The essays in this book use the nine-line poem known as “Cædmon's Hymn†as a lens on the world of Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Relatively little attention has been paid to what the story of Cædmon and his hymn might tell us about the material as well as the textual culture of Bede's world. The essays in this collection seek to connect “Cædmon's Hymn†to Bede s material world.