Have you ever heard of Cædmon? I have known about him for a while and recently I came across his works again. I also encountered ‘scholarly critics’ who pretty much bash him. As in:
“The name of Caedmon is for ever associated with the birth of Christian poetry in England. In a beautiful legend in the Ecclesiastical History Bede describes how Caedmon was magically blessed with the gift of song, quotes the hymn he sang when the power first came upon him, and enumerates the subjects treated in his poems.”
Did you notice how he condescendingly refers to Bede’s account? A ‘beautiful legend’ and ‘magically blessed.’ These are words designed to dismiss the account as childish and untrue. But notice what he can’t hide, he is “for ever associated with the birth of Christian poetry in England.”
“About 1630 a manuscript… was discovered by Archbishop Ussher… This manuscript contained the four poems [Bede said he wrote], Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, and Christ and Satan…. Because of a slight correspondence between the opening lines of Caedmon' s Hymn, quoted by Bede, and the opening lines of Genesis, the first poem in this manuscript, and because also of a partial correspondence between the subjects of Caedmon's poems which Bede mentions… the four poems contained in this manuscript were soon accredited to Caedmon…. ”
‘slight’ and ‘partial correspondence’ – again, he is dismissing the claim.
“This much is clear, however, that no critic to-day would be so bold as to assign the four poems of the Junius manuscript to Caedmon, or to any one poet.”
This final thought is the thing that gets me. But he is right, “no critic today” would say this. Critics, folk who thrive on the negative. And that bugs me.
A little background: Caedmon was active from 659 to 680. The Venerable Bede, who lived from 672 to 735, wrote about Caedmon. They were nearly contemporaries. But as we shall see, ‘critics’ maintain that Bede knew not of what he wrote.
According to another article, “Bede tells us that Caedmon kept the animals at the monastery and could not sing or compose until he had a dream and was given this gift by God. Bede said Cædmon would hear a passage of Scripture or some teaching and would it turn into the most beautiful verse. According to Bede, Cædmon was responsible for a large number of splendid vernacular poetic texts on a variety of Christian topics.
The details of Bede's story, and in particular of the miraculous nature of Cædmon's poetic inspiration, are not generally accepted by scholars as being entirely accurate, but there seems no good reason to doubt the existence of a poet named Cædmon. Bede's narrative has to be read in the context of the Christian belief in miracles…”
We have a couple of things going on here. One, modern scholars/critics, living 1200 years later, have a more accurate knowledge of events than does Bede, who was the very next generation. Two, much of what Bede says has to be discounted because he believed in miracles, which, as we (apparently) know, are impossible. Ha!
I appreciate and applaud the work of diligent scholars who have discovered and translated ancient works. I have enjoyed them and we can all benefit from them. But I deplore their egotistical approach to ancient literary works. This is manifest in their revisionism and their declaration to have a better grasp of facts than eyewitnesses. If you have ever read ancient works, you immediately notice that often in a book of 150 pages, 40 are the actual work, while the first 110 are the words of the “scholar.” Why is this? Because they want to make a name for themselves. As in: “Here is the work of ________. But I will tell you the true story and I will tell you how to understand this and I will tell you …”
The scholar/critics are also extremely biased. Bede said Cædmon had an encounter with God and was given a gift. Yet this is dismissed out of hand as not true because it could not have happened that way. But when you read Bede, he isn’t embellishing, he is simply telling the story of Cædmon and God’s grace in his life.
As I said, I appreciate the ‘scholars’ who restore ancient works for us. But I despise it when these same folks become ‘critics’ and try to pass their negativity and unbelief off as the standard, the norm, the only historical and scientific view.
I like Cædmon and plan to peruse his poetry (on my Nook!). I have read Bede and like him. But these ‘critics’ bug me. Now, to end on a positive note, here is Cædmon’s hymn and the opening lines from his Genesis poem:
PRAISE we the Lord
Of the heavenly kingdom,
God's power and wisdom,
The works of His hand ;
As the Father of glory,
Eternal Lord,
Wrought the beginning
Of all His wonders !
Holy Creator !
Warden of men !
First, for a roof,
O'er the children of earth,
He stablished the heavens,
And founded the world,
And spread the dry land
For the living to dwell in.
Lord Everlasting !
Almighty God !
RIGHT is it that we praise the King of heaven,
the Lord of hosts, and love Him with all our
hearts. For He is great in power, the
Source of all created things, the Lord Almighty.
Never hath He known beginning,
neither cometh an end of His eternal glory.
Ever in majesty He reigneth over celestial
thrones ; in righteousness and strength He
keepeth the courts of heaven which were
established, broad and ample, by the might
of God, for angel dwellers, wardens of the
soul. The angel legions knew the blessedness
of God, celestial joy and bliss. Great was their
glory ! The mighty spirits magnified their Prince
and sang His praise with gladness,
serving the Lord of life, exceeding
blessed in His splendour.
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