Hidden Old English Poem Emerges from a 9th-Century Latin Manuscript in Rome

Trinity College Dublin scholars discovered Caedmon’s Hymn, the oldest known Old English poem, embedded in a ninth-century Latin copy of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History in Rome’s National Central Library. Copied around 800–830 AD at Nonantola Abbey, this manuscript places the vernacular poem at the core of the narrative, unlike earlier copies that hid it in margins. The find, made possible by digitization of the Nonantola collection, highlights cross-European manuscript transmission and could lead to further discoveries.