Research

Riddlequest at Sutton Hoo

We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with National Trust: Sutton Hoo and escape game designer Sacha Coward. The result is Riddlequest, Sutton Hoo's exciting new escape game experience. Your quest is to return an object, formerly belonging to King Rædelwulf, to its rightful place. There are challenges to complete along the way, including solving real early medieval riddles to unlock the secrets of the past. You have 1 hour! Booking details for autumn 2022 can be found here on the National Trust website. (recommended for ages 10+)

Riddlequest poster

Riddles in Conversation

In 2022, we hosted a online seminar series called "Riddles in Conversation," which put the Exeter Book riddles into conversation with different kinds of knowing. We were joined by four experts who explored in turn poetic translation, visual art, ornithology, and woodcraft in order to bring new insights to our understanding of early medieval culture. You can now watch the recordings below. Enjoy!

"Avant Garde Translation Techniques" with Judy Kendall

"Creative Communities" with Emma Molony, Jacob Polley, Chris Jones and Megan Cavell

You can read further about the lockdown project discussed in this seminar on Double Elephant's website here, and find a direct link to the interactive Riddle 57 here.

"Ornithological Insights" with Jim Reynolds

Jim has made his slides available as a pdf, which you can download here.

"Woodcraft and Wordcraft" with Sharif Adams

Early Medieval Identities

In 2021, we hosted an online research seminar series called "Early Medieval Identities," which looked at a range of contexts for studying identity (i.e. not just in the riddles!) in early medieval England and the world. We were joined by four experts who shared their research, and you can now watch the recordings below. Enjoy!

Series Introduction

"Early Medieval Collective Identity in the Context of the Longue Durée" by Susan Oosthuizen

"Intersections of Social Identity and Disability in Early Medieval England" by Marit Ronen

"The Other in Self: Embodied Medieval Trans/lation in Contemporary Practice" by Miller Oberman

"Riddles in the Dark: Hadrian's Lost Contributions to Early England" by Mary Rambaran-Olm