The might of the Maker, the deeds of the Father,
The thought of His heart. He, Lord everlasting,
Established of old the source of all wonders:
Creator all-holy, He hung the bright heaven,
A roof high upreared, o’er the children of men;
The King of mankind then created for mortals
The world in its beauty, the earth spread beneath them,
He, Lord everlasting, omnipotent God." - Meaning and context.">
A. S. Cook & C. B. Tinker, Select Translations from Old English Poetry (1902), p. 77
“

Now must we hymn the Master of heaven,
The might of the Maker, the deeds of the Father,
The thought of His heart. He, Lord everlasting,
Established of old the source of all wonders:
Creator all-holy, He hung the bright heaven,
A roof high upreared, o’er the children of men;
The King of mankind then created for mortals
The world in its beauty, the earth spread beneath them,
He, Lord everlasting, omnipotent God.

— Bede

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Now must we hymn the Master of heaven,
The might of the Maker, the deeds of the Father,
The thought of His heart. He, Lord everlasting,
Established of old the source of all wonders:
Creator all-holy, He hung the bright heaven,
A roof high upreared, o’er the children of men;
The King of mankind then created for mortals
The world in its beauty, the earth spread beneath them,
He, Lord everlasting, omnipotent God." in the context of "A. S. Cook & C. B. Tinker, Select Translations from Old English Poetry (1902), p. 77" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Bede" (Quotes, Cædmon's Hymn: Glossed in Latin and attributed to Cædmon in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (731)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bede

About Bede

Bede (c. 672/673–26 May 735) was an Anglo-Saxon historian, theologian and scientific writer; often called the Venerable Bede. His best-known work, the Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People) was completed in 731.