Cædmon (Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages)
Early Life
Cædmon has the distinction of being the first English poet identified by name from whom a work has survived. Of his two significant seventh century contemporaries, Aldhelm perhaps preceded him, but his English verses have not survived. The second, Cynewulf, signed four religious poems with runic letters indicating his authorship, but he probably lived slightly later than Cædmon. The sole source of information on Cædmon’s life is the Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (731; Ecclesiastical...
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