Manuscript Containing Oldest English Poem Over 1,200 Years Old Discovered in Rome

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have discovered the 1,200-year-old Codex Him manuscript in the National Central Library of Rome. This manuscript is intricately woven with Old English text inserted within an original Latin script and is believed to have been created between 800 and 830 AD. Following its digitization and identification, the manuscript has sparked fresh debates regarding the early history of English literature. May 19, Kathmandu.

This discovery represents a historic breakthrough that offers a new perspective on the history of English literature. Scholars from Trinity College Dublin have uncovered a lost ninth-century manuscript in Rome containing the oldest and first known poem in the English language, Codex Him. After being missing for decades, this 1,200-year-old document’s emergence in Rome’s National Central Library has ignited new international discussions in literary circles.

Codex Him is a brief Old English poem consisting of nine lines, believed to have been composed approximately 1,300 years ago. Considered the foundational work of English literature, this newly found manuscript is the third oldest surviving copy of the poem. Previously, two older manuscripts found in Cambridge and Saint Petersburg contained the poem primarily in Latin with the Old English verses added later at the margins or at the end of the pages. By contrast, the newly discovered manuscript in Rome uniquely integrates the Old English text seamlessly within the central Latin script.

According to the researchers, this reveals how early medieval readers accorded considerable significance to English poetry. Traditionally, the poem is attributed to a very shy shepherd named Codman living at Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, Northern England. The lore recounts that during a feast where everyone was expected to recite songs or poems, Codman, out of embarrassment, fled to sleep. In a dream, a mysterious figure appeared and commanded him to sing about creation. Upon awakening, inspired by prayer to God, he composed this beautiful poem praising the creation of the world.