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1wcarter
The Exeter Riddle Book 1978
Everyone loves a good and clever riddle, they seem to be part of human nature, as they are known from the days of the Ancient Greeks.
This slim book contains 95 riddles that are taken from a volume that was in the possession of the first Bishop of Exeter (Leofric) who died in 1072. It is one of the four great surviving miscellanies of Olde English, and contained many poems (the recent Wanderer LE covers several of these) and other writings, as well as the riddles.
Many parts of the original manuscript are missing or damaged, and it was not considered a valuable artefact because over the centuries it was used as both a cutting board and a beer-mat, and parts were damaged by fire. Its survival at all seems almost miraculous.
The riddles have all been translated from the Olde English by Kevin Crossley-Holland for this book, but many can only be interpreted by reference to events in the Middle Ages, so there is a comprehensive set of notes at the back of the book which explain each riddle. Many are very clever, while others remain relatively incomprehensible.
The 139 page book is delightfully bound in patterned vegetable parchment that is blocked in blue and gold with a special design by Jeff Clements. Annoyingly the gilt title runs from bottom to top on the spine, something the FS did for many volumes of this era. The brown slipcase is 23x14.5cm. and in the standard patterned format used by the FS at this time.
Unusually for a FS book, the colophon is on the back page. There are drawings in dark red by Virgil Burnett for the heading of each riddle, as well as a frontispiece. An introduction by the translator gives the background and history of the original manuscript. The page tops have a light blue colour.
Loosely enclosed in FS books at this time was a postcard inviting the purchase of more books and membership of the FS. On the side of the card was a tear off bookmark, such as the one shown here.
Reverse side of bookmark.
Colophon on last page of book.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Everyone loves a good and clever riddle, they seem to be part of human nature, as they are known from the days of the Ancient Greeks.
This slim book contains 95 riddles that are taken from a volume that was in the possession of the first Bishop of Exeter (Leofric) who died in 1072. It is one of the four great surviving miscellanies of Olde English, and contained many poems (the recent Wanderer LE covers several of these) and other writings, as well as the riddles.
Many parts of the original manuscript are missing or damaged, and it was not considered a valuable artefact because over the centuries it was used as both a cutting board and a beer-mat, and parts were damaged by fire. Its survival at all seems almost miraculous.
The riddles have all been translated from the Olde English by Kevin Crossley-Holland for this book, but many can only be interpreted by reference to events in the Middle Ages, so there is a comprehensive set of notes at the back of the book which explain each riddle. Many are very clever, while others remain relatively incomprehensible.
The 139 page book is delightfully bound in patterned vegetable parchment that is blocked in blue and gold with a special design by Jeff Clements. Annoyingly the gilt title runs from bottom to top on the spine, something the FS did for many volumes of this era. The brown slipcase is 23x14.5cm. and in the standard patterned format used by the FS at this time.
Unusually for a FS book, the colophon is on the back page. There are drawings in dark red by Virgil Burnett for the heading of each riddle, as well as a frontispiece. An introduction by the translator gives the background and history of the original manuscript. The page tops have a light blue colour.
Loosely enclosed in FS books at this time was a postcard inviting the purchase of more books and membership of the FS. On the side of the card was a tear off bookmark, such as the one shown here.
Reverse side of bookmark.
Colophon on last page of book.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2SF-72
Thank you for this review.
I do wish the Old English originals were in this, too. That would make it that much more appealing to me.
I do wish the Old English originals were in this, too. That would make it that much more appealing to me.
4wcarter
>3 EclecticIndulgence:
My pleasure.
Pity I can't get a commission for all the sales I have enabled ;-)
My pleasure.
Pity I can't get a commission for all the sales I have enabled ;-)
5kdweber
>4 wcarter: You really should. I've bought around a half dozen titles (that I had never heard of) due to your Folio Archives threads. Of course, since they're older titles, they've all been purchased used for very reasonable prices so the FS isn't making any money off of this topic.
6folio_books
>5 kdweber: I've bought around a half dozen titles (that I had never heard of) due to your Folio Archives threads.
What Warwick is doing is drawing attention to the older titles which seem to be automatically (dis)missed by more recentmembers customers. There are so many worthy books pre-1990 he's never going to run out.
What Warwick is doing is drawing attention to the older titles which seem to be automatically (dis)missed by more recent
7sat78
Thank you very much. I've often seen this book on the secondhand market and wondered about its contents. Your archive posts have enabled me quite a bit since they have started!
8wcarter
>2 SF-72:
I have just finished reading The Wanderer LE and found that the riddles of the Exeter Riddle book reviewed above, are included in the LE, but without the very useful explanatory notes, although there are briefer interprative notes and answers to the riddles in the appendices.
The riddles in The Wanderer are numbered differently, and have a different translation, to those in the Exeter Riddle Book.
I have just finished reading The Wanderer LE and found that the riddles of the Exeter Riddle book reviewed above, are included in the LE, but without the very useful explanatory notes, although there are briefer interprative notes and answers to the riddles in the appendices.
The riddles in The Wanderer are numbered differently, and have a different translation, to those in the Exeter Riddle Book.
9Jayked
>8 wcarter:
I don't own your Exeter Riddle book, but from the pages you show it faithfully follows the numbering of the ASPR. In the original MS there is no numbering, and the riddles occur in different blocks rather than in one place. The numbers were supplied by the editors of the Exeter Book, vol 3 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, still the authoritative OE texts. The Wanderer LE claims to be based on it, but the translator conflates nos. 68 and 69 into a single 3-line riddle, then renumbers all of the remaining riddles so that 70 becomes 69, and so on. The conflation of the two short riddles makes good sense as a translation, but renumbering 25 or so riddles is idiotic. If you refer to a riddle in this edition by number, you're going to be at cross-purposes with anyone using the ASPR as a standard. Good catch.
I don't own your Exeter Riddle book, but from the pages you show it faithfully follows the numbering of the ASPR. In the original MS there is no numbering, and the riddles occur in different blocks rather than in one place. The numbers were supplied by the editors of the Exeter Book, vol 3 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, still the authoritative OE texts. The Wanderer LE claims to be based on it, but the translator conflates nos. 68 and 69 into a single 3-line riddle, then renumbers all of the remaining riddles so that 70 becomes 69, and so on. The conflation of the two short riddles makes good sense as a translation, but renumbering 25 or so riddles is idiotic. If you refer to a riddle in this edition by number, you're going to be at cross-purposes with anyone using the ASPR as a standard. Good catch.
10SF-72
>8 wcarter:
Thank you for that information. I'd thought that The Wanderer only had a selection of the Riddles, not the complete set.
Thank you for that information. I'd thought that The Wanderer only had a selection of the Riddles, not the complete set.
11Jayked
>10 SF-72:
It does contain only a selection. Most translations do, even Bradley's otherwise comprehensive "Anglo-Saxon Poetry."
It does contain only a selection. Most translations do, even Bradley's otherwise comprehensive "Anglo-Saxon Poetry."
12SF-72
>11 Jayked:
Is there a complete collection with the Old English and a translation, as well as good commentary? (It looks like the FS one would be ideal if only they'd included the original, which unfortunately wasn't the case.)
Is there a complete collection with the Old English and a translation, as well as good commentary? (It looks like the FS one would be ideal if only they'd included the original, which unfortunately wasn't the case.)
13stumc
>1 wcarter: what a lovely book, which i was not aware of. thanks for sharing (will have to check out ebay to see if there are any copies in as good a condition as yours)
really enjoying seeing the archives! keep it up
really enjoying seeing the archives! keep it up
14Jayked
>12I don't know of a side-by-side edition, though that doesn't mean none exists. Copies of the Exeter book in OE tend to be expensive because OE isn't a popular subject. There is a paperback edition of Kevin Crossley-Holland's translations, and of Craig Williamson's translations, A Feast of Creatures, with notes and commentary. Williamson's translations are based on his own edition of The Old English Riddles of the Exeter Book, in the original, available in PB for $50-60, possibly on demand since it dates from some time ago.
15Firumbras
>12 SF-72:, 14
Mackie's Exeter Book Vol. 2, (Early English Text Society, 1933) has the Exeter Book Riddles in Old English with facing mod English translation. There is no commentary (other than textual notes) or introduction; a brief table of riddle solutions is at the back.
It's a barebones edition, but useful. pick one up on abe, ensuring it's not print on demand.
Mackie's Exeter Book Vol. 2, (Early English Text Society, 1933) has the Exeter Book Riddles in Old English with facing mod English translation. There is no commentary (other than textual notes) or introduction; a brief table of riddle solutions is at the back.
It's a barebones edition, but useful. pick one up on abe, ensuring it's not print on demand.
16wcarter
The Exeter Riddle Book numbers the riddles from 1 to 95, but numbers 18, 19, 36, 41, 63, 64, 67, 68, 71, 73, 75, 78, 79, 82, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92 and 94 are missing. (75 total).
The Wanderer LE numbers the riddles from 7 to 85, but numbers 8, 10, 11, 13-24, 28, 31, 32, 36, 37, 39-41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 52-56, 58, 59, 70-72, 74, 77, 78 and 81-83 are missing. (37 total).
The riddle numbers in the two books do not correspond.
There are far more riddles in the Exeter riddle Book than in the Wanderer LE.
The Wanderer LE numbers the riddles from 7 to 85, but numbers 8, 10, 11, 13-24, 28, 31, 32, 36, 37, 39-41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 52-56, 58, 59, 70-72, 74, 77, 78 and 81-83 are missing. (37 total).
The riddle numbers in the two books do not correspond.
There are far more riddles in the Exeter riddle Book than in the Wanderer LE.
17SF-72
>15 Firumbras:
Thank you very much!
>14 Jayked:
Thank you. I did get to study Old English a bit, but not well enough to simply read it, so I'm always interested in side-by-side editions. The original language is very beautiful and a translation can never do an original full justice, that's just in the nature of translations. So being able to move between original and translation is always good. I'm glad FS have been moving in that direction more recently with The Wanderer, Beowulf or also Piers the Plowman for something not so old but still removed from modern English.
Thank you very much!
>14 Jayked:
Thank you. I did get to study Old English a bit, but not well enough to simply read it, so I'm always interested in side-by-side editions. The original language is very beautiful and a translation can never do an original full justice, that's just in the nature of translations. So being able to move between original and translation is always good. I'm glad FS have been moving in that direction more recently with The Wanderer, Beowulf or also Piers the Plowman for something not so old but still removed from modern English.
