Who were Caedmon and Cynewulf?

Caedmon and Cynewulf are two significant figures in Old English poetry, though they represent different eras and styles within the tradition.

Caedmon (flourished 658–680) is recognized as the first known English Christian poet. According to Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, he was an illiterate herdsman who received the gift of song in a dream. He later became a monk at the monastery of Whitby, where he spent his life rendering sacred history into vernacular verse. While many poems were attributed to him, only his original "hymn to the creation" can be confidently linked to him.1

Cynewulf (flourished 9th century) was a later, more technically refined poet who likely lived in Mercia or Northumbria. He is known for weaving his name into the epilogues of four poems using runic characters. His works include Elene, The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, and The Ascension (Christ II). Unlike the legendary, divinely inspired Caedmon, Cynewulf appears to have been a learned cleric who skillfully applied Latin rhetorical principles to his poetry.23