Researchers have discovered a 9th-century manuscript of the Hymn of Caedmon, the oldest known poem in English, in the National Central Library of Rome. The poem, composed in the 7th century by a cowherd from Whitby, was preserved in Bede's Ecclesiastical History. The manuscript, made by a monk in Italy, is significant for its early incorporation of Old English text and unusual punctuation, revealing insights into the transmission of English literature across medieval Europe.