This book discusses the considerable influence exerted by Isidore's 'Etymologiae' on the compilation of early medieval 'enigmata'. Either in the form of thematic clusters or pairs, Isidorean encyclopedic patterns are observed not only in major Latin riddle collections in verse but can also be detected in the two vernacular assemblages contained in the Exeter Book.
As with encyclopedias, the topic-centered arrangement of riddles was pursued by compilers as a strategy intended to optimize the didactic and instructional possibilities inherent in these texts and favor the readers' assimilation of their contents. This book thus provides a thoroughgoing investigation of medieval riddling, with special attention to the Exeter Book Riddles, demonstrating that this genre constituted an important part of the school curriculum of the early Middle Ages.
Author(s): Mercedes Salvador-Bello
Series: Medieval European Studies, 17
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Year: 2015
Language: English
Pages: XIV+532
City: Morgantown
Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgments xi
1. Introduction 1
2. Early Medieval Riddling and Isidore’s 'Etymologiae' 12
3. Isidore’s 'Etymologiae' and the Compilation of Early Medieval Latin Riddle Collections 88
4. The Compilation of the Exeter Book Riddles 284
5. Conclusions 438
Appendices 453
Appendix I: Chronology
Appendix II: Isidore’s 'Etymologiae'
Appendix III: Symphosius’s Collection
Appendix IV: Aldhelm’s Collection
Appendix V: Tatwine’s Collection
Appendix VI: Eusebius’s Collection
Appendix VII: The Bern Collection
Appendix VIII: The Lorsch Collection
Appendix IX: The Vatican Collection
Appendix X: The Exeter Book Riddles
Bibliography 475
Index 513
About the Author 531
