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| Translated version of Caedmon's Hymn in modern English |
Whitby Abbey, Norfolkshire
“Like tongueless Philomel or drunken sot
With foolish brain and soul
here I retire
A proper place for me this
stable
Where jades and palfreys
perk their fine-cut ears
And hear in thrill the twang
of lyre and harp
Attuned to pleasant paeans
and prayers meet;
While I like a lamb with
low-bent shame
Came here to escape my turn
in feast, to strum
And sing among the
Northumbrian friars
And monks: how ignorance
downright derides
My human form? Thoughts!
Come like ocean waves
And dash my solid ignorance to
pieces and light
My heart with sparkling
colors of harmony!
Let my expression stretch
like Aeolian lyre
Upon which feelings dance
with elfin ease;
No hope; here let me rest
alone with these beasts
Till the ceremony ends with blessings
great
Till all guests go to
their cells with serene looks.
Peace! Close my eyes in
soft-bedded slumber.”
So spake Caedmon with
passion-stricken tone
And slept like a babe
tired with weeping cries;
An angel appeared with
starry shining crown
Beating
her wings that shimmered with opal shades
Her
feet hovered in air with heavenly fragrance;
“Caedmon! She whispered,
“Sing me a song.”
Music flowed from her
lips as Caedmon’s eyes
Like anxious crystal
goblets caught them fresh
As tears swelled with
joy as from Pamphian wells;
Dumb with surprise and
wonder he stared; nothing
He sensed, a living
soul wrung from this mortal coil
Absorbing the melodious
voice with rapt attention.
“Caedmon!” she said, “Be of good
cheer, despair thou not
Wake up thy soul, the
gay lark of eternal melodies
That slumbered long and
feast thy heart with pious thoughts
Sweeter than dryads' and
the music of the spheres
Thou wilt sing of God’s
wonderful creation ;
Sing of heaven and created beings on
earth
Sing of Adam and Eve
whom God loved most
Sing of devil’s
temptation and gospels divine
Sing of the prophet who
trod on the Red sea
Sing of Noah, Abraham, David
and Jacob great
Sing of Joseph’s son
and his benevolent promise
Sing of Lord’s divine healing acts and
deeds
Who walked through dry desert and
fasted forty days
Who journeyed through
Jordan and Galilee
And healed the
sinners that sought his refuge
From Judea, Jericho,
Tyre and Sidon;
Sing of the holy
bread and wine and betrayal gross
Sing of Lord’s
passion and pity on Calvary cross;
The Savior in blood-soaked robes with thorned crown
Sing of Lord rising
again with lightning-clothes
Like a dove soaring
towards His highest abode;
Rise, Caedmon, rise!
Distill thy thoughts
To sweetest spicy
celestial springs
Still many more ages will take to see
A seer like thee to sing of glories
divine
In people’s tongue with native melodies
mixt
In organic numbers to illumine noble
truths.”
Wonder-struck by this
vision or celestial dream
Clearly imprinted the
angel’s voice and words
Caedmon hastened to
meet his patroness and guide
The gentle Hilda to convey the blessed
gift he got
To be the singer of
sacred verse and praise the Lord
His ever flowing
mercy, glorious acts and deeds.
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Note : Caedmon was the earliest writer of
Old English literature who lived in seventh century according to Bede’s
“Ecclesiastical History of the English people” written in Latin. He translated
“Caedmon’s Hymn” from Northumbrian into Latin and praised him as the most
inspiring writer of the sacred verse. Unfortunately most of the poems written
by Caedmon are not found. But according to Bede Caedmon wrote on Christian
themes like creation of the world, origin of Man, Exodus, Jesus’ incarnation,
Resurrection, preaching of apostles, terrors of future judgment, pains of hell
and delights of heaven. Francis Junius published “Caedmon’s Manuscript”(1655)
which contains many poems on themes mentioned above. Probably some of these
poems might be the work of Caedmon. Caedmon became a lay member of the
monastery in his later life and he was not well-educated. But in his vision an
angel appeared and blessed him with the gift of composing songs. Caedmon later
became a monk and spent the rest of his life in Whitby monastery till he passed away
peacefully in 680 A.D.
Philomel = A princess of Athens who was
raped by her sister’s husband, Tereus, king of Thrace. To prevent her from
speaking about his act, he cut off her tongue. But Philomela took revenge on
him and transformed herself into a nightingale by the intervention of gods.
Sot= a habitual drunkard.
Palfrey= a saddle horse
Aeolian lyre= a harp whose strings produce
music when wind
passes over them.
Pamphian wells = wells in the ancient
region of Aetolia
near Corinth.
Noah= A devotee of Lord who built a ship
and saved mankind and
all living creatures from extinction during
the floods.
Abraham= a Jewish prophet who led his
countrymen from
Mesopotamia to the promised land of
Canaan.
David= second king of ancient Israel. He
was the father of
King Solomon who expanded the empire that
David built.
Jacob = son of
Issac and father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel
Who trod on
Red Sea= Moses who led Jews from Egypt through
Red Sea.
Joseph’s
son= Jesus Christ
Sidon and Tyre= cities located in modern
Lebanon. Crowds from
Tyre and Sidon came to listen to Jesus’ preachings
(Mark 3:7-8)
Passion= suffering of Christ on the cross.
Jericho= a Palestian city on the West Bank in
the Jordan valley.
Judea= the Biblical name for the region of
Bethlehem in the
West bank.
Calvary= the hill near Jerusalem on which
Jesus was crucified.
Gentle Hilda = A Christian saint (614-680 A.D.)
who founded the
monastery at Whitby.
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10th september, 2019 Somaseshu Gutala
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