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.
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
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]
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:
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:
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:
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 states) | Numbering (Krapp and Dobbie) | Numbering (Williamson) | Numbering (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 |
The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis or Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, is a large codex of Old English poetry, believed to have been produced in the late tenth century AD. It is one of the four major manuscripts of Old English poetry, along with the Vercelli Book in Vercelli, Italy, the Nowell Codex in the British Library, and the Junius manuscript in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The book was donated to what is now the Exeter Cathedral library by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter, in 1072. It is believed originally to have contained 130 or 131 leaves, of which the first 7 or 8 have been replaced with other leaves; the original first 8 leaves are lost. The Exeter Book is the largest and perhaps oldest known manuscript of Old English literature, containing about a sixth of the Old English poetry that has survived.
Anglo-Saxon riddles are a significant genre of Anglo-Saxon literature. The riddle was a major, prestigious literary form in early medieval England, and riddles were written both in Latin and Old English verse. The pre-eminent composer of Latin riddles in early medieval England was Aldhelm, while the Old English verse riddles found in the tenth-century Exeter Book include some of the most famous Old English poems.
Exeter Book Riddle 83 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its interpretation has occasioned a range of scholarly investigations, but it is taken to mean 'Ore/Gold/Metal', with most commentators preferring 'precious metal' or 'gold', and John D. Niles arguing specifically for the Old English solution ōra, meaning both 'ore' and 'a kind of silver coin'.
Exeter Book Riddles 68 and 69 are two of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Their interpretation has occasioned a range of scholarly investigations, but clearly has something to do with ice and one or both of the riddles are likely indeed to have the solution 'ice'.
Exeter Book Riddle 60 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. The riddle is usually solved as 'reed pen', although such pens were not in use in Anglo-Saxon times, rather being Roman technology; but it can also be understood as 'reed pipe'.
Exeter Book Riddle 27 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. The riddle is almost universally solved as 'mead'.
Exeter Book Riddle 47 is one of the most famous of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its solution is 'book-worm' or 'moth'.
De creatura is an 83-line Latin polystichic poem by the seventh- to eighth-century Anglo-Saxon poet Aldhelm and an important text among Anglo-Saxon riddles. The poem seeks to express the wondrous diversity of creation, usually by drawing vivid contrasts between different natural phenomena, one of which is usually physically higher and more magnificent, and one of which is usually physically lower and more mundane.
Exeter Book Riddle 30 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Since the suggestion of F. A. Blackburn in 1901, its solution has been agreed to be the Old English word bēam, understood both in its primary sense 'tree' but also in its secondary sense 'cross'.
Exeter Book Riddle 24 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. The riddle is one of a number to include runes as clues: they spell an anagram of the Old English word higoræ 'jay, magpie'. There has, therefore, been little debate about the solution.
Exeter Book Riddle 45 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its solution is accepted to be 'dough'. However, the description evokes a penis becoming erect; as such, Riddle 45 is noted as one of a small group of Old English riddles that engage in sexual double entendre, and thus provides rare evidence for Anglo-Saxon attitudes to sexuality, and specifically for women taking the initiative in heterosexual sex.
Exeter Book Riddle 44 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its solution is accepted to be 'key'. However, the description evokes a penis; as such, Riddle 44 is noted as one of a small group of Old English riddles that engage in sexual double entendre, and thus provides rare evidence for Anglo-Saxon attitudes to sexuality.
Exeter Book Riddle 25 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Suggested solutions have included Hemp, Leek, Onion, Rosehip, Mustard and Phallus, but the consensus is that the solution is Onion.
Exeter Book Riddle 65 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Suggested solutions have included Onion, Leek, and Chives, but the consensus is that the solution is Onion.
Exeter Book Riddle 33 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its solution is accepted to be 'Iceberg'. The most extensive commentary on the riddle is by Corinne Dale, whose ecofeminist analysis of the riddles discusses how the iceberg is portrayed through metaphors of warrior violence but at the same time femininity.
Exeter Book Riddle 12 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its solution is accepted to be 'ox/ox-hide'. The riddle has been described as 'rather a cause celebre in the realm of Old English poetic scholarship, thanks to the combination of its apparently sensational, and salacious, subject matter with critical issues of class, sex, and gender'.
Exeter Book Riddle 61 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. The riddle is usually solved as 'shirt', 'mailcoat' or 'helmet'. It is noted as one of a number of Old English riddles with sexual connotations and as a source for gender-relations in early medieval England.
Exeter Book Riddle 7 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book, in this case on folio 103r. The solution is believed to be 'swan' and the riddle is noted as being one of the Old English riddles whose solution is most widely agreed on. The riddle can be understood in its manuscript context as part of a sequence of bird-riddles.
Exeter Book Riddle 26 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book.
Exeter Book Riddle 9 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book, in this case on folio 103r–v. The solution is believed to be 'cuckoo'. The riddle can be understood in its manuscript context as part of a sequence of bird-riddles.
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