Page "English poetry" Paragraph 2

The earliest surviving poetry was likely transmitted orally and then written down in versions that do not now survive ; thus, dating the earliest poetry remains difficult and often controversial.

The earliest surviving manuscripts date from the 10th century.

Poetry written in Latin, Brythonic ( a predecessor language of Welsh ) and Old Irish survives which may date as early as the 6th century.

The earliest surviving poetry written in Anglo-Saxon, the most direct predecessor of modern English, may have been composed as early as the 7th century.