A Mystery of Revelation
“Caedmon’s Hymn” and the Quran 96: 1–5
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/cis.v4i4.1-4.2.131Keywords:
Islam, Caedmon, Quran, BedeAbstract
This article examines (as an analogous pair) the narrative in Venerable Bede’s account of ‘Caedmon’s Hymn’, and in Ibn Hisham’s account of the Prophet’s first revelation at Mt Hira (Q 96:1-5). The author examines their respective manuscript traditions, their general narrative structures, and the issue of thematic or formulaic parallels in the angelic revelations themselves. The essay concludes with a discussion of the problems in assigning possible explanations for the analogous traditions.References
Brooks, Nicholas, “From British to English Christianity: Deconstructing Bede’s Interpretation of the Conversion.” In Conversion and Colonization in Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Nicholas Howe and Catherine Karkov, 1–30. Tempe, AZ: Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2006.
Colgrave, B. and R.A.B. Mynors. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. Reprinted 1992.
Dobbie, E. ed. Anglo-Saxon Minor Poems. Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records 6. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1942.
Donner, Fred. Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 1998.
Gorke, Andreas. “Historical Tradition about al-Hudaybiya: a Study of ‘Urwa B. al-Zubayr’s Account.” In The Biography of Muhammed: the Issue of the Sources, ed. H. Motzki, 240–275. Leiden: Brill, 2000.
Hoyland, Robert. “The Earliest Christian Writings on Muhammad: An Appraisal.” In The Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources, ed. Harald Motzki, 276–297. Leiden: Brill, 2000.
Ibn Hisham. La Vie du Prophète Muhammad—L’Envoyé d’Allâh. Ed. A. Badawi. Beirut: Editions Al Bouraq, 2001.
———. Sira Nabawiya. Cairo: Dar al-Fajr li-l- Turath, 2004.
Ibn Kathir. Tafseer Ibn Kathir. Ed. M. Assabouni. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Assry, 2007.
Jackson, Kenneth. The International Popular Tale and Early Welsh Tradition. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1961.
Kiernan, K. “Reading Cædmon’s ‘Hymn’ with Someone Else’s Glosses.” Representations 32, (Autumn, 1990): 157–174. doi:10.1525/rep.1990.32.1.99p0014j
Klaeber, F. “Analogues of the Story of Caedmon.” Modern Language Notes 42(6), (June, 1927): 390. doi:10.2307/2914216
Lester, G.A. “The Cædmon Story and its Analogues.” Neophilologus 58 (1974): 225–237. doi:10.1007/BF01513609
Lings, Martin. Muhammad: His Life based on the Earliest Sources. Cambridge: Islamic Text Society, 1991.
Motzki, H., ed. The Biography of Muhammed: the Issue of the Sources. Leiden: Brill, 2000.
O’Brien O’Keeffe, K. “Orality and the Developing Text of Caedmon’s Hymn.” Speculum 62(1), (Jan., 1987): 1–20. doi:10.2307/2852564
Ó hógáin, Dáithí. “The Importance of Folklore within the European Heritage: Some Remarks.” Béaloideas 68, (2000): 67–98.
Peters, F.E. “The Quest of the Historical Muhammad.” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 23(3), (August, 1991): 291–395.
Plummer, C., ed. Venerabilis Bede Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896.
Rosenberg, Bruce A. “Folklore Methodology and Medieval Literature.” Special Issue: Folklore and Literature, Journal of the Folklore Institute 13(3), (1976): 311–325. doi:10.2307/3814131
Schöller, Marco. “Sira and Tafsir: Muhammad al-Kalbi on the Jews of Medina.” In The Biography of Muhammad: the Issue of the Sources, ed. Harald Motzki, 18–48. Leiden: Brill, 2000.
Shepherd, G. “The Prophetic Caedmon.” The Review of English Studies 5(18), (April, 1954): 113–122. doi:10.1093/res/V.18.113
Watt, Montgomery. Muhammad at Mecca. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953. Reprinted 1968.
Whitbread, L. “An Analogue of the Cædmon Story.” The Review of English Studies 15(59), (July, 1939): 333–335. doi:10.1093/res/os-XV.59.333
Zeitlin, Irving. The Historical Muhammad. Cambridge: Polity, 2007.
