Caedmon was a Northumbrian poet who composed Christian vernacular verse based on translations of holy scriptures and doctrine. He is widely celebrated as the first English poet, and his is the oldest extant example of Christian song. The origin of the name Caedmon has been a matter of some curiosity to scholars. The name has no obvious English etymology, although the Dictionary of National Biography accepts that it is probably an anglicized form of the common British name Catumanus, which derives from catu, meaning "battle." From this it is inferred that Caedmon was likely of Celtic descent, a fact that, if correct, makes it all the more appropriate that he wear the first laurels associated with British poetry. Although all that remains of his work is a single nine-line hymn based on the Creation, it is significant because it provides an early example of Latinate Christian scriptures being...