Why the name Caedmon?

There's definitely some significance in a name. To be named is to be called. Names given in the Bible are often chosen or given to say something about the person named. One of the first tasks given to Adam was to name the animals, thereby defining a relationship between him and the created world. The revealing of God's own name is so sacred no one could really say it or write it. There are significant moments in the Bible where someone is given a new name to define their mission. And in the Sacrament of Baptism, the first question asked is "What name have you given this child?" So with such an intense responsibility, how does a parent choose a name for their child? I believe it is often both random and divine.

There are a number of factors my wife and I took into account in naming our children, and in each case, I've been surprised to find hidden significance in those names that I didn't know were present when we chose them. Recently we had the great blessing of naming our second son. [click here to see pictures of Caedmon's first few days of life outside the womb] We chose the names Caedmon and John. John because John the Baptist is one of Joia's favorite New Testament figures, and John the Evangelist is one of mine. Caedmon after the first recorded English poet, a Divinely inspired bard from the seventh century. After we had picked the name, in one of those cool after the fact graces God likes to throw in there from time to time, we learned it's an old Celtic name that could possibly mean "Bradley."

The story of St. Caedmon doesn't seem to be too well known these days, but it's pretty cool. Most of what we know about him comes from a very reliable, very thorough historian monk and Doctor of the Church, St. Bede (who also happened to be the first to translate the New Testament into some form of English) in his "A History of the English Church and People" (written around 731). Another respected historian (also a monk, as so many historians of those eras happened to be) named William of Malmesbury had a bit more to say about him in 1125.

Anyway, the story goes that Caedmon was a simple laborer whose job was to care for the animals attached to a double monastery in England. On certain times of feasting at this monastery, it was customary to pass a harp from person to person, each person making up a verse as the harp came to them. Caedmon found himself at one of these festivities, and when he saw the harp was getting close to him, he snuck out, ashamed of his lack of verse-making skills. That night he slept in the stable where he was assigned to watch over the animals, and as he slept, a person came to him in his dream. The person asked him to sing, and Caedmon said no way, that's why he left the feast. The person told him he will sing and Caedmon asked what he should sing about. He was told to sing about Creation. When he woke up, he remembered the song and even added to it. That song is the first recorded poem in any English language. It was a very high order of poetry that many after tried to emulate, but none could really equal (which makes sense considering its divine inspiration). Caedmon related this grace he had received to his superior, who took him to the abbess of the monastery, St. Hilda, and several other learned people. After hearing Caedmon's song, and knowing the sort of person he was, they all concluded it was a Divine gift. They taught him more stories from the Bible, which he in turn made into verse, which was perhaps the only way many people ever came to know or understand many of these stories in a time when most could not read. St. Hilda convinced him to become a monk and he continued to write poetically on Divine things and lived an exemplary life of virtue.

To learn more about St. Caedmon, visit these sites: