The 7thC Englishmen who inspired Lord of the Rings [8:01]

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00 · [Music]
0:00 · At the top of the 199 steps in the
0:02 · coastal town of Whitby, you can see this
0:04 · extremely ornate stone pillar. This is
0:07 · actually a reminder of a miraculous
0:09 · story involving the first poem ever
0:12 · written in the English language which
0:14 · took place on this very site here.
0:16 · Whippy's most famous export in the world
0:18 · of literature is Dracula, which is very
0:21 · much embraced locally. But 12 centuries
0:24 · before Dracula was released, an even
0:26 · more important piece of literature that
0:28 · everyone in this country should know of
0:30 · was produced here. One that went on to
0:33 · inspire one of the greatest writers of
0:34 · all time, Jr. Tolken. And it all started
0:38 · with one man named Cademan who in about
0:42 · 680 was a lowly lay brother, a herdsman
0:46 · actually, who was described as well
0:48 · advanced in his years. What is quite
0:50 · interesting is that Kedman is actually a
0:52 · name of British origin and points to the
0:54 · survival of the British during the
0:56 · Anglo-Saxon migrations of the 7th
0:58 · century. But he was completely
1:01 · illiterate and had no real artistic
1:03 · skill, which was an issue. It was an
1:06 · issue because he lived in a great
1:08 · monastery here named Strrenhalch. That
1:11 · monastery is now beneath the grounds
1:12 · here on the cliffs, beneath the stone
1:15 · pillar and the church and also the ruins
1:16 · of Whippby Abbey. It's important you
1:18 · understand this. The abbey that you see
1:19 · in this video is not the one I'm talking
1:21 · about. This was Norman, dates to the
1:23 · 13th century. The Anglo-Saxon monastery
1:25 · that I'm talking about, Strannis Halch
1:27 · Monastery, lay beneath. That name, by
1:30 · the way, is of course old English. I may
1:31 · have pronounced that a little wrong, but
1:33 · please forgive me. And it was only when
1:34 · the Vikings came that this place became
1:36 · Witby. The BY prefix is very common in
1:39 · exviking occupied areas, not just in
1:42 · England. Anyway, this Kedman was a
1:44 · resident of this great monastery here
1:46 · who cared for the animals. So why was it
1:49 · an issue that he had no real artistic
1:53 · ability? Well, after the evening feasts,
1:55 · harps would be passed around and people
1:57 · would take it in turns to sing. In fact,
2:00 · it was demanded of you that you sing.
2:02 · But sources made it very clear that
2:04 · Kedman lacked the knowledge of not only
2:06 · how to use a harp, but also how to
2:08 · compose the lyrics to songs. So after
2:11 · dinner, in a rather ashamed fashion, he
2:13 · would just retire to the animals and
2:15 · then go to sleep. This was a recurring
2:17 · theme for poor caveman until one night
2:20 · after retiring to his animals, he fell
2:22 · asleep in the hay and he had a dream.
2:27 · In this dream, someone approaches him
2:30 · and asks him to sing Principium
2:32 · Creaturer or the beginning of created
2:36 · things. He of course refused because he
2:39 · couldn't sing. But all of a sudden, he
2:40 · found himself uttering verses which he'd
2:43 · never heard before in praise of God the
2:46 · Creator. The man requested Kedman play
2:48 · the harp, too, which to his surprise, he
2:50 · was able to play a beautiful tune to
2:52 · accompany the poem he had just created,
2:55 · even though he'd never sung or played an
2:57 · instrument before in his entire life.
3:00 · But dreams are only temporary, and he
3:02 · soon woke up. To his amazement, he
3:05 · remembered the dream and also that he
3:08 · could still recite the song and play
3:10 · harp. It was nothing short of
3:12 · miraculous. He immediately informed his
3:15 · superior who took him to the abbis of
3:17 · the monastery, our second great
3:19 · historical figure from this story. She
3:21 · was St. Hild of Whitby. She lived
3:23 · between 614 to 680 and she led the
3:26 · monastery here as it became one of the
3:28 · most significant religious centers in
3:30 · the Anglo-Saxon world in which literally
3:33 · kings would seek her counsel here.
3:36 · Coincidentally, her brilliance also
3:39 · started from a dream. When she was an
3:41 · infant, her mother dreamt of a precious
3:43 · necklace glowing underneath her garment.
3:46 · It seemed to shine forth with such a
3:47 · blaze of light that it filled all
3:49 · Britain with the glory of its
3:51 · brilliance. The necklace represented
3:53 · Hilda and the light that she brought.
3:55 · But upon hearing Kedman's recital of the
3:58 · hymn, she immediately declared it an act
4:00 · of God. This became known as Kedman's
4:03 · hymn, the first ever English poem, the
4:06 · first English sacred furs.
4:11 · He then became a monk and lived a life
4:14 · of creating powerful Christian verses
4:16 · which made him very useful as he could
4:19 · create these verses in a dialect that
4:21 · the local North Umbreans could
4:22 · understand. So it was key in converting
4:24 · them to Christianity. He then passed
4:27 · away on this exact location in the year
4:29 · 680.
4:31 · Now you may be asking how we know all
4:33 · this. Well just 50 years after Kedman's
4:35 · life bead existed known as the father of
4:38 · English history. He's one of the most
4:39 · important people in our country's
4:41 · history and in my opinion he does not
4:43 · get talked about anywhere enough. So we
4:45 · had England's first ever historian bead
4:48 · writing about the first ever poem in
4:51 · English. This is pure history right
4:54 · here. So it's thanks to bead that this
4:56 · history actually survived and who knows
4:58 · where we would actually be without him.
5:00 · But how does this relate to Lord of the
5:03 · Rings?
5:06 · So, as we know, Tolken is one of the
5:08 · greatest writers to have ever graced the
5:11 · earth, let alone in Britain. And he was
5:12 · an Anglosaxon scholar, and we can
5:15 · clearly see this is what he took
5:17 · inspiration from in Lord of the Rings. I
5:18 · think the vast majority of my audience
5:20 · will be aware of the Lord of the Rings
5:21 · story, Tolken's most famous piece. So,
5:23 · you'll be aware of Middle Earth, the
5:25 · main continent of the franchise. Now,
5:28 · you may think he called it Middle Earth
5:29 · for whatever reason, maybe because he
5:32 · was raised in the Midlands of England.
5:33 · Um, but the actual truth is that it was
5:35 · an Anglo-Saxon concept which is spoken
5:38 · about in Kedman's hymn, the very first
5:42 · English poem that I've talked about. So,
5:44 · the story of today's video may seem so
5:46 · far back in history that it's
5:48 · incomprehendable. But if you're a fan of
5:50 · Lord of the Rings and modern culture,
5:52 · know that it would not exist without the
5:53 · likes of Kedman. In fact, 12 Anglo-Saxon
5:57 · poets have been identified in medieval
5:59 · sources, but Kedman is the earliest of
6:01 · them all. So in his hymn he mentions
6:04 · midenad
6:06 · which is old English for middle earth.
6:09 · The concept was simple really. We're in
6:12 · middle earth. Upper earth is heaven and
6:14 · lower earth is hell. And this directly
6:18 · influenced Tolken to use middle earth in
6:21 · Lord of the Rings. So this is pure
6:23 · English heritage. This is what it's all
6:25 · about. This is what gets me going. But
6:26 · what about this mysterious stone pillar
6:29 · at the top of the cliff here in Whitby?
6:34 · It is of course in far too good
6:36 · condition to be an ancient or medieval
6:38 · relic. It was actually erected in 1898.
6:41 · It stands powerfully at the top of the
6:43 · steps here. There is exactly 199 steps,
6:46 · but that's a different topic. You
6:47 · literally, you cannot miss it. As you
6:49 · walk up, upon closer inspection, you
6:51 · will see just how ornate it really is.
6:53 · It's a thing of beauty, and I encourage
6:56 · anyone to get up close and have a look
6:57 · at it.
7:06 · You can actually find an inscription
7:08 · stating to the glory of God and in
7:10 · memory of Kedman, father of English
7:13 · sacred song fell asleep hard by AD 680.
7:17 · Now some of you may be thinking that
7:19 · sounds like quite a unique way to
7:21 · describe someone passing away that they
7:24 · fell asleep very hard but this isn't
7:26 · what it means. It's actually a bit of a
7:28 · homage. The fall asleep is of course a
7:30 · reference to his peaceful death. But the
7:33 · very hard isn't which is an old English
7:34 · phrase with a totally different meaning
7:36 · now, but it meant nearby or close by. So
7:38 · it just means that he passed away close
7:41 · by this monument and he is somewhere
7:44 · underneath to this day most likely. So
7:46 · another super fascinating history find
7:48 · here today. Thanks a lot for watching
7:49 · and if you appreciate the time I've put
7:51 · into this one, please do leave me a
7:53 · like. I do appreciate it.

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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00	·	[Music]
0:00	·	At the top of the 199 steps in the
0:02	·	coastal town of Whitby, you can see this
0:04	·	extremely ornate stone pillar. This is
0:07	·	actually a reminder of a miraculous
0:09	·	story involving the first poem ever
0:12	·	written in the English language which
0:14	·	took place on this very site here.
0:16	·	Whippy's most famous export in the world
0:18	·	of literature is Dracula, which is very
0:21	·	much embraced locally. But 12 centuries
0:24	·	before Dracula was released, an even
0:26	·	more important piece of literature that
0:28	·	everyone in this country should know of
0:30	·	was produced here. One that went on to
0:33	·	inspire one of the greatest writers of
0:34	·	all time, Jr. Tolken. And it all started
0:38	·	with one man named Cademan who in about
0:42	·	680 was a lowly lay brother, a herdsman
0:46	·	actually, who was described as well
0:48	·	advanced in his years. What is quite
0:50	·	interesting is that Kedman is actually a
0:52	·	name of British origin and points to the
0:54	·	survival of the British during the
0:56	·	Anglo-Saxon migrations of the 7th
0:58	·	century. But he was completely
1:01	·	illiterate and had no real artistic
1:03	·	skill, which was an issue. It was an
1:06	·	issue because he lived in a great
1:08	·	monastery here named Strrenhalch. That
1:11	·	monastery is now beneath the grounds
1:12	·	here on the cliffs, beneath the stone
1:15	·	pillar and the church and also the ruins
1:16	·	of Whippby Abbey. It's important you
1:18	·	understand this. The abbey that you see
1:19	·	in this video is not the one I'm talking
1:21	·	about. This was Norman, dates to the
1:23	·	13th century. The Anglo-Saxon monastery
1:25	·	that I'm talking about, Strannis Halch
1:27	·	Monastery, lay beneath. That name, by
1:30	·	the way, is of course old English. I may
1:31	·	have pronounced that a little wrong, but
1:33	·	please forgive me. And it was only when
1:34	·	the Vikings came that this place became
1:36	·	Witby. The BY prefix is very common in
1:39	·	exviking occupied areas, not just in
1:42	·	England. Anyway, this Kedman was a
1:44	·	resident of this great monastery here
1:46	·	who cared for the animals. So why was it
1:49	·	an issue that he had no real artistic
1:53	·	ability? Well, after the evening feasts,
1:55	·	harps would be passed around and people
1:57	·	would take it in turns to sing. In fact,
2:00	·	it was demanded of you that you sing.
2:02	·	But sources made it very clear that
2:04	·	Kedman lacked the knowledge of not only
2:06	·	how to use a harp, but also how to
2:08	·	compose the lyrics to songs. So after
2:11	·	dinner, in a rather ashamed fashion, he
2:13	·	would just retire to the animals and
2:15	·	then go to sleep. This was a recurring
2:17	·	theme for poor caveman until one night
2:20	·	after retiring to his animals, he fell
2:22	·	asleep in the hay and he had a dream.
2:27	·	In this dream, someone approaches him
2:30	·	and asks him to sing Principium
2:32	·	Creaturer or the beginning of created
2:36	·	things. He of course refused because he
2:39	·	couldn't sing. But all of a sudden, he
2:40	·	found himself uttering verses which he'd
2:43	·	never heard before in praise of God the
2:46	·	Creator. The man requested Kedman play
2:48	·	the harp, too, which to his surprise, he
2:50	·	was able to play a beautiful tune to
2:52	·	accompany the poem he had just created,
2:55	·	even though he'd never sung or played an
2:57	·	instrument before in his entire life.
3:00	·	But dreams are only temporary, and he
3:02	·	soon woke up. To his amazement, he
3:05	·	remembered the dream and also that he
3:08	·	could still recite the song and play
3:10	·	harp. It was nothing short of
3:12	·	miraculous. He immediately informed his
3:15	·	superior who took him to the abbis of
3:17	·	the monastery, our second great
3:19	·	historical figure from this story. She
3:21	·	was St. Hild of Whitby. She lived
3:23	·	between 614 to 680 and she led the
3:26	·	monastery here as it became one of the
3:28	·	most significant religious centers in
3:30	·	the Anglo-Saxon world in which literally
3:33	·	kings would seek her counsel here.
3:36	·	Coincidentally, her brilliance also
3:39	·	started from a dream. When she was an
3:41	·	infant, her mother dreamt of a precious
3:43	·	necklace glowing underneath her garment.
3:46	·	It seemed to shine forth with such a
3:47	·	blaze of light that it filled all
3:49	·	Britain with the glory of its
3:51	·	brilliance. The necklace represented
3:53	·	Hilda and the light that she brought.
3:55	·	But upon hearing Kedman's recital of the
3:58	·	hymn, she immediately declared it an act
4:00	·	of God. This became known as Kedman's
4:03	·	hymn, the first ever English poem, the
4:06	·	first English sacred furs.
4:11	·	He then became a monk and lived a life
4:14	·	of creating powerful Christian verses
4:16	·	which made him very useful as he could
4:19	·	create these verses in a dialect that
4:21	·	the local North Umbreans could
4:22	·	understand. So it was key in converting
4:24	·	them to Christianity. He then passed
4:27	·	away on this exact location in the year
4:29	·	680.
4:31	·	Now you may be asking how we know all
4:33	·	this. Well just 50 years after Kedman's
4:35	·	life bead existed known as the father of
4:38	·	English history. He's one of the most
4:39	·	important people in our country's
4:41	·	history and in my opinion he does not
4:43	·	get talked about anywhere enough. So we
4:45	·	had England's first ever historian bead
4:48	·	writing about the first ever poem in
4:51	·	English. This is pure history right
4:54	·	here. So it's thanks to bead that this
4:56	·	history actually survived and who knows
4:58	·	where we would actually be without him.
5:00	·	But how does this relate to Lord of the
5:03	·	Rings?
5:06	·	So, as we know, Tolken is one of the
5:08	·	greatest writers to have ever graced the
5:11	·	earth, let alone in Britain. And he was
5:12	·	an Anglosaxon scholar, and we can
5:15	·	clearly see this is what he took
5:17	·	inspiration from in Lord of the Rings. I
5:18	·	think the vast majority of my audience
5:20	·	will be aware of the Lord of the Rings
5:21	·	story, Tolken's most famous piece. So,
5:23	·	you'll be aware of Middle Earth, the
5:25	·	main continent of the franchise. Now,
5:28	·	you may think he called it Middle Earth
5:29	·	for whatever reason, maybe because he
5:32	·	was raised in the Midlands of England.
5:33	·	Um, but the actual truth is that it was
5:35	·	an Anglo-Saxon concept which is spoken
5:38	·	about in Kedman's hymn, the very first
5:42	·	English poem that I've talked about. So,
5:44	·	the story of today's video may seem so
5:46	·	far back in history that it's
5:48	·	incomprehendable. But if you're a fan of
5:50	·	Lord of the Rings and modern culture,
5:52	·	know that it would not exist without the
5:53	·	likes of Kedman. In fact, 12 Anglo-Saxon
5:57	·	poets have been identified in medieval
5:59	·	sources, but Kedman is the earliest of
6:01	·	them all. So in his hymn he mentions
6:04	·	midenad
6:06	·	which is old English for middle earth.
6:09	·	The concept was simple really. We're in
6:12	·	middle earth. Upper earth is heaven and
6:14	·	lower earth is hell. And this directly
6:18	·	influenced Tolken to use middle earth in
6:21	·	Lord of the Rings. So this is pure
6:23	·	English heritage. This is what it's all
6:25	·	about. This is what gets me going. But
6:26	·	what about this mysterious stone pillar
6:29	·	at the top of the cliff here in Whitby?
6:34	·	It is of course in far too good
6:36	·	condition to be an ancient or medieval
6:38	·	relic. It was actually erected in 1898.
6:41	·	It stands powerfully at the top of the
6:43	·	steps here. There is exactly 199 steps,
6:46	·	but that's a different topic. You
6:47	·	literally, you cannot miss it. As you
6:49	·	walk up, upon closer inspection, you
6:51	·	will see just how ornate it really is.
6:53	·	It's a thing of beauty, and I encourage
6:56	·	anyone to get up close and have a look
6:57	·	at it.
7:06	·	You can actually find an inscription
7:08	·	stating to the glory of God and in
7:10	·	memory of Kedman, father of English
7:13	·	sacred song fell asleep hard by AD 680.
7:17	·	Now some of you may be thinking that
7:19	·	sounds like quite a unique way to
7:21	·	describe someone passing away that they
7:24	·	fell asleep very hard but this isn't
7:26	·	what it means. It's actually a bit of a
7:28	·	homage. The fall asleep is of course a
7:30	·	reference to his peaceful death. But the
7:33	·	very hard isn't which is an old English
7:34	·	phrase with a totally different meaning
7:36	·	now, but it meant nearby or close by. So
7:38	·	it just means that he passed away close
7:41	·	by this monument and he is somewhere
7:44	·	underneath to this day most likely. So
7:46	·	another super fascinating history find
7:48	·	here today. Thanks a lot for watching
7:49	·	and if you appreciate the time I've put
7:51	·	into this one, please do leave me a
7:53	·	like. I do appreciate it.