Ic seah wrætlice wuhte feower
samed siþian; swearte wæran lastas,
swaþu swiþe blacu. Swift wæs on fore,
fuglum framra; fleag on lyfte,
deaf under yþe. Dreag unstille
winnende wiga se him wegas tæcneþ
ofer fæted gold feower eallum.
Pronunciation:
ð þ Each of these letters make a th sound.
æ This letter makes a short a sound, as in
cat.
Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| blacu (adj.) | the very darkest color; opposite of white | black |
| deaf (v.) | plunge headfirst into water | dove |
| dreag (v.) | make great efforts to achieve or obtain something | strove, ventured, labored, made an effort |
| eallum (adv.) | everyone with or in proximity to other people | all together, all with each other, all side by side |
| fæted (v.) | cover (a metal object) with a thin coating or film of a different metal | plated, coated |
| feower (n.) | equivalent to the product of 2 and 2; one more than 3, or 6 less than 10; 4 | four |
| fleag (v.) | to pass through the air with wings | they flew |
| fore (n.) | the route or direction followed by a ship, aircraft, road, or river | course, route, way, track |
| framra (adj.) | capable of moving at a higher speed | faster than, quicker than, swifter than |
| fuglum (n.) | a warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate distinguished by the possession of feathers, wings, and a beak and (typically) by being able to fly | birds |
| gold (n.) | a yellow precious metal | gold |
| ic (pron.) | pronoun (first person singular) used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself | I |
| lastas (n.) | a mark or line of marks left by a person, animal, or vehicle in passing | tracks, marks, steps, prints, footprints |
| lyfte (prep. + n.) | something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth | in the sky, in the heavens, in the wide blue yonder |
| ofer (prep.) | expressing movement over a place or region | across |
| on (prep.) | moving in one side and out of the other side of an opening, channel, or location | through |
| samed (adv.) | with or in proximity to another person or people | together, with each other, side by side |
| se him (pron.) | used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to a male person previously mentioned or easily identified | he |
| seah (v.) | perceive with the eyes; discern visually | saw, caught sight of, detected |
| siþian (v.) | make a journey of some length | traveling, voyaging, journeying, exploring |
| swaþu (n.) | a way or track laid down for walking or made by continual treading | path, pathway, trail, track, |
| swearte (adj.) | not reflecting much light; approaching black in shade | dark, illuminated, dusky, starless |
| swift (adv.) | happening quickly or promptly | swiftly |
| swiþe (adj.) | very intense or extreme | deep, intense |
| tæcneþ (v.) | indicate a particular time, direction | pointing, marking |
| under (adv.) | extending or directly below something | under, below, underneath, beneath |
| unstille (prep. + n.) | continuing to work and not relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength | without rest, without relaxing, without taking a break |
| wæran (v.) | plural past tense of to be | were |
| wæs (v.) | first and third person singular past tense of to be | was |
| wegas (n.) | a road, track, path, or street for traveling along | way, route, road, track |
| winnende (adj.) | a person who does not easily admit defeat in spite of difficulties or opposition | fighter, warrior, soldier, fighting, battling |
| wrætlice (n.) | an animal, as distinct from a human being | creatures, beings |
| wuhte (adj.) | inspiring a feeling of wonder or delight | wondrous, rare, magnificent, elegant |
| yþe (n.) | a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore | wave, surf, swell |
Bio
The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth-century book or codex which is an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices, along with the Vercelli Book, Nowell Codex and the Cædmon manuscript or MS Junius 11. The book was donated to the library of Exeter Cathedral by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter, in 1072. It is believed originally to have contained 131 leaves, of which the first 8 have been replaced with other leaves; the original first 8 pages are lost. The Exeter Book is the largest known collection of Old English literature still in existence. In 2016, UNESCO recognized the book as one of the “world’s principal cultural artifacts”.
Among the other texts in the Exeter Book, there are over ninety riddles. They are written in the style of Anglo-Saxon poetry and range in topics from the religious to the mundane.
A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and conundra, which are questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer.