RIDDLE POSTS BY ARCHIVE DATE: JUL 2021

Boniface Prologue

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Incipiunt aenigmata Bonifatii Episcopi quae misit sorori suae
Aurea nam decem transmisi poma sorori,
Quae in ligno vitae crescebant floribus almis,
Illius sacris pendebant dulcia ramis,
Cum lignum vitae pendebat in arbore mortis.
5  Cum quibus et ludens comprendas gaudia vitae,
Et tibi venturae conplearis dulcedine vitae,
Manducans multo inspireris nectaris haustu.
Spirantes replet nardi fragrantia nares,
Cum quibus et malis compares regna futura,
10  Dulcia sic quondam celebrabis gaudia caeli.
Sunt alia alterius ligni acerbissima mala,
Pestifero vernant quae in ligno mortis amarae,
Quae Adam manducans dira est cum morte peremptus,
Antiqui infecta et flatu et felleque draconis,
15  Viperea ut dudum saeve perlita veneno.
Nitatur palmis haec nunquam tangere virgo,
Mandere quae nefas est et gustare profanum,
Ne dentes strideant fuscati peste maligna,
Talibus aut malis frangantur foedera sancta,
20  Vel superi incassum perdantur praemia regni.
Translation:
Here begin the riddles of Bishop Boniface, which he sent to his sister.
I gave ten golden apples to my sister;
they were growing from nourishing blossoms on the tree of life,
and hanging sweet from its sacred branches
when the tree of life was hanging on the tree of death.
5  And, playing with these, you may grasp the joys of life
and fill yourself with the sweetness of the life to come,
and, eating, breathe out many a mouthful of nectar.
Fill up your breathing nostrils with the perfumes of nard,
and obtain the kingdom to come with these apples,
10  and so you will celebrate the sweet joys of heaven someday.
There are other, very sour apples from another tree,
which grow on the tree of bitter death,
and Adam, eating these, was slain in terrible death;
they were infected by the poison and the breath of the ancient serpent,
15  since they had previously been cruelly smeared with a snake’s venom.
Let no virgin try to handle these:
it is forbidden to eat them and it is wicked to taste them.
Let teeth not grind, darkened by malignant plague,
nor sacred covenants be broken by such apples,
20  nor the rewards of the heavenly kingdom be vainly squandered.
Click to show riddle solution?
N/A


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Boniface Riddle 1: Caritas ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Cernere quis poterit, numero aut quis calculus aequat,
Splendida quae stolidis praestavi munera saeclis,
A qua praesentis moderantur dogmata vitae,
Atque futura novi praestantur praemia regni?
5  Ritibus atque meis conplentur iussa superna,
Talibus humanum semper miserebor in aevum.
Iuvavi mortale genus virtutibus almis,
Imperiis domino superis famularier alto,
Tetrica mundani calcent ut ludicra luxus.
10  Regna clamor, caelorum filia regis,
Ad requiem ut tendant animae, pulsabo tonantem,
Actus vel dicti seu sensus seu ut vincla resolvat.
Sedibus e superis soboles nempe architenentis,
Cuncta meis precibus restaurat saecla redemptor,
Arbiter aethereus condit me calce carentem,
15  In qua nec metas aevi nec tempora clausit,
Tempora sed mire sine tempore longe creavit.
Translation:
Who will be able to enumerate, and what calculation is equal in number
to the splendid gifts that I—who govern
the lore of the present life, and supply
the future rewards of the new kingdom—have given to the stupid world?
5  Divine commands are carried out by my customs;
with such things, I will always show compassion in the human world.
With nourishing virtues, I have helped the mortal race
to attend to the high lord and his heavenly commands,
so that they may stamp down the miserable trifles of worldly luxury.
10  I am called a queen, a daughter of the king of the heavens;
I shall call upon the thunderer, so that souls can march to their rest,
so that he will unlock the shackles of thought, word, or deed.
From the heavenly dwelling-places, the child of the highest master,
the redeemer, restores all the world with my prayers.
The judge creates me, limitless.
15  For me, he restricted neither the seasons nor the measures of lifetime,
but he wondrously created lengthy times beyond time itself.
Click to show riddle solution?
Charity


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 5 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 5 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 2: Fides catholica

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Fecunda et fortis vernans virtutibus altis,
Ipsius altithroni ductrix et nuntia dicor,
Dum Christi populo per mundum labara porto,
Et virtute mea viventes legibus aequis
5  Sacrantur Christo et demuntur crimina prisca.
Clamor cuncta dei cernentis praevia legis
Accola sum terris, sed caeli gaudia plures
Transmitto inlustres superis et sedibus aptos.
Hic sine me nullus Petri consortia sancti
10  Omnibus aut Pauli captat, qui finibus orbis
Luciflua promunt fuscis mea lumina saeclis.
Inclita me nullusque relicta ad premia regni
Conscendit Christi, misero nec gratia fulget.
Ast tamen, heu miserae, non scando ad regna polorum.
Translation:
Strong and fertile, flourishing in noble virtues,
I am known as the commander and herald of the high-throned one himself,
when I carry Christ’s standard to people across the world.
Living by my virtue in just laws,
5  they are devoted to Christ, and ancient crimes are annulled.
I am called the herald of the law of God, who sees everything;
I am an earth-dweller, but I pass the joys of heaven to the many
glorious ones who are prepared for the high kingdom.
Without me, absolutely no one here obtains
10  the friendship of Saint Peter or Saint Paul, who carry
my splendid light to the ends of the earth in this gloomy world.
And, if I have been abandoned, no one ascends to the illustrious rewards
of Christ’s kingdom, nor does grace shine on the wretched.
Nevertheless—alas, poor me—I do not climb to the kingdom of heaven.
Click to show riddle solution?
Faith


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 2 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 2 in Orchard’s edition.



Exeter Riddle 3 in Spanish / en Español

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Mon 05 Jul 2021

This Spanish translation of Riddle 3 from the Exeter Book is by Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos is an architect who was born, raised and lives in Rosario, Argentina. He studied English and German at and after school, is a ravenous reader and a declared Britophile. He is passionate about medieval literature, especially Old English and Old Norse literature. Thank you for your translation, Carlos!

Esta traducción al español del Acertijo 3 del Libro de Exeter es de Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos es un arquitecto que nació, creció y vive en Rosario, Argentina. Estudió inglés y alemán en y después de la escuela, es un lector voraz y un britófilo declarado. Es un apasionado de la literatura medieval, especialmente la literatura antigua inglesa y nórdica antigua. ¡Gracias por tu traducción, Carlos!



Original text:

Hwilum mec min frea      fæste genearwað,
sendeð þonne      under salwonges
bearm þone bradan,      ond on bid wriceð,
þrafað on þystrum      þrymma sumne,
5     hæste on enge,      þær me heord siteð
hruse on hrycge.      Nah ic hwyrftweges
of þam aglace,      ac ic eþelstol
hæleþa hrere;      hornsalu wagiað,
wera wicstede,      weallas beofiað,
10     steape ofer stiwitum.      Stille þynceð
lyft ofer londe      ond lagu swige,
oþþæt ic of enge      up aþringe,
efne swa mec wisaþ      se mec wræde on
æt frumsceafte      furþum legde,
15     bende ond clomme,      þæt ic onbugan ne mot
of þæs gewealde      þe me wegas tæcneð.
Hwilum ic sceal ufan      yþa wregan,
streamas styrgan      ond to staþe þywan
flintgrægne flod.      Famig winneð
20     wæg wið wealle,      wonn ariseð
dun ofer dype;      hyre deorc on last,
eare geblonden,      oþer fereð,
þæt hy gemittað      mearclonde neah
hea hlincas.      Þær bið hlud wudu,
25     brimgiesta breahtm,      bidað stille
stealc stanhleoþu      streamgewinnes,
hopgehnastes,      þonne heah geþring
on cleofu crydeþ.      Þær bið ceole wen
sliþre sæcce,      gif hine sæ byreð
30     on þa grimman tid,      gæsta fulne,
þæt he scyle rice      birofen weorþan,
feore bifohten      fæmig ridan
yþa hrycgum.      Þær bið egsa sum
ældum geywed,      þara þe ic hyran sceal
35     strong on stiðweg.      Hwa gestilleð þæt?
Hwilum ic þurhræse,      þæt me on bæce rideð
won wægfatu,      wide toþringe
lagustreama full,      hwilum læte eft
slupan tosomne.      Se bið swega mæst,
40     breahtma ofer burgum,      ond gebreca hludast,
þonne scearp cymeð      sceo wiþ oþrum,
ecg wið ecge;      earpan gesceafte
fus ofer folcum      fyre swætað,
blacan lige,      ond gebrecu ferað
45     deorc ofer dryhtum      gedyne micle,
farað feohtende,      feallan lætað
sweart sumsendu      seaw of bosme,
wætan of wombe.      Winnende fareð
atol eoredþreat,      egsa astigeð,
50     micel modþrea      monna cynne,
brogan on burgum,      þonne blace scotiað
scriþende scin      scearpum wæpnum.
Dol him ne ondrædeð      ða deaðsperu,
swylteð hwæþre,      gif him soð meotud
55     on geryhtu      þurh regn ufan
of gestune læteð      stræle fleogan,
farende flan.      Fea þæt gedygað,
þara þe geræceð      rynegiestes wæpen.
Ic þæs orleges      or anstelle,
60     þonne gewite      wolcengehnaste
þurh geþræc þringan      þrimme micle
ofer byrnan bosm.      Biersteð hlude
heah hloðgecrod;      þonne hnige eft
under lyfte helm      londe near,
65     ond me on hrycg hlade      þæt ic habban sceal,
meahtum gemagnad      mines frean.
Swa ic þrymful þeow      þragum winne,
hwilum under eorþan,      hwilum yþa sceal
hean underhnigan,      hwilum holm yfan
70     streamas styrge,      hwilum stige up,
wolcnfare wrege,      wide fere
swift ond swiþfeorm.      Saga hwæt ic hatte,
oþþe hwa mec rære,      þonne ic restan ne mot,
oþþe hwa mec stæðþe,      þonne ic stille beom.

Translation:

Por momentos mi amo me confina firmemente,
me envía bajo el vasto regazo
de fértiles campos, y me impele a detenerme,
fuerza parte de mi poder a las tinieblas,
5     estrechándome ferozmente; allí la tierra, mi pastora,
se sienta sobre mi lomo. No tengo escape
de esa aflicción, mas sacudo
la patria de héroes; tiemblan los salones de corníferos gabletes (1),
la morada de mortales, los muros tiritan
10     inclinados sobre sus dueños. Calmo parece
el aire sobre la faz, y el mar enmudece,
hasta que estallo en mi confinamiento,
mientras a mi origen me guía
aquél que me dispuso en vendajes,
15     lazos y cadenas, para que no me incline
bajo la energía que me indica el derrotero.
A veces excito el oleaje desde arriba,
incito las corrientes y empujo hacia las orillas
la riada grisácea (2). Espumosas, las ondas
20     batallan contra acantilados, fuscas se elevan
las colinas desde las profundidades; de huella oscura
otra avanza, mezclada con la mar,
juntándose sobre los márgenes,
junto a las altas riberas (3). Allí son ruidosas las naves (4),
25     el griterío de los huéspedes del mar (5); las empinadas pendientes de roca
esperan en sosiego la contienda de corrientes,
el estrellarse de las olas, cuando el elevado empuje
presiona contra los acantilados. Ahí la barcaza anticipa
lucha atroz si el océano la arrastra
30     sobre esa marea nefanda, colmada de almas,
tal que quedará al garete (6),
privada (7) de vida, cabalgando espumosa
sobre el dorso de las ondas. Allí el terror
se hará patente al hombre, deberé obedecer,
35     fuerte en mi arduo camino. ¿Quién aplacará eso?
A veces corro a través, de manera que sombrías vasijas con agua (8)
montan sobre mi espalda, desparramando ampliamente
raudales de lluvia; a veces las dejo
deslizarse juntas. Ahí es mayor el sonido,
40     el rumor sobre las ciudadelas y el fragor de la colisión,
cuando las nubes chocan contra nubes,
filo contra filo; una criatura negruzca,
presta sobre el gentío, exuda fuego,
pálidas flamas, y el clamor viaja
45     prieto sobre las huestes con gran estruendo,
viaja lidiando, dejando caer
la savia de oscuro sonido de su seno,
humedad de su vientre. Riñendo avanza
la terrible tropa; el terror asciende,
50     gran tormento mental para la humanidad,
horror de las ciudadelas, cuando el rastrero espectro
dispara débil armas filosas.
necio aquél que desdeña las lanzas de la muerte,
pues sucumbirá sin igual, si el verdadero Juez (9),
55     con derecho, deja que asombrosas
flechas bajen volando, saetas volantes,
desde arriba entre la lluvia. Pocos sobreviven,
de los alcanzados por el arma del visitante fugaz (10).
Yo causo el origen de ese conflicto,
60     cuando oriento la reunión de nubarrones,
presionando a través del tumulto con harta fuerza
sobre el ardiente seno. Estalla ruidosamente,
la altiva masa de tempestad; luego me inclino
bajo el yelmo del aire cercano a la tierra,
65     cargando sobre mi espalda la carga que debo portar,
exhortado por la fortaleza de mi señor.
Así yo, poderoso siervo, me esfuerzo por momentos,
a veces bajo la tierra, a veces bajo las olas
me debo sumergir, a veces desde arriba del piélago
70     excito las corrientes, a veces me elevo,
provocando los nómades nimbos, viajando por doquier
ligero y violento. Decid cómo me llamo,
o quién me arenga, cuando no puedo descansar,
o quién me tranquiliza, cuando estoy en calma.

Click to show riddle solution?
Una tormenta o Viento


Notes:

(1) Salones de corníferos gabletes: hornsele en el original, se refiere a los gabletes de los halls y longhouses germánicos (nórdicos, anglosajones), que solían estar rematados por proyecciones con forma de cuernos (comparar con “The Fight at Finnesburh”: … hornas byrnað?).
(2) El texto dice flintgræg “gris como el pedernal.” Elijo traducir como “grisácea” por considerar que la lectura fluye mejor.
(3) El texto dice hlinc, y se refiere a un terreno ondulado y arenoso junto a la costa. Pasó al inglés moderno a través del Scots como “links”, término con el que se designan las canchas de golf por haberse originado sobre dicho terreno.
(4) Considero que la correcta traducción del término anglosajón wudu, “bosque, madera”, corresponde a “nave, barco, navío”, ya que por sinécdoque se refiere a éstas, según el contexto.
(5) kenning, “marineros.”
(6) Elijo traducir scyle rice birofen weorþan (algo así como “deberá estar privada de control”) por el término náutico “al garete”, cuyo significado es el mismo y no alarga la lectura del verso.
(7) Traduzco como “privar” el término befeohtan, de extrema riqueza semántica: “privar por medio de la lucha, la batalla, conseguir por medio la lucha.”
(8) kenning, “nubes.”
(9) Traduzco como “Juez” el término metod “el que mide”, refiriéndose a Dios.
(10) rynegiest, un “visitante” o “enemigo” que llega velozmente, probablemente un kenning para el rayo.



Tags: anglo saxon  exeter book  old english  riddle 3  Carlos M. Cepero 

Related Posts:
Exeter Riddle 3

Boniface Riddle 3: Spes fatur

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:

Sancta comes faustos omnes comitata perhortor
Perpetuam meritis caelo comprendere vitam.
Et sine me scandit nullus per culmina caeli,
Sed tristem ac miseram post illinc facta secernunt:
5  Fortunata nimis, si non mentita fuissem,
Aurea promittens starent ut ludicra mundi.
Terrigenas iugiter duco ad caelestia regna,
Viribus ut freti tradant ad corpora poenas
Regmina venturi captantes aurea saecli.

Translation:

A holy companion and escort, I encourage all the fortunate
to grasp everlasting life in heaven by their merits.
And no one ascends to the heights of heaven without me,
but afterwards, works exclude me, sad and wretched, from there.
5  Too fortunate—if only I had not lied,
promising that the golden pleasures of the world would remain.
I ceaselessly lead earth-dwellers to the heavenly realm,
so that those relying on my strength can give themselves up to bodily punishments
and reach the golden kingdom of the world to come.

Click to show riddle solution?
Hope


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Line 4, illine > illinc, following Fr. Glorie (ed.), Variae collectiones aenigmatum Merovingicae aetatis. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 133A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1968. Page 287.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 3 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 3 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 4: Iustitia dixit

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Igneus en genitor fertur mihi Iuppiter esse,
Vocibus et virgo stolidorum famine dicor,
Sed scelus ob varium terras liquisse nefandas.
Terrigenis raro facies mea cernitur usquam,
5  Inclita caelorum fuerim cum filia regis,
Talibus ut genitor moderans cum legibus orbem,
In gremio gaudens et fingens oscula patris.
Aurea gens hominum semper gauderet in aevo,
Datam si normam servarent virginis almae.
10  Incubuit populis, spreta me, turba malorum,
Xristi dum iugiter calcarent iussa tonantis,
Idcirco penetrant Herebi subtristia nigra,
Tartara Plutonis plangentes ignea regis.
Translation:
Hark! Jupiter is said to be my father,
and I am called a virgin in the speech and empty phrases of the stupid,
but [it is said] that I left the wicked world due to terrible deeds.
My face is hardly ever seen by the earth-dwellers,
5  although I am the illustrious daughter of the king of the heavens,
governing the world with such laws as my father does,
kissing my father and rejoicing in his embrace.
The golden race of men would rejoice forever
if they kept the law given to them by the nourishing virgin.
10  When I was rejected, a tumult of evils settled in the nations,
when they continually trampled the commands of Christ the Thunderer,
and so they enter the gloomy blackness of Erebus,
bewailing the Tartarian fires of King Pluto.
Click to show riddle solution?
Justice


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 6 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 6 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 5: Veritas ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Vincere me nulli possunt, sed perdere multi.
Est tamen et mirum, Christi quod sedibus adsto
Regnans et gaudens superis cum civibus una
Incola, sed quaerens germanam rura peragro,
5  Terras quam plures fantur liquisse nefandas,
Amplius in sceptris mundi iam degere nolo
Sanctam merendo tristis non nacta sororem,
Antiquus vates cecinit quod carmine David.
In terris vanos homines me virgine dempta.
10  Trans, ubi semper eram, fugiens nunc sidera scandam.
Translation:
No one can defeat me, but many can lose me.
And yet it is amazing that I stand in the realms of Christ,
a native, governing and rejoicing together with the heavenly subjects,
but I wander the countryside, looking for my sister—
5  she is said to have left many wicked lands.
I do not wish to live in the worldly kingdom anymore,
sad that I did not deserve to find my holy sister;
the ancient poet David sang a song about this.
With me—a virgin—removed, men on earth are empty.
10  Fleeing, I will reach the stars now, where I always was.
Click to show riddle solution?
Truth


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 1 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 1 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 6: Misericordia ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Moribus en geminae variis et iure sorores
Instamus domini cunctis in callibus una.
Sed soror in tenebras mortales mergeret atras,
Et poenas Herebi lustrent per devia Ditis,
5  Regmina si saecli tenuisset sola per orbem.
Illius adversas vires infrangere nitor,
Clamans atque “soror,” dicens, “charissima, parce.”
O genus est superum felix, me virgine nacta:
Regmine nempe meo perdono piacula terris.
  Do vitae tempus, superis do lumen Olympi,
Ingenti mundi variis cum floribus arvo,
Aurea gens hominum scandat quod culmina caeli.
Ast tamen altithroni non sacris finibus absum,
Impetrans miseris veniam mortalibus aevi,
15  Tranando iugiter Christi per saecla ministro.
Translation:
Behold! Twin sisters with different customs and law,
we step together on every path of the Lord.
But my sister would plunge mortals into the terrible darkness,
and the punishments of Erebus would spread across the winding roads of Dis,
5  if she alone ruled the entire world.
I try to break her hostile powers,
saying and calling, “Dearest sister, have mercy!”
Oh, the earthly race is lucky that I—a virgin—have been born.
Indeed, I forgive sins on earth by my rule.
10  I give the time of life, and I give the light of highest Olympus
to the vast, many-flowered plains of the world,
so that the golden race of men might ascend the heights of heaven.
Nevertheless, I am not distant from the holy boundaries of the high-throned one,
obtaining mercy for the wretched mortals of the earth,
15  and constantly crossing the world as Christ’s servant.
Click to show riddle solution?
Mercy


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 4 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and 4 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 7: Patientia ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Per me probantur veri falsique prophetae,
Atque mali expulsi sanctorum a limite longe.
Tempora non perdunt pro me pia facta peracta.
In proprium meritum pressuras verto reorum,
5  Et miro exemplo scaevorum dira piacla
Nisibus eximiis commuto in premia sancta.
Tetrica multorum per me compescitur ira,
Igneus atque furor rixae cum torribus ardens.
Altrix virtutum, custos et sancta vocabor.
10  Arte mea iugiter conplentur iussa superna,
In caeli cuneo Christi quia sedibus asto.
Tranquilla aeternum regem comitabor in aevum.
Translation:
True and false prophets are tested through me,
and the wicked are driven far away from the borders of the saints.
Times do not ruin the good deeds done for me.
I overturn oppression by the guilty as they deserve,
5  and with exceptional labours, I turn the terrible crimes of the wicked
into holy rewards by my wonderous example.
I hold back the fierce rage of many,
and fiery anger, burning with the brands of strife.
I am called the nursemaid and holy guardian of the virtues.
10  Heavenly commands are continually fulfilled by my skill,
because I stand among the army of heaven in the realm of Christ.
I will serve the everlasting king for eternity.
Click to show riddle solution?
Patience


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 7 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 7 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 4, meorum > reorum, following Fr. Glorie (ed.), Variae collectiones aenigmatum Merovingicae aetatis. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 133A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1968. Page 295.



Boniface Riddle 8: Pax vere Christiana

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Pacificum passim fieret mortalibus aevum,
Aeternum imperium regerem si sola per orbem.
Xristicolis quondam a caeli sum carmine missa,
Vera dei soboles ortu dum saecla beavit.
5  En regnatoris saeclorum nomine ditor,
Regno inter Christi semper vernacula vernas,
Et terras iustorum habitans regina vocabor,
Caelicolaeque tenent iugiter me in culmine caeli,
Regmina quaecunque inlustro mea gaudia gestant
10  In quibus et non sum, precibus iam rogor adesse.
Spiritus et corpus, si digner servier ipsis,
Tetrica pugnarum non torquent bella proterva.
Infames fugio discordias semper ubique.
Arbiter aethralis iussit me hoc semper habere.
15  Nisibus infringor scevorum et mente maligna,
Aurea mira mihi sed parta est aula polorum.
Heu miseris longe quis sum mortalibus aegris!
Qui in proprio tecto me dedignantur habere;
Clauditur his superum caeli sub cardine regnum.
20  Quapropter populi talem non spernite sponsam,
Qua sine non caeli penetratur virgine templum!
Translation:
There would be a peaceful age for mortals everywhere
if I alone governed the abiding, worldly realm everywhere.
Once I was sent in a verse from heaven to the Christians,
when the true child of God blessed the world with his appearance.
Hark! I am called by the name of the ruler of the ages
and I govern always among the servants in the kingdom of Christ,
and, living in the lands of the just, I am called “Queen,”
and the heaven-dwellers guard me always in the heights of heaven,
and my joys are carried in all the dominions that I adorn,
10 and prayers call for me to be in those that I am not.
Spirit and body, if I deign to be served by them,
do not hurl themselves into fierce, violent war.
I flee from notorious discord, always and everywhere.
The heavenly judge has commanded me to remain here forever.
15 I am weakened by the efforts and the wicked thoughts of evil ones,
but the wonderous, golden palace of the skies has been given to me.
Alas, I am far from those wretched, troubled mortals!
They scornfully reject having me under their roof;
The upper kingdom under the pole of the sky is locked away from them.
20 And so, oh nations, do not reject such a bride;
the temple of heaven cannot be entered without this maiden.
Click to show riddle solution?
Peace


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 8 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and 8 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 9: Humilitas cristina fatetur

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:

Hic inter numeror sacras vix sola sorores,
Vestibus in spretis specie quia nigrior exsto.
Multi me spernunt, cunctis dispectior en sum,
In terris nusquam similatur vilior ulla,
5  Libertatis opem dominus sed dabit in aethra:
Ima solo quantum, tantum dio proxima caelo.
Terras indutus me Christus sanguine salvat;
Ardua caelorum conscendet culmina nullus,
Si me forte caret, propria nec sorte sorores.
10  Cum domino Christo una sit carissima sponsa!
Ruricolae et reges, pueri innuptaeque puellae,
Innumeri heroes nati melioribus annis,
Sanctorum excellens martyrum pulchra corona,
Terribilesque viri meritis cum matribus almis:
15  In tanto numero, excepta me, viribus audax,
Altithroni nullus capiet pia gaudia regis,
Ni iugiter nutrix et tutrix omnibus adsim,
Aeterni placans et mulcens pectora regis.
Flebilis et vacuus vocitatur mente monachus,
20  Acta mea pravo tumidus si corde refutat.
Terrigenis paucis conprobor amabilis hospes,
Et tamen altithroni nato lectissima virgo.
Trano comes plures ducens super aethra phalanges,
Viribus et sponsi fidens sum sancta virago.
25  regi regnorum mea simplex foedera servo.

Translation:

Here, I alone am barely counted among the holy sisters
because I am darker in appearance, in despised clothes.
Behold! Many reject me and everyone looks at me,
and never does anyone on earth appear cheaper,
5  but the Lord will reward me with freedom in heaven:
as much as I am in the lowest place, I am also nearest to divine heaven.
Christ, who wore me, saved the earth with his blood;
no one will climb the lofty heights of heaven
if they happen to lack me or my sisters,
10  since I am the dearest bride of Christ the Lord!
Peasants and kings, boys and maidens,
innumerable heroes born in better times,
a beautiful and exulted circle of the saintly martyrs,
men venerable for their merits, with indulgent mothers:
15  in such a number, confident in their powers, without me
none of them will gain the sacred joys of the high throned king,
unless I, nursemaid and tutor, am always with them,
soothing and softening the heart of the eternal king.
A ruler is called lamentable and thoughtless
20  if they arrogantly spurn my deeds with a wicked heart.
I prove to be a loveable guest for few earth-dwellers,
but a most excellent maiden for the son of the high throned one.
A companion, leading many battalions, I sail upon the sky,
and I am a holy warrior, trusting the might of the groom.
25  Honest, I keep my compacts with the king of kings.

Click to show riddle solution?
Humility


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 9 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 9 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 4, sit > sim, following Andy Orchard (ed. & trans.). The Old English and Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2021. Page 197.



Boniface Riddle 10: Virginitas ait humilium

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:

Vitae perpetuae vernans cum floribus almis,
Inclita cum sanctis virtutum gesto coronam,
Regis saeclorum matrem comitata Mariam,
Gaudens quae genuit proprium paritura parentem,
5  Impia qui proprio salvavit sanguine saecla.
Nuncupor angelicis et sum germana ministris,
Ignea conculcans spernendo ludicra luxus.
Tollitur in caelum rumor meus ante tribunal,
Almae martyrii dum gestant serta sorores;
10  Sanctorum frontem praecingens floribus orno,
Aurea flammigeris tranent ut ad astra coronis.
Igneus ut Phoebus splendentes sidera supra,
Tangor non pullis maculis speciosa virago.
Hac auri vinco specie gemmata metalla,
15  Virgine me facie quia non est pulchrior ulla.
Me cives caeli clamant: “clarissima virgo,
In terris longe fueras, soror inclita, salve!”
Lucida perpetuae expectant me premia vitae,
Internusque dies atque inmutabile tempus,
20  Vivida quique mei proiecit foedera iuris.
Mentis eius non ingredior habitacula demum.

Translation:

Flourishing with the bountiful flowers of perpetual life,
and famous, I wear the crown of virtues with the saints,
an escort to Mary, mother of the king of the world,
who, pregnant and rejoicing, gives birth to her own parent,
5  who saved the impious world with his own blood.
I am and I am called the sister to angelic servants,
I despise and I spurn trifling, burning luxury.
My reputation is carried up to the court in heaven
whilst my kind sisters carry the garlands of martyrdom;
10  I crown and adorn the head of the saints with flowers,
so that they can fly to the golden stars with fiery crowns,
Like Phoebus, shining above the stars.
I am a beautiful virgin, untouched by dark stains.
I best the sparkling metals with this kind of gold,
15  because none appear more beautiful than me, a virgin.
The people of heaven call out, “Brightest maiden,
you have long been in the world—welcome, famous sister!”
They await the shining rewards of everlasting life with me,
the day yet to be revealed and time immutable.
20  If anyone has cast away the life-bearing covenant of my law,
I do not enter the dwelling-place of their mind after that.

Click to show riddle solution?
Virginity


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 10 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 10 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface, Epilogue to the Virtues

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Agmine post iuncto multis cum milibus una
Carmen selectum dicemus famine miro,
Cetera quod numquam modulatur turma piorum,
Aetherium dulci laudantes carmine regem,
Qui proprio nostram mundavit sanguine vitam,
Cui meritas grates sanctas sine fine canemus.
Translation:
After the host has been joined, together with many thousands,
let us sing in wondrous voice an excellent song,
which the other band of the blessed never perform,
praising in sweet verse the king of heaven,
who purified our life with his own blood,
and to whom we will endlessly sing the deserved holy thanks.
Click to show riddle solution?
N/A


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

The epilogue appears at the end of Boniface’s riddle on virginity (No.10). Dümmler includes the two together, but editions by Glorie (page 309) and Orchard (page 200) list them separately, just as I have done here.

Boniface Riddle 11: Cupiditas ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Cernebam tetrum lustrans per saecula monstrum
Visibus horrendum, nec dictu effabile quodam,
Pignora purpureo maculat quod sanguine terrae.
In varia caedes mortalia pectora cogens,
5  Dira fremens saevo passim cum murmure Martis
Ignea inferni animabus Tartara complet.
Terrigenasque tamen demulcet mente dolosa,
Auri materiem et fulvo splendore metalla
Sumant ut pretium, trucidato fratre gemello,
10  Aut gnatus auro bibat, genitore perempto.
Insane sapiunt homines, quia belua maligna est,
Tot tantosque viros multis cum matribus una
Tetrica crudelis trudens ad limina Ditis.
Haud secus alloquitur mortales ore superbo
15  Bestia pinnipotens: “dominans sum finibus orbis,
Horrendam dicunt me omnes, sed famine ficto,
Carior at multis conprobor lumine vitae.
Ast ego infesta crudelior hostibus omnes
Invisos habeo, et cum strofa sternere nitor.
20  Non quisquam in terris numerus aut calculus aequat,
Milia quot passim strofosa morte peremi.
Reges et proceres docui temerare premendo
Foedera atque pares pariter propriosque propinquos.
Haud secus ut populi perdant sua iura minores.
25  Pontifices multos temptans per devia duxi,
Candida ut meritis non scandant atria caeli,
Presbiterosque simul vastans per lucra peremi,
Ordinibus sacris degentes sterno phalanges,
cum semel adgrediens comitabor fraude monachos.
30  Cetera feminei sexus seu turma virorum
Si mihi consentit mortalia grana serenti,
Perpetuae perdet mercedis lucra perennis,
Horrida pestiferis cumulat tormenta maniplis.
Divitis et cuius propria dominabor in aula,
35  Sollicitus pauper fit rebus semper egenus,
Nequicquam dapibus saecli saturatur opimis,
Et mentis longa merendo pace carebit,
Omnes magnanime spernit virtutis amicos.
Iustitiaeque fidem et pacem depello serenam,
40  Et Christi humilitas longe disperditur a me.
Sanctorum mansit numquam patientia mecum,
Misericordia non umquam mea tecta videbat,
Semper me horrescens fugiet dilectio sancta.
Natas priscorum clamant has carmina vatum
45  Regis caelorum summa qui regnat in arce,
Quas ego invisas damnando semper habebam.
Qui me bachantem sua subter tecta recondit,
Concito caede furens, irarum maxima mater,
Alter ut alterius fratres sua viscera rumpant.
50  Conditor excelsus, dudum qui saecla creavit,
Non me formavit pariter sub lege creandi,
Sed priscus dudum in paradiso viscere natrix
Edidit invisam superis sub fraude maligna.
Inlicio plures stolidos me amare ferocem,
55  Dulcius ut mulsum quaerant quam nectaris haustum.
Quique tenet strictim strofosis actibus unam,
Amplius in sceptris mundi invitatur habere.
Non quod cernit habet caecatis mentibus errans,
Nec suus est proprius, sed sic mihi servus habetur.
60  Athletis Orci dicor “dulcissima virgo,”
Caelicolae econtra vocitant me “pessima belua,”
Quod plures populos mordens sub Tartara trusi.
Audivi quendam procerum dixisse priorum,
Inlustrem factis, famoso nomine Paulum,
65  Cunctorum stirpem et causam me esse malorum.
Prendere hunc mihi si traderet arbiter orbis,
Mordendo trepidi tremerent sub dentibus artus.
Translation:
I saw a foul monster roaming throughout the world
terrible to the eye and completely unspeakable,
and who stains the children of the earth with deep red blood
forcing mortal hearts into various murders,
5  and, roaring fearfully with the cruel growl of Mars,
it fills fiery, Tartarian hell with souls.
Yet it seduces the earth-dwellers with its cunning intelligence
to accept things of gold and metals with a golden glow
as payment after they have killed their twin brother,
10  or so that a child drinks from gold, having murdered their father.
Humans fall into madness, because the monster is evil,
shoving so many and such great men, together with many mothers,
across the fierce boundary of cruel Dis.
In the same way, the strong-winged beast addresses mortals
15  with haughty speech: “I rule to the limits of the earth,
and everyone calls me terrible, but with their lies,
yet I prove dearer to many than the light of life.
But, troublesome and crueller than other enemies,
I hate everyone, and I strive to destroy them with trickery.
20  No number or calculation on earth is equal
to the thousand or more I have destroyed everywhere with deceitful death.
I have led kings and princes violently to dishonour
contracts, and their own kin and counterparts too.
In the same way, lower peoples may destroy their own laws.
25  I have tempted many bishops and led them into error,
so that they do not ascend to the bright halls of heaven.
Likewise, I have extinguished and annihilated priests through greed,
and I strike down legions of those who live in holy orders
whenever I meet monks and serve them deceitfully.
30  If the remaining group, both of women and men,
join with me, who sows deadly seeds,
they will squander the everlasting profit of an eternal reward,
and store up awful tortures in baleful bundles.
And the rich, in whose hall I will rule,
35  become a troubled pauper, always needy for things,
never satisfied by the rich feasts of the world,
and they will lack any long peace of mind, which they do not deserve,
and despise all their most virtuous friends.
I strike down faith in justice and serene peace,
40  and Christ’s humility is widely wasted by me.
The patience of the saints has never stayed with me,
mercy has never looked under my roof,
and holy charity always flees from me in fear.
The songs of ancient poets call out to these children
45  of the king of heaven, who rules in the highest castle;
I always hated and rejected them.
He who hides me, wild and furious, beneath their roof,
I encourage to commit murder, the greatest mother of wrath,
so that one brother tears open the stomach of the other.
50  The high creator, who once created the world,
did not make me under the same law of creation,
but rather, some time ago, the ancient serpent in paradise produced
me from its belly with evil deception, detested by those on earth.
I entice more idiots to love me, the wild one,
55  so that they seek a sweeter mead than the drink of nectar.
Anyone who briefly possesses this one, with twisted deeds,
is invited to live more richly in the worldly kingdom.
In error, he does not have that which he sees in his blinded mind,
nor does he belong to himself, but rather he is regarded as a slave to me.
60  I am called “sweetest virgin” by the champions of Orcus,
and, on the other hand, the angels call me “the evilest monster,”
because I have hurt many nations, pushing them down into Tartarus.
I have heard that a certain great ancient,
famous for his deeds, with the renowned name of Paul,
65  said that I was the root and cause of all evils.
If the judge of the world betrayed him to me,
his terrified limbs would tremble beneath biting teeth.
Click to show riddle solution?
Avarice


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 3 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 13 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 57, vitatur > invitatur, following Andy Orchard (ed. & trans.). The Old English and Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2021. Page 208.



Boniface Riddle 12: Superbia loquitur

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Serpens angelicus genuit me in culmine caeli,
Viperea spirans et crimina noxia cordi;
Pellexi et populi insidiando milia multa,
E superis regnis trudens in Tartara nigra.
5  Regina et mater peccati et praevia dicor,
Bella movens animis, caste qui vivere malunt;
Irasque insidiasque et mille crimina trado,
Altera in terris non est crudelior ulla.
Luciferum ut dudum seduxi fraude maligna,
10  Omnes sic passim mortales perdere tempto.
Qui me sub sinu gestant, se sternere tempnunt.
Viribus infestis alias convinco sorores.
In terris gradior, sed nubila vertice tango,
Terrificas grassans germanas subsequor una,
15  Viribus invisis sanctos in calce perimo,
Rectos ex armis propriis prosternere nitor.
Translation:
An angelic serpent birthed me in the heights of heaven,
breathing out snaky crimes, villainous to the heart;
I allured many thousands of nations with my scheming,
shoving them from the heavenly realms into black Tartarus.
5  I am called the queen, mother, and vanguard of sin,
stirring up battles in souls who just want to live purely;
I bring anger and plot and a thousand crimes,
and no one else on earth is crueller.
Just as once I seduced Lucifer with evil deception,
10  so I seek to destroy all mortals everywhere.
Those who carry me in their heart hate to humble themselves.
I surpass the other sisters in harmful powers.
I walk on the earth, but I touch the top of the clouds.
Prowling about, I follow my sisters.
15  I strike saints in the heel with my evil powers,
and I work to overthrow the just with their own weapons.
Click to show riddle solution?
Pride


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 4 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 14 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 15 perunco > perimo, following Fr. Glorie (ed.), Variae collectiones aenigmatum Merovingicae aetatis. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 133A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1968. Page 327.



Boniface Riddle 13: Crapula gulae

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Clara fui quondam, Sodomae dum farra manebant,
Regmina foeda tenens, donec pius ultor ab alto
Ardentes flammas multans et sulphura misit.
Praevia sum luxus petulantis foetore carnis,
5  Viribus aequalis bibulae perfecta soroti.
Lurida nam dudum frangebam moenia sancta,
Aurea dum Solymae famosae templa ruebant;
Grandia nam populus mordax quondam idola fecit.
Vivere iam docui mediocres mente superba,
10  Lectos et proceres iustos quoque spernere victus.
Arte mea plures submersi faucibus orci;
Externi ut superis miscentur civibus ignis.
Translation:
I was once renowned, when the grit of Sodom was alive,
retaining their loathsome kingdom, until a holy avenger from heaven
punished me, sending out burning flames and sulphur.
I am the bringer of debauchery in the stench of wanton flesh,
5  and I am made equal in strength to my thirsty sister.
For, ghastly, I once smashed down the sacred walls
when the golden temples of famous Solyma fell;
for, at one time, the snarling nation made great idols.
After that, I taught the mediocre to live with a proud mind,
10  and I also taught the best and noblest to spurn righteous living.
I have cunningly sunk many into the jaws of Orcus;
as exiles from heaven, they are joined with the citizens of Hell.
Click to show riddle solution?
Overindulgence (of the gullet)


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 5 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 15 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 4, foenore > foetore, following Fr. Glorie (ed.), Variae collectiones aenigmatum Merovingicae aetatis. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 133A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1968. Page 329.



Boniface Riddle 14: Ebrietas dicebat

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Ex bibulis semper dinoscor condita buccis;
Blandius inliciens stultis sum cara virago.
Rixas irarum iugiter conturbo feroces,
Ignavos oculos et linguam famine trico,
5  Et pedibus tardos somnos et somnia dira
Toto infirmato mollescens corpore trado.
Aurea faustorum fugiet sapientia longe,
Stultorum passim persultant gaudia mecum:
Dulcem semper amat me sic luxoria matrem.
10  In gremio illius iugiter nutrimina porto,
Crudeles animas urens cum torribus atris,
Edita stelligeri ut non scandant culmina caeli,
Baratri repetant lustrantes ima profundi.
Auferat humanis deus istam mentibus ydram,
15  Tale homines ut non vastet per saecula monstrum!
Translation:
Tasty, I am always distinguished by thirsty mouths;
I am a woman loved by the foolish, whom I seduce with flattery.
I constantly provoke furious conflicts of rage,
I trick the lazy eyes and talkative tongue,
5  I give a tardy sleep to the feet and terrible dreams
to the whole weakened, softening body.
The golden wisdom of the fortunate will run far off,
and the joys of the stupid dance about with me:
wantonness always loves me as her sweet mother.
10  I bring nourishment to her lap incessantly,
burning cruel souls with evil flames,
so that they cannot ascend to the lofty heights of starry heaven,
and, wandering, they return to the pits of deep hell.
Let God take away that serpent from human minds
15  so that such a monster does not destroy humans across the world!
Click to show riddle solution?
Drunkenness


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 6 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 16 in Orchard’s edition.

Line 5, semina > somnia, following Andy Orchard (ed. & trans.). The Old English and Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2021. Page 212.



Boniface Riddle 15: Luxuria ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Limpida sum, fateor, saeva sed fraude maligna,
Usibus humanis dulcis ceu nectaris haustus.
Xristicolas passim perdens per tetra venena,
Omnia pertemptabo ardendo viscera febre.
5  Ruricolam rarum quemquam sine vulnere linquo;
Ignibus internis animas ad Tartara duco,
Aurea luciferi ut non tranent culmina caeli.
Ars mea escarum et vini nutrimine crescit.
Infelix mortale genus, quod bestia talis
10  Tetrica mulcendo tradit per Tartara mortis!
Heu miseri, talem, mortales, spernite gypsam,
Quae mares matresque simul disperdere temptat.
Parcite sumptuosos victus et sumere potus,
Quo solet antiquus serpens nutrimine pasci!
15  Qui Sodomae princeps quondam dum regna vigebant,
Igniferum rapuit dum cives sulphur ab ethra.
Translation:
I am bright, I confess, but also evil in violent deception,
just as a drink of nectar is sweet in human experience.
I destroy Christians everywhere with foul poisons
and I will test all stomachs with a burning torment.
5  I rarely leave any earth-dweller unharmed;
when flames burn within, I lead souls to Tartarus,
so that they do not fly to the golden heights of illuminated heaven.
My art grows with the nourishment of food and wine.
Unlucky mortal race, whom such a beast
10  flatters and then gives over to gloomy, Tartarian death!
Oh wretched mortals, reject such a serpent,
who strives to destroy both men and women.
Refrain from taking sumptuous food and drink,
upon which nourishment the ancient serpent usually feeds.
15  He was prince of Sodom once, when the kingdom prospered,
until fiery sulphur from heaven killed the citizens.
Click to show riddle solution?
Luxury


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 7 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 17 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 16: Invidia ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Impia gignendo sum filia daemonis atri;
Non sum satoris superi moderamine creata,
Viribus atque meis mors introivit in orbem,
In paradisi ortos quondam dum vipera repsit.
5  Dum fratum aspiciam sanctorum facta tabesco;
Infelix fatum tanta me fraude fefellit,
Ac bona sic propria frendendo perdo dolose.
Atque ego virtutum vastatrix impia dicor.
Ignea si pariter sum nec matryria prosunt,
10  Tartareum macerans et torquens corde venenum.
Translation:
I am the daughter of an evil demon, unholy from birth;
I was not created under the direction of the heavenly creator,
and death entered the world by my powers,
when the snake once crawled into paradise.
5  As I look at the deeds of holy brothers, I waste away;
unlucky fate has tricked me with such deceit,
and so I cunningly grind up their good deeds,
and I am called the unholy destroyer of the virtues.
If I am also present, fiery martyrdoms are useless;
10  I torture and torment—a Tartarian poison to the heart.
Click to show riddle solution?
Envy


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 8 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 18 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 17: Ignorantia ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Iam dudum nutrix errorum et stulta vocabar:
Germine nempe meo concrescunt pignora saeclis
Noxia peccati late per limina mundi,
Ob quod semper amavit me Germanica tellus,
5  Rustica gens hominum Sclaforum et Scythia dura.
Adsum si gnato, genitor non gaudet in illo.
Non caelum terramve, maris non aequora salsa
Tranantem solem et lunam, non sidera supra
Ignea contemplans quaero, quis conderet auctor.
10  Altrix me numquam docuit, sapientia quid sit.
Altera sordidior saeclis non cernitur usquam.
Idcirco invisam vocitat me Grecia prudens,
Tetrica quod numquam vitans peccamina curo.
Translation:
For some time now, I have been called a dolt and the nursemaid of errors:
indeed, from my seed the guilty children of sin
spread widely in the world, to the ends of the earth,
because the German soil has always loved me,
5  the rustic tribe of the Slavs and hard Scythia.
If I am born, a father does not rejoice.
Gazing outwards, I do not ask what creator founded
the earth or sky, the sun and moon crossing
the salty surface of the sea, and the stars burning above.
10  A nursemaid never taught me what wisdom is.
No one filthier is seen anywhere on earth.
For that reason, the wise Greeks call me the unseen one,
because I never try to run from terrible sins.
Click to show riddle solution?
Ignorance


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 9 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 19 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 18: Vana gloria, iactantia

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:

Versicolor varie migrans per saecula lustro,
Auribus atque oculis serviens per devia duco.
Non una specie, varia sed imagine ludo,
Auri flaventis passim argentique micantis
5  gemmiferas species, ut ament, mortalibus apto,
Luciflua ut perdant venturae praemia vitae.
Omnigeno iugiter mortales agmine vasto:
Rurigenas animas perdens per vulnera sterno,
Incautis semper furtim mea spicula mitto.
10  Arte mea perdunt multi pia facta laboris.
Ieiunium pariter, solamina et pauperis aegri,
Almisonaeque preces claris cum laudibus una
Clam pereunt, factor si non est cautus in actu.
Talia patrantem vocitant me “virgo maligna,”
15  Aurea venturae qui quaerunt munera vitae.
Non cesso spolians plures mercede futura.
Terrigenas Christi pervertens omnia tempto,
Intemerata fides nusquam ut videatur in orbe.
Aeterna infelix perdet habitacula miles,
20  Et gemma et aurum et vestis, lanugine texunt
Quam Seres vermes, propria ad mea iura recurrunt.
Omnia humanis non necessaria rebus,
Quae homines longe lateque habere videntur.
Usibus ecce meis serviunt sub mente superba.
25  Falsior inter nos probatur nulla sororum.

Translation:

I wander across the world, changing into different colours;
serving the ears and eyes, I lead them in devious ways.
I do not have one shape, but rather I play around in various forms.
I prepare the jewelled shapes of yellow gold
5  and sparkling silver for mortals everywhere, so that they love them
and lose utterly the splendid rewards of the life to come.
I constantly ruin mortals in all kinds of groups:
destroying country-born souls, I smash them down with injuries,
and I always cast my arrows stealthily at the unsuspecting.
10  By my art, many utterly lose the sacred results of their labour.
Fasting, along with the comfort of the poor and sick
and nourishing prayers, together with loud praise—
these mysteriously perish if the doer is not careful in the doing.
Doing such things, I am called “evil virgin”
15  by those who seek the golden gifts of the life to come.
I do not stop stripping many people of future rewards.
Corrupting Christ’s earth-dwellers, I test everything,
so that undefiled faith is never seen on earth.
The unlucky soldier loses the eternal home utterly.
20  The jewel, gold, and clothes woven in thread
by silkworms—they come back to my own possession.
There is nothing essential in the human things
that people are seen to have, far and wide.
Behold! Under a proud mind, they serve my purposes.
25  None among the sisters is shown to be falser.

Click to show riddle solution?
Vainglory


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 10 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 20 in Orchard’s edition.



Boniface Riddle 19: Neglegentia ait

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Non est in terris me virgo stultior ulla,
Existens cunctis neglectu audacior una.
Grates dedignor domino persolvere dignas,
Limpida quoque modo perlustrent lumina terras,
5  Et caeli speciem depingent sidera pulchram,
Gentis humanae aut dominus quis conditor esset,
Ex qua re varias voluisset fingere formas.
Non ignara mali, recti sum nescia vivens.
Tot hominum leges et iussa altissima Christi
10  Infringens semper spernendo querere nolo,
Aut quid praeciperet mortalibus arbiter orbis.
Ardua non cupio, vereor non ima profundi.
In terra mortem timeo, non vivere curo,
Talibus exuberans dicor “stultissima virgo.”
Translation:
There is no maiden on earth stupider than me,
being singularly more daring in neglect than everyone.
I do not condescend to pay the appropriate thanks to the Lord
for the way in which the bright lights wander the earth
5  and the stars decorate the beautiful sight of the sky,
or for who the creator and lord of the human race might be,
and for what reason he wished to create the various forms.
Living, I am not ignorant of wrong, but I do not know right.
I do not want to seek, and I always reject and break,
10  so many human laws and the highest commands of Christ,
or anything the ruler of the world might have commanded mortals.
I long for the heights, I do not fear the depths.
On earth, I fear death, but I don’t care about living,
and, flourishing in such ways, I am called “the stupidest maiden.”
Click to show riddle solution?
Negligence


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 1 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and 11 in Orchard’s edition.



Exeter Riddle 20 in Spanish / en Español

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Mon 05 Jul 2021

This Spanish translation of Riddle 20 from the Exeter Book is by Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos is an architect who was born, raised and lives in Rosario, Argentina. He studied English and German at and after school, is a ravenous reader and a declared Britophile. He is passionate about medieval literature, especially Old English and Old Norse literature. Thank you for your translation, Carlos!

Esta traducción al español del Acertijo 20 del Libro de Exeter es de Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos es un arquitecto que nació, creció y vive en Rosario, Argentina. Estudió inglés y alemán en y después de la escuela, es un lector voraz y un britófilo declarado. Es un apasionado de la literatura medieval, especialmente la literatura antigua inglesa y nórdica antigua. ¡Gracias por tu traducción, Carlos!



Original text:

Ic eom wunderlicu wiht,      on gewin sceapen,
frean minum leof,      fægre gegyrwed.
Byrne (1) is min bleofag,      swylce beorht seomað
wir ymb þone wælgim      þe me waldend geaf,
5     se me widgalum      wisað hwilum
sylfum to sace.      Þonne ic sinc wege
þurh hlutterne dæg,      hondweorc smiþa,
gold ofer geardas.      Oft ic gæstberend (2)
cwelle compwæpnum.      Cyning mec gyrweð
10     since ond seolfre      ond mec on sele weorþað;
ne wyrneð wordlofes,      wisan mæneð
mine for mengo,      þær hy meodu drincað,
healdeð mec on heaþore,      hwilum læteð eft
radwerigne      on gerum sceacan,
15     orlegfromne.      Oft ic oþrum scod
frecne æt his freonde;      fah eom ic wide,
wæpnum awyrged.      Ic me wenan ne þearf
þæt me bearn wræce      on bonan feore,
gif me gromra hwylc      guþe genægeð;
20     ne weorþeð sio mægburg      gemicledu
eaforan minum      þe ic æfter woc,
nymþe ic hlafordleas      hweorfan mote
from þam healdende      þe me hringas geaf.
Me bið forð witod,      gif ic frean hyre,
25     guþe fremme,      swa ic gien dyde
minum þeodne on þonc,      þæt ic þolian sceal
bearngestreona.      Ic wiþ bryde ne mot
hæmed habban,      ac me þæs hyhtplegan
geno wyrneð,      se mec geara on
30     bende legde;      forþon ic brucan sceal
on hagostealde      hæleþa gestreona.
Oft ic wirum dol      wife abelge,
wonie hyre willan;      heo me wom spreceð,
floceð hyre folmum,      firenaþ mec wordum,
35     ungod gæleð.      Ic ne gyme þæs compes…

Translation:

Soy una maravillosa criatura, creada para la lid,
dilecta de mi señor, bellamente vestida.
Mi malla (1) es multicolor, asimismo brillante es el abultado
alambre que engarza la gema de la muerte otorgada por quien me empuña,
5     aquél que a veces dirígeme, deambulando a sus anchas,
hacia la contienda. Tan luego yo, manualidad de forjadores,
en despejado día, llevo tesoros
[y] oro a los palaciegos patios. A menudo aniquilo
portadores de almas (2) con armas de guerra. El rey atavíame
10     con alhajas y plata, y me honra en el salón;
no reprime palabras de alabanza, proclama mi guisa
frente a muchos [allí] donde se bebe hidromiel,
[y] sujétame confinada; por momentos me permite,
exhausta, apurar la zurra,
15     ansiosa por la lidia. Frecuentemente a otra hiero,
feroz hacia una amiga; holgadamente hostil soy,
maldita entre las armas. No necesito esperar
que mi prole se vengue de mi verdugo,
si recio alguno arreméteme en la batalla;
20     ni la estirpe de la cual provengo
se dilatará en descendencia
a menos que sin amo me aleje
de aquél poseedor que me dispensa anillos.
Es certero para mí, si obedezco a mi dueño,
25     participar en el combate, como ya he hecho,
para placer de mi señor, debiendo renunciar
a la procreación. No yaceré
con novia alguna; mas ahora me rehúsa él
el placentero juego, quien anteriormente
30     me tuviera encadenado; por lo tanto debo gozar,
en celibato, las riquezas de los guerreros.
A menudo, insolente en mis adornos, enfurezco a una dama,
disminuyendo su deseo; ella me habla penosamente,
me azota con sus manos, me injuria con palabras,
35     chilla descortesías. No atiendo esa disputa…

Click to show riddle solution?
Una espada


Notes:

Las palabras entre corchetes [] fueron agregadas en la traducción para lograr mayor fluidez de continuidad /The words in brackets [] were added into the translation to achieve better fluency.

(1) El texto dice byrne, en inglés moderno byrnie, una cota de malla corta, desde los hombros hasta la cintura o los muslos / The text says "byrne," in modern English "byrnie," a short chain mail, from the shoulders to the waist or thighs.

(2) Kenning: “seres humanos, hombres” / Kenning: "human beings, men."



Tags: anglo saxon  exeter book  old english  riddle 20  Carlos M. Cepero 

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Exeter Riddle 20

Boniface Riddle 20: Iracundia loquitur

NEVILLEMOGFORD

Date: Wed 28 Jul 2021
Original text:
Ignea sum fervens, turbo precordia bellis,
Rixarum iactans iugiter per corda venenum,
Antiquos sceve lacerando dissipo amicos.
Caraam iustitiamque dei mox disseco demens.
5  Viribus atque meis valeo depellere sensus,
Nesciat ut ratum mens vano errore decepta.
Dextera namque mea tradet fera corpora loeto,
Inscia baccatur quando vertigine caeca.
Ardentes agito sermones ordine stulto,
10  Lurida rixarum populis fera semina spargo.
Omnipotens mandat sanctis me absistere templis;
Quae me circumstent non deinde pericula cerno.
Vox mea terrificis vaga personat alta loquelis,
Irrita dicta ferens et raro sentio vera.
15  Talibus in rebus spatior retrograda vivens.
Vana superstitione mea volo semper adesse,
Ritibus angelicis expellor ab aethere summo.
Translation:
I burn and I burn, I stir up the stomach to war,
constantly throwing the poison of conflict around hearts,
and, insane, I quickly chop up the beloved justice of God.
5  I can drive away the senses with my powers
so that the mind, deceived by empty error, does not know reason,
For my cruel right hand gives bodies to violent death
when it rages, mindless, in a blind whirlwind.
I toss about fiery speeches in a stupid form,
10  and I scatter cruel, horrific seeds upon the nations.
The all-powerful one orders me to leave the sacred temples,
and then I do not see the dangers that surround me.
My deep voice resounds, rambling with terrifying words,
carrying inane speech, and I rarely think about truths.
15  Living in such ways, I walk backwards.
I always want to be around with my pointless superstition,
and I am expelled from highest heaven by the rites of angels.
Click to show riddle solution?
Anger


Notes:

This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.

Note that this riddle appears as No. 2 (De vitiis) in Glorie’s edition and No. 12 in Orchard’s edition.



Exeter Riddle 23 in Spanish / en Español

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Mon 05 Jul 2021

This Spanish translation of Riddle 23 from the Exeter Book is by Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos is an architect who was born, raised and lives in Rosario, Argentina. He studied English and German at and after school, is a ravenous reader and a declared Britophile. He is passionate about medieval literature, especially Old English and Old Norse literature. Thank you for your translation, Carlos!

Esta traducción al español del Acertijo 23 del Libro de Exeter es de Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos es un arquitecto que nació, creció y vive en Rosario, Argentina. Estudió inglés y alemán en y después de la escuela, es un lector voraz y un britófilo declarado. Es un apasionado de la literatura medieval, especialmente la literatura antigua inglesa y nórdica antigua. ¡Gracias por tu traducción, Carlos!



Original text:

Agof is min noma      eft onhwyrfed;
ic eom wrætlic wiht      on gewin sceapen. (1)
Þonne ic onbuge,      ond me of bosme fareð
ætren onga,     ic beom eallgearo
5     þæt ic me þæt feorhbealo     feor aswape.
Siþþan me se waldend,     se me þæt wite gescop,
leoþo forlæteð,     ic beo lengre þonne ær,
oþþæt ic spæte,      spilde geblonden,
ealfelo attor     þæt ic ær geap.
10     Ne togongeð þæs     gumena hwylcum,
ænigum eaþe      þæt ic þær ymb sprice,
gif hine hrineð     þæt me of hrife fleogeð,
þæt þone mandrinc      mægne geceapaþ,
fullwered fæste      feore sine.
15     Nelle ic unbunden      ænigum hyran
nymþe searosæled.     Saga hwæt ic hatte.

Translation:

Ocra es my nombre del revés;
soy una maravillosa criatura, creada para la lid. (1)
Cuando soy arqueado, y de mi seno vuela
el ponzoñoso aguijón, estoy presto
5     a llevar lejos el mortal mal.
Cuando mi manipulador, que me destinó a ese tormento,
suelta mis miembros, soy más luengo que antes,
hasta que escupo, ciego de destrucción,
el maligno veneno que antes ingerí.
10     Eso de lo cual platico
no deja fácilmente indemne a nadie
a quien acaricie aquello que vuela de mi vientre;
tal es así que compra el veneno con su fortaleza,
una compensación pagada con su vida.
15     Suelto no obedeceré a nadie
salvo atado diestramente. Decid cómo me llamo.

Click to show riddle solution?
Un arco


Notes:
(1) Se repite la misma frase formulaica que en el verso 1 del Acertijo 20 / The same formulaic phrase is repeated as in verse 1 of Riddle 20.

Tags: anglo saxon  exeter book  old english  riddle 23  Carlos M. Cepero 

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Exeter Riddle 23