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The modern sculpture 'The Riddle' on Exeter High Street by Michael Fairfax, which is inscribed with texts of Old English riddles and evokes how they reflect the material world.

The Exeter Book riddles are a fragmentary collection of verse riddles in Old English found in the later tenth-century anthology of Old English poetry known as the Exeter Book. Today standing at around ninety-four (scholars debate precisely how many there are because divisions between poems are not always clear), the Exeter Book riddles account for almost all the riddles attested in Old English, and a major component of the otherwise mostly Latin corpus of riddles from early medieval England.

Sources

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One riddle, known as Exeter Book riddle 30, is found twice in the Exeter Book (with some textual variation), indicating that the Exeter Book was compiled from more than one pre-existing manuscript collection of Old English riddles.[1][2] Considerable scholarly effort has gone into reconstructing what these exemplars may have been like.[3]

Four of the riddles originate as translations from the Latin riddles of Aldhelm, emphasising that the Exeter Book riddles were at least partly influenced by Latin riddling in early medieval England: riddles 35 (mailcoat, also found in an eighth-century version in a ninth-century manuscript), and 40, 66, and 94 (all derived from Aldhelm's hundredth riddle, De creatura).[4][5]

Some riddles seem to have come directly from vernacular tradition.[6]: 175–219 

Form and style

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The riddles are all written in alliterative verse, and frequently end with an injunction to 'say what I am called', suggesting that they were recited as oral entertainment.[7] Like other Old English poetry, the riddles make extensive use of compound nouns and adjectives. When metaphorical, these compounds become what could be considered riddles within the riddle itself, and the audience must be attentive to any double meanings or "hinge words" in order to discover the answer to the riddle.[8][7][9] The riddles offer a new perspective on the mundane world[10] and often poetically personify their subject.[11] In this respect, they can be situated within a wider tradition of 'speaking objects' in Anglo-Saxon culture and have much in common with poems such as The Dream of the Rood and The Husband's Message and with artefacts such as the Franks Casket, Alfred Jewel, and Brussels Cross, which endow inanimate things with first-person voices.[12]

Unlike the Latin riddles from early medieval England, the Old English ones tend not to rely on intellectual obscurity to make the riddle more difficult for the reader,[13] rather focusing on describing processes of manufacture and transformation. And again in contrast to manuscripts of the Latin riddles, the Exeter Book does not state the solutions to its riddles. The search for their solutions has been addressed at length by Patrick J. Murphy, focusing on thought patterns of the period, but there is still no unanimous agreement on some of them.[6]

Contents

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The Exeter Book riddles are varied in theme, but they are all used to engage and challenge the readers mentally. By representing the familiar, material world from an oblique angle, many not only draw on but also complicate or challenge social norms such as martial masculinity, patriarchal attitudes to women, lords' dominance over their servants, and humans' over animals.[14] Thirteen, for example, have as their solution an implement, which speaks of itself through the riddle as a servant to its lord; but these sometimes also suggest the power of the servant to define the master.[15]

The majority of the riddles have religious themes and answers. Some of the religious contexts within the riddles are "manuscript book (or Bible)," "soul and body," "fish and river" (fish are often used to symbolize Christ).[16] The riddles also were written about common objects, and even animals were used as inspiration for some of the riddles. One example of a typical, religious riddle is Riddle 41, which describes the soul and body:

A noble guest of great lineage dwells
In the house of man. Grim hunger
Cannot harm him, nor feverish thirst,
Nor age, nor illness. If the servant
Of the guest who rules, serves well
On the journey, they will find together
Bliss and well-being, a feast of fate;
If the slave will not as a brother be ruled
By a lord he should fear and follow
Then both will suffer and sire a family
Of sorrows when, springing from the world,
They leave the bright bosom of one kinswoman,
Mother and sister, who nourished them.
Let the man who knows noble words
Say what the guest and servant are called.[16]
Trans. by Craig Williamson, A Feast of Creatures: Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Songs (1982)

While the Exeter Book was found in a cathedral library, and while it is clear that religious scribes worked on the riddles, not all of the riddles in the book are religiously themed. Many of the answers to the riddles are everyday, common objects. There are also many double entendres, which can lead to an answer that is obscene. One example of this is Riddle 23/25:

I am wonderful help to women,
The hope of something to come. I harm
No citizen except my slayer.
Rooted I stand on a high bed.
I am shaggy below. Sometimes the beautiful
Peasant's daughter, an eager-armed,
Proud woman grabs my body,
Rushes my red skin, holds me hard,
Claims my head. The curly-haired
Woman who catches me fast will feel
Our meeting. Her eye will be wet.[16]
Trans. by Craig Williamson, A Feast of Creatures: Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Songs (1982)

One of the first answers that readers might think of would be an onion. If the reader pays close attention to the wording in the latter half of the riddle, however, he or she may be led to believe that the answer is a man's penis. Both of these answers are perfectly legitimate answers to this riddle, but one is very innocent where the other is obscene. Riddles in which such double entendre is thought to be prominent in the Exeter Book are: 2 (ox and hide), 20 (sword), 25 (onion), 37 (bellows), 42 (cock and hen), 44 (key and lock), 45 (dough), 54 (churn and butter), 61 (mailshirt or helmet), 62 (poker), 63 (glass beaker), 64 (Lot and his family), 65 (onion), 91 (key).[17] Even though some of the riddles contained obscene meanings, that is not to say that the majority of riddles in the Exeter Book were obscene. There were more religious and animalistic riddles than obscene riddles.

Since the riddles were crammed into the pages of the manuscript with hardly any organization, many of the riddles vary in structure. The boundaries between riddles were often unclear.[11] In fact, some remain unanswered to this day, such as 95:

I am noble, known to rest in the quiet
Keeping of many men, humble and high born.
The plunderers' joy, hauled far from friends,
Rides richly on me, shines signifying power,
Whether I proclaim the grandeur of halls,
The wealth of cities, or the glory of God.
Now wise men love most my strange way
Of offering wisdom to many without voice.
Though the children of earth eagerly seek
To trace my trail, sometimes my tracks are dim.[16]
Trans. by Craig Williamson, A Feast of Creatures: Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Songs (1982)

List of Exeter Book Riddles

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The Exeter Book Riddles have the following solutions (according to the Riddle Ages blog and Paull F. Baum), and numbered according to the edition by Krapp and Dobbie.[18]

Folios Solutions (1-88 Riddle Ages, 89-95 Baum unless otherwise stated) Numbering
(Krapp and
Dobbie)		 (Williamson) (Baum)
101r Storm, Wind, etc. 1 1a 1
101r Storm, Wind, etc. 2 1b 2
101v-102v Storm, Wind, etc. 3 1c
102v Bell (most widely supported),[19] Bucket, Plough-team, etc. 4 2 35
102v Shield (most widely supported), Chopping Block, Guilt 5 3 49
102v-103r Sun 6 4 17
103r Swan 7 5 21
103r Nightingale (likely), Pipe or Flute, all manner of other birds, etc. 8 6 22
103r-v Cuckoo 9 7 20
103v Barnacle Goose 10 8 23
103v Wine or Cup of Wine 11 9 18
103v-104r Ox, Ox-hide, Leather (object), etc. 12 10 24
104r Flock of sheep,[20] ten chickens (this is the generally accepted one), ten pheasants, butterfly cocoon, alphabet, moth, fingers and gloves 13 11 28
104r Horn 14 12 53
104v Badger, Fox, Porcupine, Hedgehog, Weasel 15 13 29
104v-105r Anchor 16 14 57
105r Ballista, Fortress, Quiver, Bee-skep, etc. 17 15 52
105r Jug, Amphora, Cask, Leather bottle, Inkhorn, Phallus 18 16
105r Ship, Falconry/Horseman and hawk [sometimes with wagon/servant] and Writing 19 17 71
105r-105v Sword, Falcon/Hawk, Phallus 20 18 51
106r Plough 21 19 32
106r-106v Ursa Major, (days of the) month, bridge, New Year, stars 22 20 63
106v Bow 23 21 46
106v Jay, Magpie, Woodpecker 24 22 69
106v-107r Onion, leek, mustard, phallus, etc. 25 23 76
107r-107v Book, Bible, Gospel Book 26 24 43
107v Mead, Whip, Sleep 27 25 59
107v John Barleycorn, Wine cask, Beer, Ale, Mead, Harp, Stringed instrument, Tortoise lyre, Yew horn, Barrow, Trial of soul, Pattern-welded sword, Parchment, Biblical codex 28 26 60
107v-108r Sun and moon, swallow and sparrow, cloud and wind, bird and wind 29 27 3
108r Beam, Cross, Wood, Tree, Snowflake 30 a and b 28 a and b 14
108r-108v Psaltery and Quill-pick, Quill-pen and Fingers, Bagpipe, Fiddle, Portable Organ, Organistrum, Harp, Cithara 31 29 44
108v Ship, Wagon, Millstone, Wheel, Wheelbarrow 32 30 58
108v-109r Iceberg, Ice, Ice-floe 33 31 6
109r Rake 34 32 31
109r-109v Mail-coat (i.e. armour) 35 33 50
109v Ship; Man woman horse; Two men, woman, horses, dog, bird on ship; Waterfowl hunt; Pregnant horse, two pregnant women; Hunting; Sow and five piglets 36 34 73
109v Bellows, Wagon 37 35 81
109v (Young) Ox, Bullock 38 36 26
109v-110r Dream, Death, Cloud, Speech, Faith, Day, Moon, Time, Comet 39 37 4
110r-111v Creation 40 38 11
112r Water, Wisdom, Creation 41 39
112r N N Æ A A H H = hana & hæn, or Cock and Hen 42 40 70
112r-112v Soul and Body 43 41 10
112v Key and lock, Phallus, Dagger sheath 44 42 75
112v Dough 45 43 77
112v Lot and his Daughters 46 44 64
112v-113r Book-worm, Book-moth, Maggot and psalter 47 45 42
113r Paten, Chalice, Sacramental vessel 48 46 15
113r Oven, Beehive, Falcon Cage, (Book)case, Pen and ink, Barrow, Sacrificial altar, Millpond and sluice 49 47 38
113r Fire, Anger, Dog 50 48 8
113r-113v Pen and fingers 51 49 40
113v Buckets, Broom, Flail, Yoked oxen 52 50 66
113v Battering Ram is the most common solution, but Cross and Gallows have also been suggested 53 51 47
113v-114r Butter churn, Baker's boy and oven 54 52 78
114r Shield, Scabbard, Harp, Cross, Gallows, Sword rack, Sword box, Hengen 55 53 13
114r Loom, Lathe 56 54 37
114r-114v Swifts, Swallows, Crows, Jackdaws, Starlings, House martins, Letters, Musical notes, Gnats, Stormclouds, Hailstones, Raindrops, Bees, Midges, Damned souls, or Demons 57 55 19
114v Well-sweep 58 56 34
114v-115r Chalice 59 57 16
122v-123r Reed (pen), Rune staff 60 58 41
124v Shirt/Kirtle/Tunic, Garment, Helmet 61 59 79
124v-125r Poker, Boring tool, Phallus 62 60 80
125r Glass beaker, Flask, Flute 63 61 84
125r Man on horseback; falconry; ship; scribe; writing 64 62 72
125r Onion, Leek, Chives 65 63 39
125r-125v Creation, God 66 64 12
125v Bible, Religious Book 67 65
125v Ice, Iceberg, Icicle, Frozen Pond 68, 69 66 7
125v-126r (Church) Bell, Shawm/Shepherd's Pipe, (Double) Flute, Harp, Lyre, Organistrum, Shuttle; Lines 5-6 as a separate riddle: Lighthouse, Candle 70 67, 68 45
126r Cupping-glass, Iron Helmet, Iron Shield, Bronze Shield, Sword or Dagger, Sword-hilt, Iron Ore, Retainer 71 69
126r Ox, Heifer, Cow 72 70 25
126r-126v Spear, bow, cross 73 71 48
126v Cuttlefish, Boat and oak, Quill pen, Ship's figurehead, Siren, Water 74 72 67
127r Hound, Piss, Hound and Hind, Christ 75, 76 73 74, 27
127r Oyster 77 74 30
127r Crab, Oyster, Fish, Lamprey 78 75
127r Horn, Falcon, Hawk, Spear, Sword, Scabbard 79, 80 76 54
127v Weathercock, Ship, Visored helmet 81 77 36
127v Crab, harrow 82 78
127v Ore; metal; gold; coins; revenant; spirit 83 79 9
127v-128v Water 84 80 5
128v Fish and River, Body and Soul 85 81 62
128v-129r One-eyed Seller of Garlic 86 82 61
129r-129v Bellows 87 83
129v Antler, Inkhorn, Horn, Body and Soul 88 84, 85 55
129v ? 89 86
129v ? (a Latin text, arguably not actually a riddle)[21] 90
129v-130r Key 91 87 33
130r ? 92 88
130r Inkhorn 93 89 56
130r-130v Creation 94 90
130v The sun;[22] jay, magpie? 95 91 68

Editions and translations

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  • Andy Orchard (ed. and trans.), The Old English and Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 69 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021); accompanied by Andy Orchard, A Commentary on the Old English and Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition, Supplements to the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2021).
  • The Riddle Ages: Early Medieval Riddles, Translations and Commentaries, ed. by Megan Cavell and others, 2nd edn (Birmingham: University of Birmingham, 2020–).
  • Martin Foys, et al. (eds) Old English Poetry in Facsimile Project (Madison, WI: Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture, 2019-), with translations from the Old English Poetry Project, Aaron Hostetter (trans.).

Edition only

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Translation only

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  • Paull F. Baum, Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1963), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Riddles_of_the_Exeter_Book
  • Kevin Crossley-Holland (trans), The Exeter Book Riddles, revised edition (London: Enitharmon Press, 2008)
  • Greg Delanty, Seamus Heaney and Michael Matto, The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation (New York: Norton, 2010)
  • F. H. Whitman (ed and trans), Old English Riddles (Ottawa: Canadian Federation for the Humanities, 1982)
  • Craig Williamson (trans), A Feast of Creatures: Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Songs (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982)

References

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  1. ^ Roy M. Liuzza, "The Texts of the Old English Riddle 30", JEGP: The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 87 (1988), 1-15, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27709946.
  2. ^ A. N. Doane, "Spacing, Placing and Effacing: Scribal Textuality and Exeter Riddle 30 a/b", in New Approaches to Editing Old English Verse, ed. by Sarah Larratt Keefer and Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe (Cambridge: Brewer, 1998), pp. 45-65.
  3. ^ Mercedes Salvador-Bello, Isidorean Perceptions of Order: The Exeter Book Riddles and Medieval Latin Enigmata, Medieval European Studies, 17 (Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2015).
  4. ^ Erin Sebo, 'The Creation Riddle and Anglo-Saxon Cosmology', in The Anglo-Saxons: The World through their Eyes, ed. by Gale R. Owen-Crocker and Brian W. Schneider, BAR British Series, 595 (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2014), pp. 149-56.
  5. ^ Sebo, Erin (2018). In enigmate : the history of a riddle, 400-1500. Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 978-1-84682-773-0. OCLC 1055160490.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b Patrick J. Murphy. 2011. Unriddling the Exeter Riddles. University Park: Penn State University Press.
  7. ^ a b Carol Lind, 'Riddling in the Voices of Others: The Old English Exeter Book Riddles and a Pedagogy of the Anonymous' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Illinois State University, 2007).
  8. '^ Susanne Kries, Fela í rúnum eða í skáldskap: Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian Approaches to Riddles and Poetic Disguises', in Riddles, Knights, and Cross-dressing Saints: Essays on Medieval English, ed. by Thomas Honegger, Variations Sammlung/Collection, 5 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2004), pp. 139-64 ISBN 3-03910-392-X.
  9. ^ John D. Niles, Old English Enigmatic Poems and the Play of the Texts, Studies in the early Middle Ages, 13 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2006).
  10. ^ Sebo, Erin (2018). In enigmate : the history of a riddle, 400-1500. Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 978-1-84682-773-0. OCLC 1055160490.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ a b Rios, Alberto. Anglo-Saxon Prosody, "Forms of Verse". Fall, 2000.
  12. ^ James Paz, Nonhuman Voices in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Material Culture (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2017), pp. 17-26; http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=631090.
  13. ^ Sebo, Erin (2018). In enigmate : the history of a riddle, 400-1500. Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 978-1-84682-773-0. OCLC 1055160490.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Helen Price, 'Human and NonHuman in Anglo-Saxon and British Postwar Poetry: Reshaping Literary Ecology' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Leeds, 2014), esp. ch. 2; http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6607/; https://www.academia.edu/6827866.
  15. ^ Jennifer Neville, 'The Unexpected Treasure of the "Implement Trope": Hierarchical Relationships in the Old English Riddles', Review of English Studies, 62 [256] (2011), 505-519. doi:10.1093/res/hgq131
  16. ^ a b c d Black, Joseph, et al., eds. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Volume 1: The Medieval Period. 2nd ed. Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press,2009. Print.
  17. ^ Jacqueline Fay, 'Becoming an Onion: The Extra-Human Nature of Genital Difference in the Old English Riddling and Medical Traditions', English Studies, 101 (2020), 60-78 (p. 64); doi:10.1080/0013838X.2020.1708083.
  18. ^ Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book, trans. by Paull F. Baum (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1963), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Riddles_of_the_Exeter_Book; George Philip Krapp and Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie (eds), The Exeter Book, The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, 3 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1936).
  19. ^ Neville Mogford, "'Exeter Riddle 4' and Two Other Bell Riddles", Anglo-Saxon England. 2024:1-21. doi:10.1017/S0263675123000108
  20. ^ Rachel A. Burns, 'Spirits and Skins: The Sceapheord of Exeter Book Riddle 13 and Holy Labour', The Review of English Studies (2022), doi:10.1093/res/hgab086.
  21. ^ Mercedes Salvador-Bello, 'Exeter Book Riddle 90 Under a New Light: A School Drill in Hisperic Robes', Neophilologus, 102 (2018), 107–123.
  22. ^ Dieter Bitterli, 'Exeter Book Riddle 95: 'The Sun', a New Solution', Anglia, 137.4 (2019), doi:10.1515/ang-2019-0054.
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