We do not have the names of any of these poets, though there is no reason to doubt that some may have cunningly hidden their names in the text. The remaining part of the exeter book includes the rhyming poem, which is the only example of its kind. In many cases, answers are just provisional, and still the subject of some discussion. Its riddles are virtually all those which survive in old english. Exeter book, the oldest book of english literature, contains religious poetry and smutty riddles. Copied in the south of england towards the end of the tenth century, they appear to be a compilation of poetic riddles by. It was not feasible to arrange them by types, because the typical forms of the riddle are not clearly fixed and the anglosaxon riddles are too few to illustrate many types. In addition, it is important to recognize when the author is playing with the reader as in riddles 74 and 75 versus taking a straightforward approach in riddles 39 and 33. The exeter book, exeter cathedral library ms 3501, also known as the codex exoniensis, is a tenthcentury 1 book or codex which is an anthology of anglosaxon poetry. The earliest known english riddles are recorded in the exeter book. The best anglosaxon riddles interesting literature. Here is a list of solutions for the exeter book riddles as numbered in the translation.
Exeter book riddle 74 and the play of the text john d. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book wikisource, the. Exeter book riddles 1, 2, 3, 25, 44, 45, 47, 72 summary. In working with the old english text of the exeter book, it is important to pay attention to all the riddles and read them as a whole collection. Anthromorphism, prosopopoeia, or personification in riddles is often simply assumed by commentators, but for discussion see, for example, f. Scholars believe that a number were composed in the the exeter book riddles. Exeter book project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Obscene riddles of the exeter book everything english. Widsith, the heroic narrative of a fictitious bard. Jennifer neville is a reader in anglosaxon literature at the royal holloway university of london. The bibliography of the riddles in the exeter book is complicated, drawing on articles in many languages over a long period of time and based in numerous methodologies as varied as archaeology, folklore, and linguistics, most of which is tracked in lendinara 1976. Synopsis this is a translation of the 96 anglosaxon poems from the 11thcentury exeter book.
The consensus of opinion is that these riddles use the language of double entendre. Though some of the best have been translated in scattered places, and there is a prose lineforline translation in the e. Scholars believe that a number were composed in the first half of the eighth century. Riddles tend to be metaphorical indeed, the trick is to discern what the metaphor signifies and, in that. The exeter book riddles and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. As the oldest extant collection of vernacular riddles in western europe, the ninetyfive old englishriddlesof the exeter book exeter, cathedral library, ms 3501 occupy a unique place within both the history of the genre and the literary heritage of anglosaxon england. Translating a medieval riddle can be especially tricky because these poetic projects double as verbal puzzles, and therefore coded language is crucial to their. Ranging from natural phenomena such as icebergs and storms at sea to animal and bird life, from the christian concept of the creation to prosaic domestic objects such as a rake and a pair of bellows, and from weaponry to the peaceful pursuits of music and writing, they are. The exeter book riddles in context the british library. It seems likely they were composed in the 700s when riddles were popular in english monasteries.
Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow williamson in considering the first three as parts of a single. Unesco lists exeter book among worlds principal cultural. It explores the riddle alongside some of its analogues. Riddle 53, commonly solved as battering ram, opens with a scene of growing wood, which water and earth nourished beautifully wudu. The exeter books riddle 33 depicts its subject, an iceberg, as a warrior woman who can cause damage to ships with her physical prowess and powerful curses.
Most of the editors have been shy about their double meanings. In addition to approximately 95 old english riddles from the exeter book, we have hundreds of latin poetic and prose enigmata by anglosaxon authors that survive in english and european manuscripts. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. The ninetyodd riddles in anglosaxon which have come down to us in a single manuscript are naturally a miscellaneous collection of varying merit. In this weeks dispatches from the secret library, dr oliver tearle ponders some of the best of the anglosaxon riddles from the exeter book. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book, 1963 online. It may work as a book of contemporary poetry where the poems have a double purpose i.
The lack of riddles in the beowulf, junius, or vercelli manuscripts makes the interpretation of the riddles in codex exoniensis a unique challenge. The riddle sculpture by michael fairfax, which stands in exeters high street, incorporates some of the books riddles. The ninetysix anglosaxon riddles in the eleventhcentury exeter book are poems of great charm, zest, and subtlety. She is currently working on a book focused solely on the riddles of the exeter book. Two historical riddles of the old english exeter book. Many of them have bawdy double meanings and some still remain unsolved to this day.
It certainly cannot fairly be described as a riposte to the original exeter book of riddles. Reading the exeter book riddles as lifewriting the. Which of you heroes is so sharpwitted and so mindcrafty, who can speak aloud about who impels me on this mission, when i mount up strong, sometimes ferocious. Peter thomas cathedral librarian gives a short introduction to ms 3501, more commonly known as the exeter book. There may have been an attempt to assemble 100 riddles in the exeter book like in some latin collections. Audens poem the wanderer is inspired by the poem the wanderer found in the exeter book. The exeter book was created by the first bishop of exeter in the eleventh century, when he collected poetry and riddles into a single tome. Exeter book riddle 69 according to the numbering of the anglosaxon poetic records is one of the old english riddles found in the later tenthcentury exeter book.
Ranging from natural phenomena to animal and bird life, from the christian concept of creation to prosaic domestic objects, the riddles are full of sharp observation and earthy humour. Several of these poems and riddles can only be found in the exeter book. Solutions storm numbered as aspr, but taken as one poem 4 bell. The riddle or, as they are sometimes called by academics, enigmatica is a developed form in anglosaxon poetry, the most important collection of riddles being the exeter book. The exeter book is a 10 thcentury anthology of poetry in old english and is of major importance to exeter cathedral, the cathedral library and english literature itself exeter dean and chapter manuscript 3501, usually known as the exeter book, was written down by a single scribe no doubt a monk in about 970. The bookworm riddle can be found in the exeter book, one of the greatest literary treasures to survive from anglosaxon england. Shielded behind glass it will be a little hard to place ones pint of guinness on its covers once more. Exeter book riddles solutions anglosaxon narrative. A selection of riddles from the exeter book riddles. However, the description evokes a penis becoming erect. Tupper, for example, puts the matter delicately, saying of 74 below, that the solution is not the chief concern of the jest. The book was donated to the library of exeter cathedral by leofric, the first. In addition, the exeter book preserves 95 riddles, a genre that would otherwise have been represented by a solitary example.
The verse riddles of the tenthcentury exeter book, around ninety in number, have on occasion been recognized as tending toward a form of biography. Craig williamson describes them as a metaphoric and metamorphic celebration of the life in the eye of the anglosaxon. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book21 wikisource. I will refer to these as birdriddles, by which i mean. Its interpretation has occasioned a range of scholarly investigations, but clearly has something to do with ice. The original exeter book resides in you guessed it exeter castle in the united kingdom. In continuing my discussion of cryptic information encoded in runes in the exeter book riddles, in which i argue runic literacy functions as a form of esotericism, i wish to expand the conversation by considering the variety of specialized information contained in a group of old english riddles featured in the collection riddles 710. This article discusses the riddles union of woman and iceberg from an ecofeminist perspective, exploring the deeprooted andro and anthropocentric anxieties that lie behind it. Exeter book riddles anglosaxon narrative poetry project. The exeter riddles have been translated and published more than any other old english text and therefore invite extended study muir. As ive remarked before, its a sobering thought that all of the anglosaxon poetry that has survived is found in just four manuscripts which escaped the ravages of time, the pillaging of the vikings, and the censorship of the church. Exeter book riddles solutions here is a list of solutions for the exeter book riddles as numbered in the translation.
The riddles in the exeter book were probably authored by multiple people and are difficult to date. Exeter book riddle 45 according to the numbering of the anglosaxon poetic records is one of the old english riddles found in the later tenthcentury exeter book. Encoded references in exeter book birdriddles medieval. While the poetry of the exeter book is mainly anonymous, some of the authors composing latin riddles are named. The exeter book medieval studies oxford bibliographies. Obscene is a troublesome word for both legal and lay minds, but there is nothing uncertain about these few anglosaxon riddles which go under that name. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book wikisource, the free. Housed in exeter cathedral since it was given to the institution by its first bishop, leofric, in the 11th century, the exeter book was written around 970. The following translations have been grouped according to subject. Edited with introduction, notes, and glossary, by frederick tupper by tupper, frederick, 18711950. Appetite for deconstruction in exeter book riddle 12. If multiple possibilities are possible, ill give the best or most likely. They are written in the style of anglosaxon poetry and range in topics from the religious to the mundane. Exeter book contains elegies, laments, animal poems, gnomic verses, and religious works, including the wanderer, the seafarer, the ruin, deor, the wifes lament, the husbands message, and over ninety riddles.
Nelson, the rhetoric of the exeter book riddles, speculum, 49 1974, 42140. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. In the manuscript the riddles appear in no particular order. Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow williamson in considering the first three as parts of a single riddle riddle songs of the storm 1.
Thp5 sexual riddles of the exef er book the exeter book contains six riddles with explicit sexual content. The exeter book contains almost 100 riddles and several saints lives exeter, cathedral library, ms 3501, f. Among the other texts in the exeter book, there are over ninety riddles. Exeter book is available to view in person at the cathedral in devon, but facsimile and dvd copies have also been made. Niles riddle 74 is one of a handful of old english riddles of the exeter book that have stubbornly resisted a solution. In some very few instances, my idea of the solution differs from the generally accepted range.