most
to the eighth
Both manuscripts
likely to be ascribed
grounds
(Oxford: Clarendon,
century. See N. R. Ker, Catalogue ofManuscripts
Containing Anglo-Saxon
122 (P) and 25 (M); Pamela Robinson,
1990), articles
Catalogue ofDated and Datable Manu
in Cambridge Libraries (Cambridge:
Brewer,
(M); and Matti Kilpi?
1988)
scripts c. 737?1600
Material
Connected
and Leena Kahlas-Tarkka,
Ex ?nsula Lux: Manuscripts
and Hagiographical
a
with Medieval England,
Joint Exhibition Organized byHelsinki University Library and theNation
2001 )
al Library ofRussia
Univ. Library/The
National
(Helsinki: Helsinki
Library of Finland,
accounts
of the dating of P and M include M. B. Parkes, The Scriptorium ofWear
(P). Other
"On the
pp. 5-11; O. S. Arngart,
(Jarrow: St. Paul's Rectory,
1982), especially
mouthjarrow
D. H. Wright,
of Early Bede Manuscripts,"
Studia Neophilologica,
45 (1973),
47-52;
Dating
"The Date of the Leningrad
E. A. Lowe, "AKey
Bede," Revue B?n?dictine, 71 ( 1961 ), 265-73;
on the Leningrad
to Bede's
12 (1958),
Some Observations
Bede," Scriptorium,
Scriptorium:
"An Autograph
of the Venerable
Bede?" Revue B?n?dictine, 68 (1958),
1-20; Lowe,
200-2;
Bernhard
"Die Hofbibliothek
Karls des Grossen,"
in Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk und
Bischoff,
2d ed. (D?sseldorf:
Nachleben,
II, 56
Braunfels,
Schwann,
3 vols., ed. Wolfgang
1965-1967),
Rosenkilde
and Bagger,
Blair, The Moore Bede, EEMF, 9 (Copenhagen:
57; and Peter Hunter
!959)
to these two manuscripts,
An extraordinary
is often attributed
and especially
P.
accuracy
See, for example,
Fulk, A History of Old English Meter, p. 427; Parkes, The Scriptorium ofWear
O'Brien
Visible Song: Transitional
O'Keeffe,
mouth-Jarrow, p. 5; and Katherine
Literacy in Old
Studies
in Anglo-Saxon
Cam
[CSASE], 4 (Cambridge:
English Verse, Cambridge
England
of the accuracy
of P,
bridge Univ. Press,
1990), p. 33. For a recent review of the evidence
see Daniel
Paul O'Donnell,
"The Accuracy
of the St. Petersburg
Bede," Notes and Queries,
247 (2002),
4-6.
text of C dmon 's
from the vernacular
4. All quotations
Hymn used in this article are from
me in the summer of 1998 for Cced
P. They are based on a new transcription
prepared
by
mon's Hymn. Punctuation,
word division,
and line division
have been silently modernized.
The translation
ismy own. P has been chosen for this article because
of its early date and its
close association
with Bede's
and the
Parkes, Ker, Wright,
(see, in particular,
scriptorium
articles by Lowe cited above).
to M, which differs
It has been preferred
from
insignificantly
to have been more
it appears
it is orthographically
P, because
carefully
copied and because

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede 'sStrategy
we5 must

honor

(Now
and his
the Creator,
nal Lord,
established

the Guardian

of

the kingdom
of the Father

the work
intent,
of each
the beginning

of heaven,
of glory?as

419

the might
of
he, the eter

of wondrous

the holy
things. He,
as a roof for the children
of men;
first made
heaven
then the Guard
Creator,
the Lord
the eternal
ian of mankind,
afterwards
Lord,
appointed
almighty,
the land, for men.)
the middle
earth,

The
poem

relationship
is

problematic.6

between
On

Bede's
the

one

Latin
hand,

translation
the

two

and this Old English

texts

clearly

are

related.

is nearly
For the first five lines of the Old English, Bede's
"paraphrase"
there are some slight differences
in word order, and
word for word. While
while the two texts use terms for God that differ somewhat in connotation,
Bede's

version

nevertheless

in the corresponding

supplies

an

equivalent

for

almost

every

word

Old English.7

Old English Material

less unusual
in the Leningrad Manu
(see, among others, O. S. Anderson,
script of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Skrifter Utgivna Av Kungl. Humanistiska
Vetenskapssam
iLund/Acta
Litterarum
fundet
XXXI
Lundensis,
[Lund: Gleer
Reg. Societatis Humaniorum
and O. Arngart,
The Leningrad Bede, EEMF, 2 [Copenhagen:
up, 1941 ], pp. 1-3 and 136-45;
texts of C dmon's Hymn,
Rosenkilde
and Bagger,
of the earliest
in
1952], p. 24). Editions
own
on account
of its
text, generally
forthcoming
cluding my
prefer M for their base text
unusual
dialectal
readings.
translation
the traditional
that scilun herga is glossed
5. This
assumption
adopts
directly
in line la). An alternative
debemus (i.e., that "we" must be understood
in
by Bede's
reading,
uerc
as
the subject of scilun in the Old English
which
text, has been
(1. 3a) is understood
C. J. E. Ball, and Bruce Mitchell.
"The Theology
See Howiett,
of
by D. R. Howlett,
proposed
C dmon 's
and Poly
2-12; Ball, "Homonymy
[LSE] ,7(1974),
Hymn," Leeds Studies in English
in Problems of Old English Lexicography: Studies inMem
for Lexicographers,"
semy: A Problem
Eichst?tter
Pustet,
ory ofAngus Cameron, ed. Alfred Bammesberger,
15 (Regensburg:
Beitr?ge,
1:What
"C dmon's Hymn, Line
is the Subject of Scylun or
and Mitchell,
1985), pp. 39-41;
itsVariants," LSE, 16 (1985),
with
190-97. Neither
reading can be supported
unambiguously
"C dmon's Hymn, Line
from the Old English
(see, in particular, Mitchell,
corpus
parallels
for a discussion).
While
the five earliest manuscripts
of the Hymn omit we,
1," pp. 192-93,
In one of the five earliest manuscripts,
all later copies contain
the pronoun.
Cor
Oxford,
has been added by a corrector.
Because
Latin re
279, B, the pronoun
pus Christi College,
to re
Bede would
have been unable
plural morphology,
quires unambiguous
first-person
in his translation.
this ambiguity
produce
account
of Caedmon
is immense.
and his paraphrase
6. The literature on Bede's
Impor
tant recent discussions
"Poetic Inspiration
and Prosaic Translation:
include Andy Orchard,
in Studies in English Language
'Doubt Wisely':
and Literature:
of C dmon's Hymn,"
The Making
and E. M. Tyler (London: Routledge,
igg6),
ofE.G. Stanley, ed. M.J. Toswell
Papers inHonour
Else's Glosses,"
Kevin S. Kiernan,
'Caedmon's Hymn' with Someone
pp. 402-22;
"Reading
"The
Miracles
of
Atti
Caedmon?Revisited,"
32 (1990),
157-74; Ute Schwab,
Representations,
e belle arti, 59 (1983),
"The
Classe di letterefilosofa
delTAccademia Peloritana,
5?36; Schwab,
Caedmon
of Caedmon,"
Miracles
(Messina:
1-17; and Schwab,
English Studies, 64 (1983),
1.
C dmon's Hymn, Chap.
Peloritana,
1972). See also O'Donnell,
see Orchard,
"Poetic Inspiration,"
discussion,
p. 413 and nn. 54 and 55.
7. For a detailed

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

420
Table

'Donnell

1: Correspondences

between

dmons

lines

Hymn

1-5

and

Bede's

Para

auctor

extitit

phrase8
Old

English
scilun

Latin

la

Nu

hefenricaes

2a

metudaes

and his modgithanc

uerc uuldurfadur

3a

sue he uundra

4a

eci dryctin
or astelidae

5a

potentiam
et consilium
facta Patris

gihuaes

On

the

other

omnium

illius
gloriae
ille
Deus9

miraculorum

qui primo
filiis hominum

the

hand,

debemus

regni caelestis
Creatoris

quomodo
cum sit aeternus

he asrist scop10
aeldu barnum

laudare

auctorem

mehti

b
b

Nunc

herga
uard

between

relationship

the

two

is con

versions

in the equivalent of the last four lines of the Old English

of the seventeen Old English words in this part of the ver

freer

siderably
poem. Eight
text

nacular

no

have

Orchard

has
in

Where

noted,

lines

1-5,

Bede's

organization,12
hexameter
cadences,

culmineto

scan

there

moreover,

or metrical
Latin

in Bede's

equivalent

correctly:

paraphrase
his version
including
caelumpro

one

Latin;

a) gable," has no equivalent

sion, culmine"(as

a marked

is also

no

shows
of
one
culmine

ver

in Bede's

word

in the Old English. As Andy

the

last

in tone.11

difference

ornamentation

obvious
four

lines

that

contains
the

requires
humani
tecti, Gustos

three

presence
generis,

of
and

omnipotensP
in or
8. Underlining
in the Old English
column
indicates
that a word has been moved
omitted
from Bede's paraphrase.
In the Latin column,
is used to mark passag
underlining
es in which Bede has added
to or significantly
recast the syntax of the Old English.
Similar,
"Mir
in Orchard,
tables appear
"Poetic Inspiration,"
p. 412; Schwab,
though not identical,
"Miracles Revisited,"
acles," p. 13; Schwab,
p. 30; and Schwab, Caedmon, pp. 21-22.
recasts the syntax of the Old English. The significance
9. This section of the paraphrase
in his table that aeternus Deus corresponds
of the change
is discussed
below. Orchard
suggests
to halig sceppend (1. 6b). That this is incorrect
is suggested
by the fact that the two epithets
text of his essay, more
sentences
texts. In the main
in different
in their respective
appear
to line 6b in Bede's
over, Orchard
translation,
argues that there is "no precise
counterpart"
his own table (p. 412).
tables indicate
that she under
Schwab's
apparently
contradicting
stands aeternus Deus as a translation
of eci dryctin.
10. Scop in this line is translated,
(1. 8b), by creauitvX the end of Bede's
together with tiad
paraphrase.
11. See Orchard,
"Poetic Inspiration,"
p. 413 and n. 59.
as a whole
can be understood
as rhythmic hexam
12. Schwab argues that the paraphrase
eter verse. Doing
so requires us to
as it now stands,
in the translation
ignore several words
verse that, unlike
scans
and produces
to by Orchard,
the cadences
however,
pointed
poorly.
See Schwab,
and Caedmon, pp. 29-30,
"Poetic In
and cf. Orchard,
"Miracles," pp. 13-14,
"Beda e l'inno di Caedmon,"
Studi Medievali,
p. 413 and n. 59, and B. Luiselli,
spiration,"
H

(!973)>
1013"36
"Poetic
13. Orchard,

Inspiration,"

p. 413,

and Schwab,

"Miracles,"

p.

13.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede's Strategy
Table

between

2: Correspondences

Ccedmons

Hymn

lines

caelum

pro

6-9

and

421

Para

Bede's

phrase14
Old

Latin

English

to hrofse

hefen
6a

b halig sceppend
7a tha middingard
b
moncynnaes
8a eci dryctin

uard

culmine

dehinc

terram

Custos

humani

tecti

generis

b aefter tiadae15
9a

firum

foldu

frea allmehtig.
b

creauit

omnipotens

over the last thirty

Three solutions to this puzzle have been proposed
five years. The first and most subtle suggestion
is that of Ute Schwab, who
uses the differences
between Bede's partially metrical
translation and the
to argue

text

vernacular

intermediate

rhythmic

that

Latin

the

must

paraphrase

be

an

from

adapted

translation:

considerazioni
pare
queste
possibile,
trovato
che Beda
abbia
l'ipotesi
gi? pronta
sia
limitato
ad inserirla
nella H [istoria]
quindi

come

Dopo

tale

prospettare
gi? detto,
e che
traduzione
r?tmica

si

E [eclesi?stica]
(una traduzione
essere
a
che potrebbe
addirittura
la prima
trascrizione
anteriore
??iYLnno,
? esametri
? ritmici
caso
in
In ogni
d?lia
traduzione
gli
volgare??).
quella
sua scuola.
sono
n? di Beda
n? d?lia
latina non
D'altra
sarebbe
parte,
degni
a citare una versione
strano
si sia limitato
che Beda
anziehe
latina del canto
una

prep?rame
fede

prestar

in volgare,
dall'originale
Cuthberti
circa

direttamente

quanto

dice

specialmente
il suo interesse

l'Epistola

se si deve
per

Tarte

germ?nica.16

po?tica
In more

recent

two versions
translation

years,

Kevin

of the Hymn
from

Bede's

Kiernan

has

to suggest
Latin

rather

used

the

differences

that the Old

than

English

between

the

text is a back

its source:

the "Hymn"
show that Bede would
have been
able to "paraphrase"
glosses
. . .But if Bede
of Caedmon's
for word.
this version
actually
paraphrased
of the
translate
for two-thirds
by phrase
"Hymn," why did he precisely
phrase
... ? It seems
of verse
and
then
leave out
three half-lines
poem
especially
to omit
for him
the new epithets
for God,
and
strange
haleg scepen and frea,

The

word

to eliminate

all

the

alliteration,

the most

salient

feature

of

the

verse.

It is

in or
in the Old English
column
indicates
that a word has been moved
14- Underlining
is used to mark passag
In the Latin column,
from Bede's paraphrase.
omitted
underlining
es in which Bede has added
recast the syntax of the Old English.
to or significantly
no literal equivalent
in Bede's
both elements
for line 8b is found
15.While
paraphrase,
are preserved:
the last line of
tiad , like scop (1. 5a), is translated by creauitm
of the half-line
to line 7a.
the paraphrase;
after is translated, with tha (1. 7a), by dehinc in the equivalent
16. Schwab, Caedmon, p. 30. See also Schwab,
"Miracles," pp. 13-14, and "Miracles Revis
ited," p. 30.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

42 2

O'Donnell
to appreciate
how
his translation.

difficult

think
the inclusion
of these
might
things
take the position,
that an
instead,
enterpris
we
maker
translated
Bede's
Latin
into Old
ing Anglo-Saxon
myth
English,
can see that he (or she) translated
all of Bede's
Latin version
and, compelled
a few half-lines
added
and provided
the necessary
allit
by the meter,
boldly
eration.17

would

spoil

most

The

recent

differences
poem

between

English
sentence

Latin

proposed
text and
in

change

vernacular

surviving

translation

assumes

Orchard,

by Andy

strategy

on

that

the

of

the

versions

Bede's

part

midway

of the Old English:

from

the omissions
semantic
between
and
the Old
disparities
the Latin,
it is notable
that the Latin
for
the
second
equivalents
can in some
sense be considered
of the Old English
since
"poetic,"
can be scanned
to fit a Latin
caelum pro
hexameter.
So the phrases

apart
and

several
culmine

Bede's

his adaptation

Quite

lines

indicate

through

stand,
there

solution,

Bede

If we

tecti, Gustos humani

all be accommodated

generis,
within

as well

as the

the Latin

term

hexameter

can, as they
omnipotens,
line. The
fact that

is no

in the Old
for culmine
(line 6a) only under
equivalent
English
more
so since none
nature
of the Latin
of the
the
version,
"poetic"
scans
the first sentence
of the Old English
with
in a
phrases
equating

the

manner

for hexameters,
the
of the very first
suitable
with
exception
possible
debemus
Nunc
laudare
for a rhythmical
hexame
(a perfect
ending
phrase,
was
a
to lend his version
Bede
wished
flavour,
ter) ....
yet
Clearly,
"poetic"
a metrical
to
translation.18
unwilling
simply
produce

None

of

these

solutions

is entirely

satisfactory.

In

Schwab's

two

case,

are left unsolved: why Bede would choose to use such a poor
problems
rhythmic intermediary rather than work with the Old English directly, and
to do so, he would then ruin the meter of this inter
why, having decided
mediary

by making

a number

of minor

nonmetrical

additions:

cum

sit and

to line 4a, and dehinc in the equivalent

to line 7a.19
Deus in the equivalent
In Kiernan's
involve the supposed Old English forg
case, the problems
'Caedmon's Hymn',"
(on these and other
17- Kiernan,
p. 163. Similar arguments
"Reading
have been made by David N. Dumville,
"'Beowulf
and the Celtic World: The Uses
grounds)
of Evidence,"
and G. R. Isaac, "The Date and Origin
of Caed
Traditio, 37 (1981),
109-60,
mon's Hymn," Neuphilologische Mitteilungen,
Kiernan's
has been
98 ( 1997), 217-28.
argument
of scholars.
M. Biggs,
Frederick
See, among
others,
vigorously
by a number
challenged
"Deor's Threatened
'Blame Poem',"
Studies in Philology, 94 (1997),
307, n. 46; Fulk, A His
and O'Donnell,
Ccedmon's Hymn,
D, especially
tory of Old English Meter, Appendix
pp. 427-28;
about the priority of the vernacular Hymn are of
arguments
Appendix.
Nineteenth-century
ten cited in the modern
debate. These were based on a very incomplete
of the
knowledge
are not relevant
to contemporary
and therefore,
evidence
dis
manuscript
strictly speaking,
on the question
can be found
cussions. A bibliography
of nineteenth-century
scholarship
zur Geschichte der
in Richard
Paul W?lker,
Grundriss
Litteratur
angels?chsischen
(Leipzig: Veit
& Comp.,
1885), pp. 119-20.
18. Orchard,
"Poetic Inspiration,"
p. 413.
for a discussion.
Also Schwab,
Caedmon, pp. 30-31
"Miracles," pp. 13
ig. See Schwab,
14, and "Miracles Revisited,"
p. 30.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede's Strategy

423

first
er's strategy in translating Bede's text: Why, faced with unambiguous
his
in
line
of
Latin
the
(Nunc
person plural morphology
"original"
opening
debemus laudare), would he decide to adopt the very unusual pronoun-less
five earliest manu
construction
(M? sculon her?an) found in the Hymns
own
set
his
would he choose
he
could
alliteration,
scripts?20Why, assuming
to translate Bede's Biblical Latin tagfiliis hominem with the rare formula
barnum

aelda

of

instead

(eleven
the

or

occurrences)

far more

the

translation

usual

nonce

collocation

monna

barnum

eordu

barnum

out

(100

of

102

in verse) used elsewhere

in the
thirty-five collocations
glossed occurrences;
to translate the first six lines
poetic corpus?21 Finally, why, having decided
of

Bede's

almost

with

paraphrase

word-for-word

he

would

accuracy,

de

to the last four by adding the "extra" material

cide to alter his approach
involves explaining why Bede
in lines 6-9? In Orchard's
case, the problem
to the Old English
to change his approach
text two-thirds
might decide
of the way through his translation,
and why, having apparently
decided
to

his

give

of

prosa

the

on

in

flavour"

"'poetic'

lines

Orchard's

while

not

revise

the Kunst

like to propose a new solution to the problem of

Bede's paraphrase
and the Old English Hymn.

Iwould
between

observations

there

thirds of the way through,

English,

not

did

it in step with

the

concerning

tween lines 1-5 and 6-9,1 explain this difference

in his source text. As I shall demonstrate,
Bede's
inconsistent:

he

6-9,

of the first five lines to bring

verses.

closing

In this article,
the relationship
Building

translation

his literal translation

Bede's

Latin.

is a

in

change

literal

As we

shall

see,

the

and

accuracy

two

"flavour"

lie in Caedmon's
text

vernacular

be

to changes
is not really

by pointing
translation

the roots of this change

tone

in

change

of

Old
dmon

's

of line 5, particu
Hymn itself changes style significantly at the beginning
handles
variation.
Bede's
reflects this
in
the
it
way
poetic
paraphrase
larly
at
moment
the
in
itself
less
literal
Caedmon's
original by becoming
change
the

ornamental

well. Variation
sees

Caedmon

literary

quality

variation

is a central
as a

preeminent
of Caedmon's

increases.

feature

But

there

is another

of Old English

Anglo-Saxon
to an
work

poet.
audience

poetic

factor

as

style,22 and Bede

to illustrate

Anxious
that

at work

he

could

the
not

as

"
a discussion
of the apparently
20. See Mitchell,
C dmon 's
Hymn, Line i," for
unparalleled
is found inmanuscripts
The fact that this construction
construction.
form of the pronoun-less
recension
of the Hymn
to one West-Saxon
and one Northumbrian
(see above, n.
belonging
that it is legitimate Old English.
5) suggests
inMachine Readable Form (TEI Com
21. Figures based on The Complete Corpus of Old English
di Paolo Healey,
edition
file], ed. Antonette
[Computer
patible Version), 2d TEI-conformant
Text Archive,
etal.
(Oxford: Oxford
1994).
see Fred C. Robinson,
in Old English
Po
of Variation
"Two Aspects
22. For a discussion,
on Old English
Univ.
(Cambridge:
Cambridge
etry," in his The Tomb of Beowulf and Other Essays
Press,
1993), pp. 71-86.

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O'Donnell

424

sume would be familiar with the original text or language, Bede uses hex
ameter cadences
in his paraphrase of the poem's last four lines to give his
a sense

reader

of

the

original

the

effect
Rather

audience.23

vernacular
an

than

have

would

poem

problem,

inexplicable

had

on

its

trans

Bede's

lation is in fact a carefully considered production,

perfectly in keeping with
encoun
in his discussion
of the difficulties
the standard he sets himself
in

tered
the

choices

one

from

poetry

translating
he makes

in

translating

that allows us at least in part to determine

cant

his

understood

Anglo-Saxon

to another.

language
Caedmon's

native

we

text,

how one

In examining
evidence

uncover

intellectually

signifi

poetry.24

HYMN
THE STRUCTUREOF CMDMON'S
commentators
have pointed
As numerous
out, the Old
into two main rhetorical
C dmon 'sHymn can be divided
clauses

theme,

The

each.25

exhorting
the

desirable;

first

section,

men

to worship
lines

second,

actual order of Creation,

creation

This
the more

of

the

earth

God
contains

beginning

with

1-4,

and explaining
a more

states

why

leisurely

the

text of
of two
poem's

is

this praise

summary

of

the

and ending with

the

syntax and pacing.

In

the heavens

for men.

is reflected

two-part division
expansive

5-9,

lines

comprising

English
sections

lines

5-9,

the

in the poem's

clauses

constituent

are

syntactically

are loosely linked by the adverb of time tha ("then," 1. 7a),

parallel. They
is
to one another. Their parallelism
are
not
but
formally subordinated
emphasized,

moreover,

by

their

use

of

verbs

that

are,

broadly

speaking,

this time from

of this type of "generic translation,"
of a further example
23- For discussion
see Daniel
"Fish and Fowl: Generic
Paul O'Donnell,
Latin into Old English,
Expectations
DeAvePhoen
and Lactantius's
between
the Old English PhoenixPoem
and the Relationship
ed. K. E Olsen, A. Harbus,
ice," in Germanic Texts and Latin Models: Medieval Reconstructions,
and Tette Hofstra
2001), pp. 157-71.
(Paris: Peeters,
has been translated from
24. For the rest of this essay, Iwill assume that Bede's paraphrase
of C dmon 's
recensions
a text substantially
similar to existing Old English
Hymn. Some evi
detailed
For a more
can be found
in the preceding
for this assumption
dence
paragraph.
see O'Donnell,
C dmon sHymn,
defense,
?? 4.37-445.
discussions
Influential
C dmon's Hymn criticism.
of modern
is a commonplace
25. This
inDoctrine and Poetry: Augustine's Influence
"Caedmon's Hymn,"
include Bernard Felix Hupp?,
"The Old
E. G. Stanley,
on Old English Poetry (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1959), pp. 99-130;
in his A Collection ofPapers with Emphasis on Old English, Pub
est English Poetry Now Extant,"
Stud
Institute of Mediaeval
of Old English
lications of the Dictionary
3 (Toronto: Pontifical
division of the poem into "three
ies, 1987), at pp. 15-16; and the studies by Schwab. Howlett's
to the
sentences"
("The Theology,"
p. 7) differs only in the rhetorical
strength he attributes
of the poem's
his understanding
at the end of line 3a; otherwise,
clause boundary
syntactic
con
three sentences
to that of Hupp?,
structure
is identical
Stanley, and Schwab: Howlett's
at the ends of lines 3a, 4b, 7a, and 9b (cf. Or
tain a total of four clauses, with boundaries
chard, "Poetic Inspiration,"
p. 413, n. 58).

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Bede's Strategy

("created,"
on

the

other

the

can

distinction

and

mood:
In

1. 8b).

scop

lines

1-4,

clauses

constituent

to the first and differs

its main

seen

be

two

the

of

is subordinate
of

in tense

agree

established,"

("appointed,

tense

and

and

subject,

relationship

clause

mood,

subject,
similar

tiadce

hand,

the second

verbial:
the

and

1. 5a)

same

to the

refer

synonymous,

425

is ad

it in

from

verb.
nouns

in the way

and

refer

pronouns

ring to God are used in the course of the Old English poem. In the first
to God either
references
four lines, there is very little syntactic apposition:
The
differ in case or are associated with different aspects of the Godhead.
first

in

epithet

the

poem,

uard

1. lb),

("Guardian,"

is accusative

singular

and refers to God the Father; the second, third, and fourth references,
metud s ("Creator," 1. 2a), his (1. 2b), and uuldurfadur
("Father of glory,"
1.3a), are all genitive singular but modify nouns describing different parts
of God's

and

person

work.26

we

when

Only

come

to

the

sin

nominative

he in line 3b and the nominative

singular noun phrase eci
gular pronoun
an
we
in
line
do
find
4a
example of true syntac
dryctin ("eternal Lord")
tic

In

apposition.

this

two

the

case,

forms

part of the subject of the same finite

more

considerably

syntactically

have

same

the

verb. Lines

5-9,
In

variation.

apposite

referent

this

are

and

in contrast,

show
the

section,

describing God are all in the same case and per

epithets and pronouns
form an identical syntactic function?key
aspects of Fred C. Robinson's
of Old English poetic variation as "syntactically parallel
useful definition
or

words

which

word-groups

share

a common

referent

and

occur

which

a single clause."27 The first two references

to God, he (1. 5a) and
are
1.
nominative
6b),
("holy Creator,"
singular and the sub
haligsceppend
s
In
the
second
uard ("Guardian of
of
clause, moncynn
ject
scop (1. 5a).
1.
eci
1.
mankind,"
8a), andfrea allmehtig ("Lord
7b),
dryctin ("eternal Lord,"
singular and refer to the subject
almighty," 1. 9b) are also all nominative
of tiad (1. 8b).
within

BEDE'S

In translating
Bede
tails,

begins

sets
of

his

out

STRATEGY

IN TRANSLATING

Ccedmon 's
Hymn
to

source.

reproduce
He
is,

his paraphrase

DMON'S

HYMN

for readers of his Latin Historia

the

general

indeed,

with a note

quite

sense,
emphatic

rather

than

about

that he will be providing

ecclesiastica,

the
this

specific
practice.

only

are discussed
in Hupp?,
in detail
to the Godhead
26. References
Howlett,
as Howlett,
have argued,
It is possible,
work on the Hymn.
Ball, and Mitchell
n. 5.
the nominative
subject of scilun (1. 1). See above,
plural neuter
"Two Aspects,"
p. 73.
27. Robinson,

de
He

the sensus

and Schwab's
to read uerc as

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O'Donnell

426

of

ties

with his famous

and concludes

of the poem

ad uerbum

poetry

translating

to another:

language

non autem
ordo
sensus,
ipse uerborum,
enim
carmina,
?eque
possunt
quamuis
optime
sui decoris
ad uerbum
sine detrimento
linguam
est

Hic

the difficul

about

reminder

one

from

ille canebat;
in aliam

dormiens

quae

ex alia

conposita,
ac
dignitatis

transferri.

he sang as he
of the words
which
is the sense but not
the order
(This
to translate
well composed,
For it is not possible
verse, however
literally
some
and dignity.28)
one
loss of beauty
to another
with
language

slept.
from

translation, Bede applies this emphasis on sense over detail

consistently,
stripping or recasting all forms from the original Old English
In lines 3b and 4a,
that do not contribute directly to the poem's meaning.
of
the
nominative
the appositive
Bede eliminates
singular
repetition
In his actual

to God

references

eci

tive

phrase,
aeternusDeus

in Caedmon's

dryctin
he

("since

(1. 4a),
is the

original
as

part
eternal

of

see

God";

above,

nomina

second

the
by recasting
a new
subordinate

cum

clause,

Table

In

1).

the

sit
last

the repetition of the Old English

five lines of the poem, Bede eliminates
verbs scop and tiad in lines 5a and 8b by recasting the entire section so that
both

clauses

More

take

ous appositive
er

than

5 and

in this

part

of

the

the first

retains

6, Bede

the

translates

poem's

nominative

epithet,

strategy

Table
has

second

2).
on

the

numer

section. Rath
the

eliminates

Bede

poem

the second,

first

above,

(see
this

all but the first appositive

lated as qui) and eliminates

9, Bede

verb
effect

in the Old English

elements

recasting,

main

is the

however,

by simply deleting
lines

their

creauitas

dramatic,

repetition

term in each

sequence:29

of

he

the

clause,

halig sceppend (1. 6b).

uard

moncynnces

(1. 7b),

(1. 5a,

in

trans

In lines 7
as Custos

hu

the second epithet, eci dryctin (1. 8a), and retains only the
mani, eliminates
final adjective of the third, frea allmehtig (1. 9b):30
He

halig

sceppend;

tha middingard,
eci dryctin,

moncynnaes
aefter tiadae

firum

frea

foldu,

These
the most
from

omissions
obvious

almost

caelum
filiis hominum
pro
qui primo
terram Custos
culmine
tecti, dehinc
creauit.
humani
omnipotens
generis

barnum

scop aeldu
to hrofae,

aerist

hefen

uard,

allmehtig.

of repetitive material
seeming

inconsistency

word-for-word

first five lines to his far more

accuracy

go a long way toward explaining

in Bede's

that

characterizes

loose rendition

translation:
his

the
version

change
of the

of the last four. In the case

2 8. Bede 'sEcclesiastical History, pp. 416, 417.

the variation by
(1. 8b), Bede eliminates
29. In the case of the verbs scop (1. 5a) and tiad
so that both clauses share the same finite verb (creauit).
his sentence
recasting
in both versions
of the text are underlined.
with equivalents
and pronouns
30. Nouns
trans
in Bede's
is used to indicate Old English words not directly represented
Strike through
lation.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede 'sStrategy
of lines 1-4, Bede is able to translate all but one of the original
text without
the only
thets in the vernacular
repeating himself;
cannot

427

six epi
time he

the "redun
without
he eliminates
original
repetition,
as a subordinate
far
clause.
The
the
epithet
offending
dancy"
by recasting
more
in the
last five
in con
variation
ornamental
lines,
poem's
frequent
to eliminate.
to
In addition
him with more
material
trast, provides
collaps
translate

the

ing the two Old English

excises
on

three

pairs
the

retaining

explains

why

one

after

line

the

second

first

the

singular
in each

reference

in Bede's

the change

section

of

the

to God.

appositive

sequence,

nominative

in line 6,

in Caedmon

to God

reference

until

line

lines

insistence
moreover,

section

singular

come

His

to begin

appears

ornamental

doesn't

poem

also in these

creauit, Bede

references

translation

the more

of

beginning

since the second

poem:

original

verbs into his final

of nominative

Bede

6b,

in

is able

to translate line 5 essentially word for word, deleting

only the verb scop.
from Bede's paraphrase
But while it easily accounts for the omissions
of the Hymn's last five lines, this emphasis on removing repetition does not
in
cadences
explain why Bede should begin using hexameter
necessarily
this

second

of

part

necessary
rically
that
observation

Bede

rial Bede

Old
Old

also

English

that

partially
for an

from

poem,
poetic

Latin hexameter
had

his most

makes

these

style.

mimics
audience

to

own

Orchard's
are

paraphrase

last four lines?the

cuts?is
not

relevant.31
to

essential

relevant

in the met

is where

the

an important

restricted

lines from
The
sense

mate
the

of

feature

of

as ornamental

passages

is able to find a form for his translation

the ornamental
able

This

represent
the

recasting

Bede

cadences,

in the

poem's

does

of his

"redundancy"
culmine.

significant
lines, while

nevertheless
In

superfluous
cadences

hexameter

of the Old English

removes

English

or add

poem,

otherwise

the

to the equivalent
which

the

but

appreciate

effect

Caedmon's
the

vernacular

variation

would

have

original.32

"Poetic

p. 413.
31. Orchard,
Inspiration,"
has arisen
in recent years as to why Bede
should
32. Considerable
controversy
scholarly
ecclesias
omit the original Old English of C dmon 's
Hymn from the main body of his Historia
in Cuthbert's
since his own Death Songis quoted
Latin epistle on Bede's death.
tica, especially
of the problem,
For discussion
'Blame Poem',"
see, among others, Biggs, "Deor's Threatened
'Caedmon's Hymn',"
and Allen J. Frantz
pp. 157-58;
p. 304 and n. 38; Kiernan,
"Reading
Old English,
and Teaching the Tradition
en, Desire for Origins: New Language,
(New Brunswick,
Epistle has been edited by Dobbie, Manu
NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press, 1990), p. 146. Cuthbert's
and Mynors,
Bede's Ecclesiastical History, pp. 580-87.
and Colgrave
Hymn,
scripts of C dmon 's
to differences
to pay sufficient
in genre and in
attention
This debate
fails, to my mind,
the two Latin works: Cuthbert's
tended audiences
between
is, in the first instance,
epistle
in his final words; what these
for readers who knew its subject and were interested
intended
Bede's Historia
central to the text's purpose.
words were is, therefore,
ecclesiastica, on the other
a mi
church and political
is a work of Anglo-Saxon
(in which Caedmon
hand,
history
plays
could be assumed
audience?few
of whom
nor part) aimed a general European
intellectual
or share any real aesthetic
interest in even the best of its poetry.
to understand
Old English
intense
it seems
interest from modern
While
the Caedmon
scholars,
chapter has attracted
of Bede's work for very many mem
that itwould have been the primary attraction
doubtful
audience.
bers of his original

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

O'Donnell

428

The fact that these cadences are found in the work of several significant
Christian Latin poets and, in one case at least, echoed in the Aeneid?3 only
adds to the effect. As William D. McCready has shown, Bede devoted con
siderable
greater
ison

attention
claim

with

secular

letters.34

et

Bede

schematibus
authors
ace

for

to De

tropis,
non-Christian

schematibus,

to demonstrate

the

career

his

throughout
literature

Christian

had

In his

rhetorical

in his

excerpts
Bede

moreover,
aesthetic

quality

De

works,

substitutes

frequently

or
equal
in compar
arte m?trica
and De

to
demonstrating
to aesthetic
excellence

passages

sources.

As

these

makes
of Christian

he

the

from
notes

pref
as much

substitutions

literature

as

Christian
in the

to

propagate

its doctrine:
causa decoris aliter quam
in Scripturis
Solet
ordo uerborum
aliquoties
uulgaris
uia dicendi
inueniri. Quod
habet figuratus
Graece
schema
uocant,
grammatici
nos
recte
uel figuram
habitum
uel
formam
nominamus,
per hoc
quia
... Et
et ornatur
modo
uestitur
oratio.
Graeci
quodam
quidem
gloriantur
se

siue troporum
fuisse
Sed ut cognoscas,
di
repertores.
figurarum
omnes
haec
uoluerint
fili, cognoscant
qui
legere
quia sancta Scrip
non
tura ceteris
omnibus
solum
est, uel
auctoritate,
scripturis
quia diuina
et antiquitate
et
ad
uitam
ducit
sed
aeternam,
utilitate,
ipsa praeemi
quia
net
mihi
collectis
de ipsa exemplis
ostendere
dicendi,
positione
placuit
quia
nihil
siue troporum
huiusmodi
schematum
ualent
saecularis
praetendere
talium

lectissime

eloquentiae

magistri,

quod

non

in ilia praecesserit.

in
to find
usual
word
order
that, for the sake of embellishment,
(It is quite
manner
in a figured
written
is frequently
fashioned
different
compositions
use the Greek
term "sche
from
The
that of ordinary
grammarians
speech.
or
we
for this practice,
it a "manner,"
ma"
whereas
label
"form,"
correctly
. . .
or adorned.
it
is in some way clothed
because
"figure,"
through
speech
on
or tropes. But,
The Greeks
themselves
invented
these figures
having
pride
in order
to read
that you and all who wish
this work may
child,
my beloved
know
cause

that Holy Writ

or
it is divine,

surpasses
in usefulness

all other
because

writings
it leads

not

merely
to eternal

in authority
life, but also

be
for

Evidence
for the distinction
is to be seen in
between
letter and Bede's History
Cuthbert's
the pronouns
used to refer to the English
in the two works.
In Cuthbert's
Epistle,
language
as being doctus in nostris carminibus
Bede
is described
in our song") and to have
("learned
. . .
sung in nostra
lingua ("our language"; Bede's Ecclesiastical History, ed. and trans. Colgrave
In Bede's
account
and Mynors,
of Caedmon's
is
Caedmon
however,
p. 580).
inspiration,
as singing
in sua, id est Anglorum,
described
lingua ("his own, that is the English,
language";
and Mynors,
Bede's Ecclesiastical History, p. 414; I have modified
transla
Colgrave
Colgrave's
tion to reflect the Latin more
closely).
culmine tecti is found in the Aeneid (IV. 186 and with slight variation,
33. Caelumpro
II.695),
to the Heliand
the preface
De laudibus virginum (1.
(1. 6), and with some variation, Aldhelm's
a
Vita S. Cuthberti (1. 334). Humani
metrical
2) and Bede's
generis is likewise
commonplace
for example,
are discussed
in Aldhelm's
Carmen de uirginitate
in
found,
(1. 84). Examples
"Poetic Inspiration,"
Schwab,
"Miracles," pp. 13-14, and Orchard,
p. 413, note 59.
Miracles and the Venerable Bede, Studies and Texts,
118 (Toronto: Pon
34. W. D. McCready,
tifical Institute of Mediaeval
Studies,
1994), especially
pp. 12-13.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede's Strategy
its age

artistic

and

not
not

did

which

composition,
from Holy

collected

examples
age have

first

appear

in Holy

to demonstrate

chosen

of

teachers

that

Writ

us with

to furnish

able

been

I have

of

any

secular
these

by

429

means

of

in any

eloquence
and
figures

tropes

Writ.35)

Bede is talking primarily about the Bible in this passage, but the thought
is in keeping with his views on Christian literature more generally, an opin
in the case of the De schematibus by his use of three quota
ion suggested
Christian writings as examples alongside his Bib
tions from nonscriptural
his most
lical examples.36 In telling Caedmon's
story, and in paraphrasing
famous

the Historia

in

poem

Bede

ecclesiastica,

the

places

herdsman

poet

into the same exalted company as the Christian Latin poets he quotes in
the hexameter
his rhetorical works. By substituting
cadences, particularly
those shared with the great Christian and pagan poets, for Caedmon's orig
inal

its

supersedes

perhaps

Bede

translation,
extent

the

audience

English-speaking
indeed,

in his

variation

vernacular

to which

work

and,

adapts

as well.

predecessors

poetic

to a non

demonstrates

Caedmon's

BEDE'S PARAPHRASEAS AESTHETIC RESPONSE

The

above

uments.37

poetic
practice

if any,

classifications,

tion
this

is one

of

very

few

of

contemporary
concerns
discussion

important

left

no

their methods

vernacular

verse,38
performance

accounts

explicit

our

knowl

of

and
and

account

the metri

or the generic

of composition,

Bede's
they
recognized.
accounts
of
nonfiction

the

for

implications

everything we know about

history. Almost
from the surviving mon
has been deduced

audiences

Anglo-Saxon

cal basis for their verses,

mon

has

if correct,

argument,

edge of Anglo-Saxon
poetic
Anglo-Saxon

of

the

poet
and

the

production
one
of
only
reception

two
of

Caed
recep

in which
surviving

Series Lati
Corpus Christianorum
35- Bede, De schematibus et tropis i, ed. Calvin Kendall,
by Gussie Hecht Tannenhaus,
1975), pp. 142-43. Translation
123A (Turnhout: Brepols,
inMedieval Rhetoric, ed. Joseph Miller
in Readings
(Bloo
Figures and Tropes,"
"Concerning
Indiana Univ. Press,
1973), p. 97.
mington:
and the Venerable Bede, pp. 12-13.
Miracles
36. McCready,
verse can be
Old English
involved
in identifying
of the problems
37. A careful discussion
The Composition of Old English Poetry, CSASE 20 (Cambridge:
found in H. Momma,
Cambridge
Univ. Press,
pp. 1-7.
1997). See, in particular,
can
and reception
of vernacular
of surviving accounts
poetic production
38. A discussion
CT:
Oral Poetry: A Study of the Traditions
in Jeff Opland,
be found
(New Haven,
Anglo-Saxon
on pp. 106-20. Although
is discussed
of Caedmon
Yale Univ. Press, 1980). Bede's description
his
on uncovering
of oral composition,
evidence
is
focussed
discussion
primarily
Opland's
See
and reception.
of vernacular
if not all accounts
work covers most
composition
poetic
Oral Poet," Bulletin of theJohn Rylands
also Roberta
Frank, "The Search for the Anglo-Saxon
na,

University

Library,

75

(1993),

11?36.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

43 o

O'Donnell

Old English
tus

stitution

carminibus

of Latin

constitutes

Saxon

though

final

four

five,

Bede

lines

his

provides

Latin

ers as well) with a model

meant

have

section

of

provides
Caedmon's

nature

the

and aesthetic

currence

quality
the
period.

But Bede's
as for what
Germanic"
modern
ally
cal

importance

translation

in

This

as a central
As

A.

H.

element
Smith

of

he

an

for what
of Caedmon's
and

his

dryctin,
use
of

poem's

Bede
with

associates
of

to Old

implicit

the

in this

discussions

otherwise

true

in

poem

moreover,

poets,

variation

us with

uard, frea,
especially
of the Hymn,
Caedmon's

epithets,
discussions

significance.41

of appositive

is as significant
particularly

the

quality
modern

confirming

provides
of Caedmon's
work?an

is

great

superlative

also

translation

it does.

understood

to

In addition

work might

it adapts. By including

the

by

the

read

modern

process,

to understand

able

used
of

indication

plays inAnglo

what Caedmon's

literary tradition

cadences

poem
an

work.

Bede's
poetry,
the aesthetic

were

who

of the vernacular

in the

rec

contemporary

ornamental
highly
first
less ornamental

his

than

sub

variation

appositive
for

Caedmon's

for understanding

to audiences

context

us with

translating
fashion
poetic
readers
(and,

careful

Bede's

role such variation

important

poetry.
By
in a far more

then

evidence

implicit,

that Bede was doc

in claiming

song"),40
for Caedmon's

cadences

of the aesthetically
vernacular

in our

("learned

hexameter

important,

ognition

is correct

If Cuthbert

poem.39

in nostris

the

English
on

comment

oc

unparalleled

it does not emphasize

use

of

"traditional

to describe
these
aesthetic

epithets
and

God.

In

is usu
histori

suggests,

of his Death Song.

is Cuthbert's
of Bede's performance
description
to a historical
the composition
of a known Old English poem
connecting
verse
to
of Boeth
is
Alfred
the
Old
translation
the
attribution
of
poet
English
Anglo-Saxon
an account
texts. This text does not contain
of the poet's per
ius's Metres in two prefatory
however. See Kenneth
formance,
Sisam, Studies in theHistory of Old English Literature (Oxford:
as literary history
account
is dis
The significance
of Bede's
Clarendon,
1953), pp. 293-97.
in Frank, "The Search for the Anglo-Saxon
Oral Poet," pp. 29-30,
and O'Donnell,
cussed
1.
C dmon's Hymn, Chap.
39- The second
A third reference

account

and Mynors, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, p. 580 (I have replaced Colgrave's

40. See Colgrave
of this claim
translation with one that reflects Bede's Latin more
closely). The significance
is explored
in Opland,
Oral Poetry, pp. 140-44.
Anglo-Saxon
can be found
in E. G. Stanley,
for Old:
"New Formulas
discussions
41. Representative
Caedmon's Hymn
in Pagans and Christians: The Interplay between Christian Latin and Tradition
al Germanic Cultures in Early Medieval Europe, ed. T. Hofstra,
and A. A.
L. A. R. J. Houwen,
theAppositive Style
McDonald
Forster,
(Groningen:
1995), pp. 131-48; Robinson,
Beowulfand
The New
and "Caedmon,"
Press, 1985), especially
(Knoxville: Univ. of Tennessee
pp. 29-59;
Britannica,
15th ed. (Chicago: Encyclopaedia
Encyclopaedia Britannica,
1998), vol. II, p. 716.
on the Germanic
Caedmon's
influence
is discussed
in D. H. Green,
languages more generally
The Carolingian Lord (Cambridge:
Univ. Press, 1965), especially
See
pp. 286-98.
Cambridge
also O'Donnell,
C dmon's Hymn, Chap. 3.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

Bede 'sStrategy
[I]n Caedmon's
ty for only half

time when

a century
to Christian

Northumbria
these

been

had

431

to Christiani

converted

[i.e., uard, eci dryctin, mdfrea

lmehtig]
as
have become
conventional,
scarcely
were
on the
the poem
contrary,
represents
they certainly
English;
must
of such a diction
the beginnings
and its freshness
have
and originality
or more
no mere
been
felt a generation
after
its composition;
of
assembling
or otherwise.42
clich?s
would
have
called
for inspiration,
divine
There

is, however,

No

allusion

importance.
of Caedmon's
ness"
on

order,

its smoothness,

cantly,
mon's

in his

vocabulary
of Caedmon's

ination

account

of
praise
tic value;

the
the

and her counselors

to

faithfulness

to devote

praise

its sources.

more

puts

concerned

More

signifi
to Caed

attention

programmatic
of
rendering

Bede's

or

"fresh

concentrates
he

is primarily

any

repetition,

para

to the

Hymn

particular
to his
In contrast

translation.

or

life

this sense of novelty

in Bede's

dis

and

verbal

of Caedmon's

shared

anywhere
own

propagan

of Hild

propriety,
not
appear

does

Bede

Bede's

and

in the mouths

indirectly
with

that Bede

ismade

diction.

its sweetness,

account

in Bede's

nothing

to suggest

of his Hymn

phrase

phrases
could

poetry
in later Old

belonging

elim
the

poet's

specific word choice is remarkably diffident. His translation contains no

for frea (1. ga), an apparently
traditional Germanic
equivalent
epithet
to
in
God
Old
and
other Germanic
Christian
commonly
applied
English
vernacular

It also

poetry.43

one

ignores

occurrence

of

(a second

dryctin

in line 4a while glossing the second, in line

traditional epithet)
apparently
no sense of the Lordship found in Caed
8a, with Deus, a word containing
mon's

verse

original

Bede's

translation

device:

while

connotations
its first

appearance

gy

for

reveals

this

evidence

striking

eliminates

etic" tone
shows

Latin

of

for

equivalent

verbal

as

echoes

structural

Custos, a word with

on

occasion,

its

second

auctorem

dryc

11. lb and 7b), finally,

the term with

his

similar

translation
with

founder")

("author,

both

suggests
considered

carefully
the poem
for readers
paraphrasing
he understood
the
how
original

ornamental

lation

usual

("guardian,"
use

Caedmon's

translates

guardianship,
uses
a form,

together,
was
's
Hymn

ing, the most

of

the

notes,

of
quite

connotations.

Taken
Ccedmon

hides

Bede
of

different

(as Green

In the case of uard

tin is dominus).^

the

element

use

of

syntactic

Poems,
42. Smith, Three Northumbrian
43. See Green,
Carolingian Lord, pp.
44. Green,
Carolingian Lord, p. 298.

apposition.

rev. ed.
265-69,

that

Historia

his

in
and

lines

In contrast

5-9.

His

read

its use
trans

a more

adopts

the Old

of
strate

ecclesiastica

In Bede's

to have been

appears

lines in which

translation

and

text.

vernacular

of the Hymn

of those

Bede's

production
of the Latin

variation,
appositional
particularly
this variation
programmatically

in its rendition
heaviest

that

English
to modern

(Exeter: Univ. of Exeter Press,

and Stanley, "New Epithets."

"po

poem
read

1978),

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC

p.

15.

432

O'Donnell

ers, however,
Caedmon's

Bede

vocabulary:
Caedmon's

paraphrasing

to have been

appears
his

translation

terms

for God

far less struck by the boldness

adopts
apart

no
from

consistent

of
in

attitude
the

removing

evidence

of repeated epithets and verbal echoes in lines lb and 7b, and 4a and 8a.
it shows a drastic change in tone and accuracy approximately
Although
two-thirds
and

of

surviving

the way
vernacular

through,
copies

scholars have long imagined;

tion that closely (if negatively)
original

the

relationship
of the poem

between
is not

Bede's
nearly

paraphrase
as

puzzling

as

it is, instead, a carefully controlled

produc
follows a key aesthetic feature of Caedmon's

text.

on Sat, 16 May 2015 04:19:42 UTC