Caedmon was the first poet whose words were recorded in English. There had been poets prior to 670 but the poems were written down in Greek, Latin, etc.
Caedmon was an illiterate older man who worked around an Abbey. At feasts it was the custom to pass a harp, and when the harp came to you, it was your turn to sing. Evidently Caedmon's voice was so bad that as soon as they pulled out the harp, he ducked out. One night he was in the cow byre avoiding the embarrassment of singing at the feast and he fell asleep. An angel came to him in a vision and told him to "go sing of God's creation." Caedmon said he could not sing. The angel commanded him to go sing. Caedmon awoke and obeyed. He sang a beautiful poetic rendition of creation. His words were recorded for by a cleric. From thence forth the priest would tell Caedmon of an old testament account and Caedmon would meditate on it and bring forth a song.
Interesting?
My daughter and her husband chose this name because the Lord so obviously worked through the untalented Caedmon. Glory had to be given to Him and Him alone for the beautiful poetry.
