Lost Roman Manuscript Holds Third Oldest Caedmon’s Hymn

In April 2026 Trinity College Dublin scholars Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner identified a ninth-century codex (Vitt. Em. 1452, fol. 122v) in the National Central Library of Rome. The manuscript, a copy of the Venerable Bede’s *Ecclesiastical History of the English People*, contains the full Old English text of Caedmon’s Hymn within the main Latin column, rather than as a marginal gloss. Its dating to AD 800–830 makes it the third oldest witness to the poem.

New copy of earliest poem in English language discovered by Trinity researchers in RomeThe Irish TimesLost Copy of Earliest English Language Poem Discovered in RomeThe GuardianManuscript containing oldest English poem discovered in Rome

Caedmon, a seventh-century Northumbrian cattle herder, allegedly received a divine vision that inspired a nine-line hymn praising creation. Bede recorded the hymn in Latin in the eighth century, omitting the original Old English. Earlier copies in Cambridge and St Petersburg preserve the Old English only marginally; the Rome codex integrates the vernacular text.

The Guardian

The codex was produced at the Abbey of Nonantola (northern Italy) c. 800–830, moved during the Napoleonic Wars, later stolen, passed through private hands, entered Sir Thomas Phillipps’s collection, and returned to Rome in 1972 after being listed as lost since 1975.

Lost Copy of Earliest English Language Poem Discovered in Rome

The main-text placement signals early prestige for Old English on the continent. Interpuncts—full stops after each word—show an early word-spacing practice. Spelling points to southern Northumbria or northern Mercia, while copying errors reveal the Italian scribe’s limited familiarity. The version belongs to the eordu recension, pushing that tradition back three centuries.

Medieval Manuscript in Rome Contains Rare Copy of Cædmon’s Hymn

Andrea Cappa noted the library now offers over 40 million digitised images. Valentina Longo said the Nonantolan collection is fully online. Magnanti called the find a testament to digitisation; Faulkner said it reshapes Old English studies; Fangarezzi called it intellectual rays of sunlight.

The Guardian

Sources differ on the total number of Bede’s surviving copies—some cite at least 160, others give a vague count. The manuscript’s precise route during the 19th-century theft remains undocumented, and no scholarly criticism appears.

New copy of earliest poem in English language discovered by Trinity researchers in Rome

• “When we saw it we looked at each other and I said, ‘No one knows about this’,” — Elisabetta Magnanti, Trinity College Dublin

The Guardian

• “The magic of digitisation has allowed two researchers in Ireland to recognise the significance of a manuscript now in Rome, containing a poem miraculously composed in Northern England by a shy cowherd a millennium and a half ago.” — Elisabetta Magnanti

Medieval Manuscript in Rome Contains Rare Copy of Cædmon’s Hymn

• “It is a sign of how much early readers valued English poetry.” — Mark Faulkner, Trinity College Dublin

The Guardian

• “ The poem is punctuated with a full stop after every word, which shows that word spacing was a relatively new invention, said Faulkner.” — Mark Faulkner

The Guardian

The team will chemically analyse the parchment, compare the eordu recension with other versions, and expand digitisation of related Nonantolan codices. The find also spurs a ‘Global Archive Audit’ for overlooked medieval texts.

Medieval Manuscript in Rome Contains Rare Copy of Cædmon’s Hymn