Exeter Riddles 79 and 80
MEGANCAVELL
Date: Thu 26 Jul 2018Matching Commentaries: Commentary for Exeter Riddles 79 and 80
Krapp and Dobbie’s edition treats the first line as Riddle 79 and the remainder of the poem as Riddle 80. Williamson’s edition and most scholars tackle them together as one poem. I’m going with that!
Ic eom æþelinges æht ond willa.
Ic eom æþelinges eaxlgestealla,
fyrdrinces gefara, frean minum leof,
cyninges geselda. Cwen mec hwilum
hwitloccedu hond on legeð,
eorles dohtor, þeah hio æþelu sy.
Hæbbe me on bosme þæt on bearwe geweox.
Hwilum ic on wloncum wicge ride
herges on ende; heard is min tunge.
Oft ic woðboran wordleana sum
agyfe æfter giedde. Good is min wise
ond ic sylfa salo. Saga hwæt ic hatte.
I am a prince’s property and desire.
I am a prince’s shoulder-companion,
a warrior’s follower, beloved by my lord,
a king’s comrade. Sometimes a fair-haired
lady lays her hand on me,
a nobleman’s daughter, although she is dignified.
I have in my bosom what waxed in a wood.
Sometimes I ride on a bold steed
on the border of a host; my tongue is hard.
Often I give a speech-bearer after a song
a certain reward for words. My manner is good,
and I am dusky of self. Say what I am called.
Notes:
This riddle appears on folio 127r of The Exeter Book.
The above Old English text is based on this edition: Elliott van Kirk Dobbie and George Philip Krapp, eds, The Exeter Book, Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records 3 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1936), page 235.
Note that this edition numbers the text Riddle 76: Craig Williamson, ed., The Old English Riddles of the Exeter Book (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1977), page 111.
Tags: anglo saxon exeter book riddles old english solutions riddle 79 riddle 80
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