Exeter Book Riddles

T he Exeter Book manuscript of Old English poetry ends with two sections of short verse riddles.The manuscript is damaged and it is impossible to know how many riddles were in the original

collection, but it is likely that there were 100, following the model of the popular Latin Enigmata(“Riddles”) of Aldhelm and Symphosius. But apart from this, there are few similarities between theLatin and English versions of this popular poetic genre. The Enigmata of Aldhelm were apparentlyused as classroom examples of the principles of Latin versification, but it is unlikely that the EnglishRiddles would have served such a purpose for apprentice English poets. Moreover, very few of theEnglish Riddles depend on the sort of deliberate obscurity common in the Enigmata—no. 82 belowis an example, but it is closely modeled on one of the Latin Riddles of Symphosius.

Many of the Exeter Book Riddles echo one another’s language, especially in the repeated closingline saga hwæt ic hatte “say what I am called,” but it is unlikely that the whole collection was writtenby one person. Apart from one Riddle which is found in an earlier version, there is little evidence forthe origins and audience of the Riddles, either individually or collectively. A number of the Riddlesseem to come from a bookish milieu, probably monastic (see nos. 24 and 45), and others aresomewhat philosophical in tone (no. 41), but the presence of about a dozen riddles with obscenedouble meanings (see nos. 42 and 43 below) still raises a few eyebrows. Unlike the Latin riddles,which give away their solutions in their titles, some of the Old English riddles are apparently meantto be genuinely puzzling and difficult to solve—in fact a few (such as no. 91 below) continue to bafflereaders to this day. In many cases, however, the pleasure of the Riddles seems to lie not in obscuritybut in observation—they are in essence short lyric poems which show the world at a slightly oddangle, and bring the material and the natural world to new life through metaphor, analogy, wordplay,and misdirection. In the Riddles creatures speak, things express their point of view, everyday objectsperform heroic deeds, and innocent household items become obscene projections of human desire.The playful language of the Riddles is a kind of lens through which the wonder, poignancy and wildenergy of the created world are brought into focus. Whether they were written for education,inspiration, or amusement, the delight of the Riddles lies in their gift for seeing familiar things withfresh eyes, and compressing these insights in a few short lines which draw the listener into sharing theprocess of that perception; they help remind us that the poetic landscape of Old English literature wasnot as gloomy, as pious, or as bloody as is sometimes thought.

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Riddle 5 1

My gown is silent as I thread the seas, Haunt old buildings or tread the land.

Sometimes my song-coat and the supple wind Cradle me high over the homes of men, And the power of clouds carries me 5

Windward over cities. Then my bright silks Start to sing, whistle, roar, Resound and ring, while I Sail on untouched by earth and sea, A spirit, ghost and guest, on wing. 10

1 The following riddles are from Craig Williamson’s A Feast ofCreatures: Anglo-Saxon Riddle Songs (Philadelphia: U of PennsylvaniaPress, 1982). The Old English text is edited by Craig Williamson,The Old English Riddles of the “Exeter Book” (Chapel Hill, NC:University of North Carolina Press, 1977). The numbers are thoseof Williamson’s edition and translation.

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38 Exeter Book Riddles

Riddle 12

Once I was a plain warrior’s weapon— Now a stripling prince wraps my body

With bright twists of silver and gold. Sometimes men kiss me, or carry me to battle Where I call my lord’s companions to wage war. 5

Bright with jewels, I am borne by a horse Over hard plains, sometimes by the sea-stallion Over storm waves. Sometimes a woman, Ring-adorned, fills my breast for the table— Later I lie stripped of sweet treasure, 10

Hard and headless on the long boards. Clothed in gold, I may grace the wall Where men sit drinking, a soldier’s gem. Wound with silver, I sometimes ride A warrior’s horse, swallowing soldier’s breath, 15

Blasting battle-song. Sometimes I bring Bold men to wine, sometimes I sing caution —Or rescue thieves’ catch or scatter foes For my lord. Say what I am called.

Riddle 23

I am a 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 beautiful5

Peasant's daughter, an eager-armed,Proud woman grabs my body,Rushes my red skin, holds me hard,Claims my head. The curly-hairedWoman who catches me fast will feel10

Our meeting. Her eye will be wet.

Riddle 24

Alife-thief stole my world-strength, Ripped off flesh and left me skin,

Dipped me in water and drew me out,

Stretched me bare in the tight sun; The hard blade, clean steel, cut,5

Scraped-fingers folded, shaped me. Now the bird’s once wind-stiff joy Darts often to the horn’s dark rim, Sucks wood-stain, steps back again With a quick scratch of power, tracks 10

Black on my body, points trails. Shield-boards clothe me and stretched hide, A skin laced with gold. The bright song Of smiths glistens on me in filigree tones. Now decorative gold and crimson dye, 15

Cloisoned jewels and a coat of glory Proclaim the world’s protector far and wide— Let no fool fault these treasured claims. If the children of men make use of me, They will be safer and surer of heaven, 20

Bolder in heart, more blessed in mind, Wiser in soul: they will find friends, Companions and kinsmen, more loyal and true, Nobler and better, brought to new faith— So men shall know grace, honor, glory, 25

Fortune, and the kind clasp of friends. Say who I am—glorious, useful to men, Holy and helpful from beginning to end.

Riddle 41

Anoble 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 5

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 10

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 wordsSay what the guest and servant are called. 15

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Exeter Book Riddles 39

Riddle 42

Asmall miracle hangs near a man’s thigh, Full under folds. It is stiff, strong,

Bold, brassy, and pierced in front. When a young lord lifts his tunic Over his knees, he wants to greet 5

With the hard head of this hanging creature The hole it has long come to fill.

Riddle 43

I heard of something rising in a corner, Swelling and standing up, lifting its cover.

The proud-hearted bride grabbed at that boneless Wonder with her hands; the prince’s daughter Covered that swelling thing with a swirl of cloth. 5

Riddle 45

Amoth ate songs—wolfed words! That seemed a weird dish—that a worm

Should swallow, dumb thief in the dark, The songs of a man, his chants of glory, Their place of strength. That thief-guest 5

Was no wiser for having swallowed words.

Riddle 81

Shunning silence, my house is loud While I am quiet: we are movement bound

By the Shaper’s will. I am swifter, Sometimes stronger—he is longer lasting, Harder running. Sometimes I rest 5

While he rolls on. He is the house That holds me living—alone I die.

Riddle 82

Aweird creature came to a meeting of men, Hauled itself in to the high commerce

Of the wise. It lurched with one eye, Two feet, twelve hundred heads, A back and belly—two hands, arms,5

Shoulders—one neck, two sides. Untwist your mind and say what I mean.

Riddle 91

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,5

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.10

—10th century

Solutions: 5, swan; 12, horn (for drinking or hunting);23, penis or onion; 24, manuscript book (Bible), madeof parchment; 41, soul and body; 42, key; 43, dough;45, book-moth; 81, fish and river; 82, a one-eyed sellerof garlic; 91 unsolved.

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Old English Riddles A limited vocabulary accompanies each riddle; words not given here are obvious or can be found a) in your textbook or b) in Pope’s Eight Old English Poems. Resist the temptation to look up the answers and try to figure them out on your own (I’ll give ‘the answers’ in class).

Riddle 66 (Nature) Ic eom mare þonne þes middangeard, læsse þonne hondwyrm, leohtre þonne mona, swiftre þonne sunne. Sæs me sind ealle flodas on fæðmum ond þes foldan bearm, grene wongas. Grundum ic hrine, helle underhnige, heofonas oferstige, wuldres eþel, wide ræce ofer engla eard, eorþan gefylle, ealne middangeard ond merestreamas side mid me sylfum. Saga hwæt ic hatte.

I am greater that this middle-earth Smaller than an insect, brighter than the moon, Swifter than the sun. All the seas, the floods, Are in my embrace (for me) and the bosom of the land, The green fields. I touch the ground, Sink under hell, rise above heaven, The homeland of glory; I reach far and wide Over the land of angels; I fill the world All middle-earth and the ocean-streams With (me) myself. Say what I’m called.

4-fæðmum (fæðm, m) embrace, arms. 4-bearm (m) lap, bosom, breast; possession. 5-wonga (see wang, m) 5-hrine (hrīnanI + dat.) touch, reach. 6-underhnige (underhnīganI), sink under. 6-oferstige (see ge-stīgan). 10-side (adv) amply.

Riddle 69 (Ice)

Wundor wearð on wege; wæter wearð to bane. A wondor happened at sea; water became bone. 1-on wege (wæġ, m) at sea. 1-bane (bān, n) bone.

Riddle 76 (Chicken?)

Ic ane geseah idese sittan. I saw a maiden sitting alone. 1-idese (f) maiden

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Riddle 44 (Key) Wrætlic hongað bi weres þeo, frean under sceate. Foran is þyrel. Bið stiþ ond heard, stede hafað godne; þonne se esne his agen hrægl ofer cneo hefeð, wile þæt cuþe hol mid his hangellan heafde gretan þæt he efenlang ær oft gefylde.

A delicate thing hangs about a man’s thigh, Under the master’s cloak. There’s a hole in the front. It’s stiff and hard, and has a good position; When the man lifts his own cloak Over his knee, he wants to find that familiar hole With his hanging thing, which of equally length He often filled before.

1-wrætlic (adj), delicate, elegant, ornate thing. 1-hongað (hangianII) hang. bi (see be + dat.). 1-þeo (ðēoh, n) thigh. 2-sceat (m) cloak. 2- þyrel (n) hole 2- Foran (adv) in front of it. 4-þonne (when). 4-esne (m) man. 4-his agen, his own. 5-hrægl (n) clothing, vestment, robe. 5-hefeð (hebban6) ‘heave’, lift, raise. 5-cuþe (adj) known, familiar. 6-hangellan (adj) hanging thing. 7-þæt (which). 7-efenlang (adj) equally long.

Riddle 45 (Dough)

Ic on wincle gefrægn weaxan nathwæt, þindan ond þunian, þecene hebban; on þæt banlease bryd grapode, hygewlonc hondum, hrægle þeahte þrindende þing þeodnes dohtor.

I have heard about something or other growing in a nook, Swelling and standing out, lifting up its covering; A woman grabbed onto that boneless thing, Proud-hearted with her hands [and] the master’s daughter Covered that rising thing with her apron.

1-wincel (m) corner. 1-gefrægn: pret 3s of gefrignan3, to find out. 1-nathwæt (adj/pron) something or other. 1-weaxanI (to wax), to grow. 2-þindan3, to swell. 2-þunianII, to stand out, be prominent. 2-hebban6, to lift up 2-þecene (þecen, f) thatch, tile, covering. 3-banlease (adj. fem.acc.sing) boneless. 3-bryd (f) woman. 3- grapode (grapīanII), grip, grab. 4-hygewlonc (adj) proud-hearted. 4- hrægle (her it probably means ‘apron’). 4-þeahte (past. 3s ðeccan), cover, conceal. 5-þrindende (ðrintan3) swell.

Greek and Latin Enigmata

Riddles from the Greek Anthology : 5. ειµι πατρος λευκοιο µελαν τεκος, απτερος ορνις αχρι και ουρανιων ιπταµενος νεφων; κουραις δ’αντοµενησιν απενθεα δακρυα τικτω; ευθυ δε γεννηθεις λυοµαι εις αερα.

[I am the black child of a white father; a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven; To mourning pupils that meet me I give birth to tears; and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air.]

14. Εις ανεµος; δυο νηες; ερετουσιν δεκα ναυται; εις δε κυβερνητης αµφοτερας ελαει. [One wind, two ships, ten sailors rowing,

and one steersmen directs both.] The Riddles of Symphosius: 1. Graphium De sumno planus sed non ego planus in imo Uersor utrimque manu; diuerso munere fungor: Altera pars reuocat quidquid pars altera fecit. 1. Flat on top but not flat on the bottom, Flipped either way by the hand; I perform a diverse function:

One part takes back what the other has done. 2. Harundo Dulcis amica ripae, semper uicina profundis, Suaue cano Musis; nigro perfusa colore, Nuntia sum linguae digitis signata magistris. 2. Beloved friend of the river-bank, ever near the depths, I sweetly sing for the Muses. When bathed in black hew, I am the tongue’s herald, pressed by master’s fingers.