Jul 01, 2008 the ninetysix anglosaxon riddles in the eleventhcentury exeter book are poems of great charm, zest, and subtlety. They are written in the style of anglosaxon poetry and range. Riddles are rooted deeply in the western literary tradition. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Jan 31, 2018 the poems in the exeter book known as the old english elegies focus on loss, separation and the transience of earthly things.
Pause the video each time the screen fades to black to try to guess the answers to the riddles. The exeter book project college of humanities university. It seems likely they were composed in the 700s when riddles were popular in english monasteries. The question and answer section for exeter book is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Scholars believe that a number were composed in the first half of the eighth century. In analyzing riddle 12, i am hoping to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of anglosaxon england as a whole, the riddles in the exeter book, and the ox riddle itself. Mar 07, 2014 a selection of riddles from the exeter book riddles. 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.
Exeter book riddles an open companion for british literature i. Exeter book study guide contains literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of the poems in the anthology. It includes contributions from a hundred contemporary poets, among them alan brownjohn, gillian clarke, vicki feaver, michael longley, roger mcgough and kit wright. The riddle sculpture by michael fairfax, which stands in exeters high street, incorporates some of the books riddles. The exeter book, the largest extant collection of old english writing, contains punning, rhymes, and riddles in the form of kennings, or compound words serving as a metaphors for a single word whaleroad translates to the sea. Far from being idle brainteasers to divert people for half an hour during their lunch break or provide a. A selection of riddles from the exeter book riddles. 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. The bookworm riddle can be found in the exeter book, one of the greatest literary treasures to survive from anglosaxon england.
Riddle 20 has the apparent solution sword or allowing for a phallic doublemeaning w. Shielded behind glass it will be a little hard to place ones pint of guinness on its covers once more. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book wikisource, the free. Full text of the riddles of the exeter book internet archive. Exeter book riddles solutions anglosaxon narrative poetry. If multiple possibilities are possible, ill give the best or most likely. The best anglosaxon riddles interesting literature. Performed by jefferson reardon produced by timmie vitz. Oct 08, 2012 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. Every time a work is analyzed or interpreted, we get a little closer to figuring it out simply by producing new ideas and applying different lenses. 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. Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow williamson in considering the first three as parts of a single riddle. The elegies of the exeter book the british library. Use the buttons on the right to navigate to each set of riddles.
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. Riddle 26 in the exeter book the carmelite library. It is one of the four major anglosaxon literature codices, along with the vercelli book, nowell codex and the c. Unesco lists exeter book among worlds principal cultural. Edited with introduction, notes, and glossary, by frederick tupper by tupper, frederick, 18711950.
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. Among the other texts in the exeter book, there are over ninety riddles. Some of them have been dated as far back as the 7 th century. Exeter book riddles 1, 2, 3, 25, 44, 45, 47, 72 summary.
Translating exeter book riddles medieval studies research. The following translations have been grouped according to subject. The riddles are one of the most wellknown works in the exeter book, and they focus on an eclectic mix of themes. They comprise a rich source of information for the study of anglosaxon concepts of life courses and life stages, but have yet to be treated as such despite current enthusiasm surrounding the study of historical life cycles. Riddle numbers are taken from muirs exeter anthology 1994, though i follow williamson in considering the first three as parts of a single. The new exeter book of riddles crossleyholland, kevin, sail, lawrence, drew, simon on. Exeter book riddles anglosaxon narrative poetry project. As the oldest extant collection of vernacular riddles in western europe, the ninetyfive old englishriddlesof the exeter book exeter, cathedral library, ms 3501. An intriguing riposte to the famous collection of anglosaxon riddles in the original exeter book. Feb 26, 2012 the storm riddles have pride of place not only because they stand first in the exeter book, but also because they outrank all the rest in poetic merit. After much discussion, the consensus now is that 1 is a separate riddle and 2 and 3 are a single riddle by a different author, in four parts and a conclusion.
Craig williamson ed, the old english riddles of the exeter book. Here is a list of solutions for the exeter book riddles as numbered in the translation. Exeter book riddles solutions anglosaxon narrative. The riddles in the exeter book were probably authored by multiple people and are difficult to date. Exeter book riddles 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. 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. Elliott van kirk dobbie and george philip krapp eds, the exeter book. In this weeks dispatches from the secret library, dr oliver tearle ponders some of the best of the anglosaxon riddles from the exeter book the anglosaxon riddles are especially interesting.
May 12, 2016 pause the video each time the screen fades to black to try to guess the answers to the riddles. Riddles tend to be metaphorical indeed, the trick is to discern what the metaphor signifies and, in that. Anglosaxon riddles of the exeter book wikisource, the. Sep 01, 2016 though some of the best have been translated in scattered places, and there is a prose lineforline translation in the e. Its riddles are virtually all those which survive in old english. Exeter book riddles 1, 2, 3, 25, 44, 45, 47, 72 summary and. Many of them have bawdy double meanings and some still remain unsolved to this day. 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. Aug 03, 2016 here are ten things you should know about the exeter book. The earliest attested riddles in anglosaxon england are in latin, where they are known as enigmata enigmas and formed a thriving literary genre which is likely to have inspired the later collection of vernacular riddles 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. Encoded references in exeter book birdriddles medieval.
However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The exeter book riddles kevin crossleyholland isbn. Aug 17, 2015 riddle 43s commentary is once again by the terribly clever james paz, lecturer in early medieval english literature at the university of manchester. Which of you heroes is so sharpwitted and so mindcrafty, who can speak aloud about who impels me on this. 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.
There may have been an attempt to assemble 100 riddles in the exeter book like in some latin collections. In many cases, answers are just provisional, and still the subject of some discussion. Jan 31, 2018 the riddles from the exeter book are almost unique within the wider genre, because they are written in the vernacular in old english, rather than latin apart from one latin riddle, which sits towards the end of the book. Jan 17, 2020 in my my most recent blog, encoded references in the exeter book birdriddles, i discuss arcane references in the exeter book riddles and build on a previous piece, reading runes in the exeter book riddles, which explores the cryptic use of runes in this old english riddle collection. There is much to be gained from interpreting the tenthcentury exeter book riddles as a characteristically biographical group of texts. The riddles are of particular interest to students of old english poetry and anglosaxon culture, to archeologists, anthropologists, and folklorists. 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. In the manuscript the riddles appear in no particular order. 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. In some very few instances, my idea of the solution differs from the generally accepted range. The date of authorship of many of the riddles is unclear. This is a translation of the 96 anglosaxon poems from the 11thcentury exeter book.
Mike bintley explores these poems, which include the wanderer and the wifes lament, and highlights the parallels between the elegies and the riddles in the exeter book. They are written in the style of anglosaxon poetry and range in. 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 old english riddles of the exeter book magdalena gracka, janmichael stube. 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. The exeter book riddles in context the british library. Dec 06, 2019 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. Exeter book project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. 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.