Sound Correspondences + OE Characters + Caedmon's Hymn

pipipo

Latin & Sanskrit have initial… & Greek has initial… + example

<s>, <h>, Septem — hepta

Latin & Greek have initial… & Sanskrit has initial… + example

<o>, <a>, Octo — astau

Germanic initial… & Latin initial… + example

<t>, <d>, Twai — duo

Germanic… & Latin/Greek… + example

<h>, <c>/<k>, Eahta — octo/okto

Important characters of OE

1. Ƿ ƿ = wynn <w>

2. Ð ð = eth <th>

3. Þ þ = thorn <th>

4. Æ æ = ash

5. Ᵹ ᵹ = insular <g>

6. ⁊ = Tironian et

7. ſ = long <s>

What is Caedmon’s Hymn and what does the excerpt talk about?

1. What is it?

   1. The earliest surviving poem in Old English

   2. Composed c. 658–680 CE

   3. Attributed to Cædmon, a lay brother at Whitby Abbey

   4. Recorded by Bede in Ecclesiastical History of the English People

   5. Caedmon had a dream that was signal of poetic vocation

   6. Suddenly was suddenly able to sing the verses

2. What is it about?

   1. It celebrates God as a creator and marks the beginning of Christian English literature — first to write Christian poetry in his own language.