A 9th-century Saxon poem is modeled on the legend of Cædmon

The Preface to the poem Heliand and the Versus de Poeta explain the origin of this work at the request of Emperor Louis the Pious, who reigned between 814 and 840. These Latin texts indicate that the poet was a simple shepherd incapable of versifying before receiving inspiration from a divine voice in a dream. This plot recalls point for point the career of Cædmon, illustrating the influence of Anglo-Saxon poetry on continental Germanic literatures.