Old English poetry appears in two forms: heroic and Christian. Heroic poetry is based in Germanic legend and history. Christian or religious poetry adapts biblical narrative and uses the poetic form to present a moral perspective. Caedmon (died ca. 680) is recognized as being among the earliest of the Christian poets.

Information about Caedmon's life is sketchy. The English theologian, St. Bede the Venerable (673-735), captured what little information was available and published it in the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, around 730. Bede lived in the generation following Caedmon and was his closest contemporary and most accurate observer. Caedmon's date of birth is unknown. According to Bede, Caedmon was a herdsman and lay brother at Whitby, a monastery founded in 657 by St. Hilda. As a lay brother, he did not have the responsibilities of a monk, but rather served the monks by tending to their livestock. Reports indicated...