Exeter book, the largest extant collection of old english poetry. A selection of riddles from the exeter book riddles. The exeter book, exeter cathedral library ms 3501, also known as the codex exoniensis, is a. Shielded behind glass it will be a little hard to place ones pint of guinness on its covers once more.
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. Two historical riddles of the old english exeter book. Exeter book riddle 60 according to the numbering of the anglosaxon poetic records is one of the old english riddles found in the later tenthcentury exeter book. Like the preceding riddle on the same subject, this is not a success. Solutions storm numbered as aspr, but taken as one poem 4 bell. Scholars have decided that its either a helmet oe helm or a shirt though kirtletunic oe cyrtel tunece are less anachronistic and more in line with anglosaxon style. Audens poem the wanderer is inspired by the poem the wanderer found in the 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. The exeter book riddles in my anglosaxon literature recommendations blog post, i gave an overview of the exeter book riddles and included some of my favourites. Use the buttons on the right to navigate to each set of riddles.
The best anglosaxon riddles interesting literature. If multiple possibilities are possible, ill give the best or most likely. I saw in the hall a golden ring which men beheld with happy hearts, with wise minds. Unesco lists exeter book among worlds principal cultural. A hard edged knife cut me and ground me clean from all grime, fingers folded me, a fine birds clothing with swift. 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 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. Appetite for deconstruction in exeter book riddle 12. Orton,the technique of objectpersonification in the dream of the rood and a comparison with the old english riddles leeds studies in english, 11 1980, 118. Having recently translated exeter book riddle 7 in my recent blog on esotericism in a sequence of old english riddles encoded references in exeter book bird riddles, i have decided to add my translation and recitation of this poetic enigma for our ongoing medieval poetry translation and recitation project.
Riddle 12 is something of a peculiarity among its fellows and is consequently quite. 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. Book is the answer that has found most acceptance with critics in the past, yet the speaking subject of riddle 95 is. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the riddles of the exeter book. And lofty air and gear at times above mens towns will lift me. The exeter book riddles have the following solutions according to the riddle ages blog and paull f. I accept the old english solution swon swan as the poems solution based. The exeter book, a late tenthcentury manuscript of early old english poetry, is an anthology of religious homiletic verse, elegiac poetry, and ninetyone lyric riddles. One may suppose that the pious author tried too hard. Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow williamson in considering the first three as parts of a single riddle. Here is a list of solutions for the exeter book riddles as numbered in the translation. Jump to navigation jump to search riddle 20 riddles of the exeter book 1963 translated by paull franklin baum. Among the other texts in the exeter book, there are over ninety riddles.
The riddles of the exeter book kindle edition by frederick tupper. Exeter book riddle 7 medieval studies research blog. D clothes make no sound when i tread ground or dwell in dwellings or disturb the flow. She is currently working on a book focused solely on the riddles of the exeter book.
Sometimes i must stir up the waves from above, rouse up the streams. Thp5 sexual riddles of the exef er book the exeter book contains six riddles with explicit sexual content. In the past ten years, the exeter book s hitherto somewhat overlooked riddle 12 has become 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. The exeter book, exeter cathedral library ms 3501, also known as the codex exoniensis, is a tenthcentury book or codex which is an anthology of anglosaxon poetry. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter bookindex of solutions. The consensus of opinion is that these riddles use the language of double entendre.
Exeter book study guide contains literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of the poems in the anthology. Several of these poems and riddles can only be found in the exeter book. Jennifer neville is a reader in anglosaxon literature at the royal holloway university of london. Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow.
In this article i argue that the process of intepretation is not concluded when we solve riddle 9 as cuckoo. Exeter book riddles anglosaxon narrative poetry project. Two historical riddles of the old english exeter book iowa state. There are about 95 riddles included in exeter book the number sometimes changes when translators group multiple riddles into one. Rhetoric of the exeter book riddles speculum, 49 1974, 42140. Brisk breezes bear me far and then my frettings loudly rush and ring above the people and most clearly sing when i forthfare on air and. The book was donated to the library of exeter cathedral by leofric, the first bishop. With all this time now on his hands he decided he would translate these anglosaxon riddles, known as the exeter book, and given to exeter cathedral library by bishop leofric in. Exeter book riddles solutions anglosaxon narrative. Jug, amphora, cask, leather bottle, inkhorn, phallus, 18, 16. Riddlesare generally thought to end once a solution has been found, but exeter book riddle 9, although apparently straightforward and only twelve lines long, has more to offer than a disguised description of a cuckoo. It is one of the four major anglosaxon literature codices, along with the vercelli book, nowell codex and the c. Two historical riddles of the old english exeter book by john donald hosler a thesis submitted to the graduate faculty. Riddle 7 the exeter book anthony wilson september 7, 20 october 5, 2017 education.
The riddles are of particular interest to students of old english poetry and anglosaxon culture, to archeologists, anthropologists, and folklorists. Riddle 43s commentary is once again by the terribly clever james paz, lecturer in early medieval english literature at the university of manchester i imagine that solving riddle 43 would have been fairly easy for most anglosaxon readers of the exeter book, especially if were to picture this riddling taking place in a monastic setting. An edition of exeter dean and chapter ms 3501, 2nd edn, 2 vols exeter. Following these are a number of shorter religious verses intermingled with poems of. Instead, the riddle reveals both social commentary and spiritual allegory.
Riddle 86 in the exeter book is unusually difficult to solve. Elusive and fraught with textual difficulties, riddle 95, the last of the old english verse riddles preserved in the tenthcentury exeter book, has long baffled modern readers as one of a handful of thorny items in the collection that have so far defied solution. It might not be as immediately obvious for a modern. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The riddles are one of the most wellknown works in the exeter book, and they focus on an eclectic mix of themes.
Pause the video each time the screen fades to black to try to guess the answers to the riddles. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book16 wikisource, the free. The old english riddles of the exeter book chapel hill. The riddle is usually solved as reed pen, although such pens were not in use in anglosaxon times, rather being roman technology.
While certainly not every exeter book riddle contains runes, and indeed most do not, there is a higher frequency of runes in riddles than elsewhere in the extant corpus of old english poetry, suggesting that perhaps runes offered something useful to the playful, puzzling, at times comical, old english riddle. The anthropomorphism that serves as the birds disguise reveals social commentary regarding the practice of fostering, which may cast light on the heros childhood in. My worldly strength he stripped, then wet me, drowned me in water then drew me out, set me in sunshine, where soon i lost the hair i had. In many cases, answers are just provisional, and still the subject of some discussion.
The original exeter book resides in you guessed it exeter castle in the united kingdom. The verse riddles of the tenthcentury exeter book, around ninety in number, have on occasion been recognized as tending toward a form of biography. This riddle is from the exeter book, circa 960990 a. Often i war with waves, battle the winds, strive against both at once, meaning to find. In some very few instances, my idea of the solution differs from the generally accepted range. Far from being idle brainteasers to divert people for half an hour during their lunch break or provide a topic of conversation at christmas dinner, the riddle, to the anglosaxons, was a serious and enigmatic poetic form, designed to defamiliarise and alienate by depriving a thing of its name or giving an animal a voice with which to. The damage to the manuscript offers several possible reconstructions of the riddle s final lines. Two historical riddles of the old english exeter book john donald hosler. The solution to riddle 61 hasnt proved as problematic as some of the other exeter book poems. Chalice 15 chalice 16 churn 77 coat of mail 50 cock and hen 69 creation 11 creation 12 cross. Synopsis this is a translation of the 96 anglosaxon poems from the 11thcentury exeter book. Copied in the south of england towards the end of the tenth century, they appear to be a compilation of poetic riddles by.
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