Perhaps the most enigmatic cultural artifacts that survive from the Anglo-Saxon period are the Old English riddle poems that were preserved in the tenth century Exeter Book manuscript. Clever, challenging, and notoriously obscure, the riddles have fascinated readers for centuries and provided crucial insight into the period. In 'Say What I Am Called', Dieter Bitterli takes a fresh look at the riddles by examining them in the context of earlier Anglo-Latin riddles. Bitterli argues that there is a vigorous common tradition between Anglo-Latin and Old English riddles and details how the contents of the Exeter Book emulate and reassess their Latin predecessors while also expanding their literary and formal conventions. The book also considers the ways in which convention and content relate to writing in a vernacular language. A rich and illuminating work that is as intriguing as the riddles themselves, 'Say What I Am Called' is a rewarding study of some of the most interesting works from the Anglo-Saxon period.
Author(s): Dieter Bitterli
Series: Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series, 2
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 232
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations and Symbols xi
Introduction 3
PART I: CONTEXTS
1. Latin Riddling and the Vernacular 13
The House and the Guest (Riddle 85) 14
Animal Worlds 18
Beasts of Burden (Riddles 12, 38, and 72) 26
2. Tell-Tale Birds: The Etymological Principle 35
Singing Feathers (Riddle 7) 38
Words and Things 44
Speaking in Tongues (Riddle 8) 46
3. Crossings: Combinatorial and Numerical Riddles 57
The Warriors Embark (Riddle 22) 59
Numerical Monsters (Riddles 86 and 36) 68
Dead Ends (Riddle 90) 74
PART II: CODES
4. Runic Strategies 83
Logographic versus Alphabetic 83
Sea Horses (Riddles 19 and 64) 86
The Barking Bird (Riddle 24) 91
5. Bits and Pieces 98
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (Riddle 58) 98
Covered Tracks (Riddle 75) 105
Loose Ends 110
6. Letter Games 114
Ten in All (Riddle 13) 115
Fowl Play (Riddle 42) 121
Men at Wine 124
PART III: TOOLS
7. Silent Speech 135
Scribal Riddles 135
The Mouthless Messenger (Riddle 60) 137
The Struggling Warrior (Riddle 51) 145
8. Beasts of Battle 151
The Missing Brother (Riddle 88) 152
The Lost Lord (Riddle 93) 157
Modes 163
9. The Flesh Made Word 170
Famous, Useful, and Holy (Riddle 26) 171
Under My Skin (Riddle 28) 178
Excarnation 188
10. Coda 191
The Thievish Guest (Riddle 47) 191
Bibliography 195
Index 213
