Kirra Summers
Active member
Although it is difficult to trace the exact origins of poetry, researchers believe oral storytelling (poetry) existed long before written language. Apparently the earliest known examples of written poetry come from the Sumerian
civilisation, which dates back to around 4000 BC.
Over 1,300 years ago Caedmon's Hymn a nine-line poem and the first English poem praising God for the creation of the world was discovered. It is said to have been composed by an illiterate cowherd from Whitby, North Yorkshire, after having a divine visitation. The poem was composed in Old English the form of English used in the early Middle Ages and later into modern English.
“Now let us praise Heaven-Kingdom's guardian,
the Maker's might and his mind's thoughts,
the work of the glory-father—of every wonder,
eternal Lord. He established a beginning.
He first shaped for men's sons
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator;
then middle-earth mankind's guardian,
eternal Lord, afterwards prepared
the earth for men, the Lord almighty.
civilisation, which dates back to around 4000 BC.
Over 1,300 years ago Caedmon's Hymn a nine-line poem and the first English poem praising God for the creation of the world was discovered. It is said to have been composed by an illiterate cowherd from Whitby, North Yorkshire, after having a divine visitation. The poem was composed in Old English the form of English used in the early Middle Ages and later into modern English.
“Now let us praise Heaven-Kingdom's guardian,
the Maker's might and his mind's thoughts,
the work of the glory-father—of every wonder,
eternal Lord. He established a beginning.
He first shaped for men's sons
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator;
then middle-earth mankind's guardian,
eternal Lord, afterwards prepared
the earth for men, the Lord almighty.