Riddle Ages

Aldhelm Riddle 62: Famfaluca

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

De madido nascor rorantibus aethere guttis

Turgida concrescens liquido de flumine lapsu,

Sed me nulla valet manus udo gurgite nantem

Tangere, ni statim rumpantur viscera tactu

Et fragilis tenues flatus discedat in auras.

Ante catervatim per limphas duco cohortes,

Dum plures ortu comites potiuntur eodem.

Translation:

I am born from drops drizzling from the wet sky,

Growing inflated in the waterfall in the river,

But no hand can touch me, swimming in the watery

Stream, or else my insides should rupture immediately on touch

And my fragile breath vanish into thin air.

I lead cohorts in companies through the waters from the front,

For my many companions have the same origin.

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Bubble

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm

Symphosius Riddle 62: Pons

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Stat nemus in lymphis, stat in alto gurgite silva,

Et manet in mediis undis inmobile robur;

Terra tamen mittit quod terrae munera praestat.

Translation:

A grove stands in the waters, a wood stands in the high stream,

And immobile oak abides in the middle of the waves;

And yet the earth sends that which supplies gifts to the earth.

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Bridge

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 63: Corbus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Dum genus humanum truculenta fluenta necarent

Et nova mortales multarent aequora cunctos

Exceptis raris, gignunt qui semina saecli,

Primus viventum perdebam foedera iuris

Imperio patris contemnens subdere colla;

Unde puto dudum versu dixisse poetam:

“Abluit in terris, quidquid deliquit in undis.”

Nam sobolem numquam dapibus saturabo ciborum,

Ni prius in pulpis plumas nigrescere cernam.

Littera tollatur: post haec sine prole manebo.

Translation:

While stormy floods drowned the race of men

And new waters punished all mortals

With rare exceptions, who beget the seeds of the world,

I, first among the living, forfeited the covenants of law,

Refusing to subject my neck to the father’s command;

Whence I think the poet said long ago in verse:

'It washed away on earth what it did, transgressing, in the waves.'

For I shall never stuff my offspring with feasts of food,

Unless first I spot their feathers growing black in the flesh.

Let a letter be removed: after which I shall remain without progeny.

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Raven

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 63: Spongia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Ipsa gravis non sum, sed aquae mihi pondus inhaeret.

Viscera tota tument patulis diffusa cavernis.

Intus lympha latet, sed non se sponte profundit.

Translation:

I am not myself heavy, but the weight of water clings to me;

All my insides swell in open diffuse caverns;

Inside the water lurks, but does not pour forth spontaneously.

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Sponge

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 64: Columba

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Cum Deus infandas iam plecteret aequore noxas

Ablueretque simul scelerum contagia limphis,

Prima praecepti complevi iussa parentis

Portendens fructu terris venisse salutem.

Mitia quapropter semper praecordia gesto

Et felix praepes nigro sine felle manebo.

Translation:

When God then punished unspeakable offences with the sea

And at the same time washed away the contagions of sins with waters,

I fulfilled the first decrees of the parent’s command,

Indicating with fruit that well-being had come to the earth.

On this account I always have a gentle heart

And I shall remain a happy bird without black bile.

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Dove

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm

Symphosius Riddle 64: Tridens

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Tres mihi sunt dentes, unus quos continet ordo;

Unus praeterea dens est et solus in imo;

Meque tenet numen, ventus timet, aequora curant.

Translation:

I have three teeth, which one row contains;

And one tooth besides is alone below;

And divinity holds me, the wind fears me, the seas take care of me.

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Trident

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

line 1: unus quos > quos unus

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Aldhelm Riddle 65: Muriceps

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Fida satis custos conservans pervigil aedes

Noctibus in furvis caecas lustrabo latebras

Atris haud perdens oculorum lumen in antris.

Furibus invisis, vastant qui farris acervos,

Insidiis tacite dispono scandala mortis.

Et vaga venatrix rimabor lustra ferarum,

Nec volo cum canibus turmas agitare fugaces,

Qui mihi latrantes crudelia bella ciebunt.

Gens exosa mihi tradebat nomen habendum.

Translation:

A sufficiently dependable protector, ever-vigilant, guarding the house,

I roam shadowy recesses on black nights,

By no means losing the light of my eyes in dark caves.

For the unseen thieves, who ravage the treasures of grain,

I quietly set traps of deadly snares.

And I, a roving huntress, search out the lairs of wild animals,

But I do not wish to stir up fierce throngs with dogs,

Who, barking at me, provoke merciless battles.

A race hateful to me bestowed the name I was to have.

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Cat

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm

Symphosius Riddle 65: Sagitta

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Saepta gravi ferro, levibus circumdata pinnis,

Aera per medium volucri contendo meatu,

Missaque discedens nullo mittente revertor.

Translation:

Bound with heavy iron, surrounded by light feathers,

I shoot right through the air on a winged passage,

And sent, departing, I am turned back, with no one doing the sending.

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Arrow

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 66: Mola

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Nos sumus aequales communi sorte sorores,

Quae damus ex nostro cunctis alimenta labore.

Par labor ambarum, dispar fortuna duarum;

Altera nam cursat, quod numquam altera gessit;

Nec tamen invidiae stimulis agitamur acerbis:

Utraque, quod mandit, quod ruminat ore patenti,

Comminuens reddit famulans sine fraude maligna.

Translation:

We are sisters, equals in our common fate,

Who give from our work food to all.

The work of both is equal, the fortune of us both unequal;

For one is in motion, which the other never is;

Nor are we yet vexed by the bitter stings of envy:

Whatever each one of us eats, chews with open mouth,

Crushing, it then returns, making it serviceable, without wicked fraud.

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Millstone

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 66: Flagellum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

De pecudis dorso pecudes ego terreo cunctas,

Obsequium reddens memorata lege doloris.

Nec volo contemni sed contra nolo nocere.

Translation:

From cattle’s backs, I frighten all cattle,

Restoring obedience through the remembered law of pain.

I do not want to be despised; on the contrary, I do not want to harm.

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Whip

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 67: Cribellus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Sicca pruinosam crebris effundo fenestris

Candentemque nivem iactans de viscere furvo;

Et tamen omnis amat, quamvis sit frigida, nimbo

Densior et nebulis late spargatur in aula.

Qua sine mortales grassantur funere leti

(Sic animae pariter pereunt, dum vita fatescit)

Et qua ditati contemnunt limina Ditis.

Liquitur in prunis numquam torrentibus haec nix,

Sed, mirum dictu, magis indurescit ad ignem.

Translation:

Dry, I pour out through many windows a frosty

And shining snow, casting it out from my dark insides;

And yet everyone loves it, although it is cold, thicker

Than cloud and mists, and sprinkled broadly through the hall.

Without it, mortals are vexed by ruin’s death

(Thus do spirits perish equally, when life grows tired)

And enriched by it, they disdain the threshold of Dis.

This snow never melts on burning coals, 

But, miraculous to say, it hardens more in the flame.

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Sieve

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 67: Lanterna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Cornibus apta cavis, tereti perlucida gyro,

Lumen habens intus divini sideris instar,

Noctibus in mediis faciem non perdo dierum.

Translation:

Fitted with hollow horns, transparent with a rounded circle,

I have light inside, the likeness of a divine star,

In the middle of the night I do not lose the look of day.

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Lantern

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 68: Salpix

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Sum cava, bellantum crepitu quae corda ciebo,

Vocibus horrendis stimulans in bella cohortes.

Idcirco reboans tanto clamore resulto,

Quod nulla interius obtundant viscera vocem;

Spiritus in toto sed regnant corpore flabra.

Garrula me poterit numquam superare cicada

Aut arguta simul cantans luscinia ruscis,

Quam lingua propria dicunt acalantida Graeci.

Translation:

I am hollow, with my noise I shall rouse the hearts of warriors,

Spurring cohorts into battle with my dreadful notes.

Therefore, resounding with such a clamour I emit

Because no innards inside me deafen my voice; 

But the gusts of wind exercise power in my whole body.

A chirping cricket will never be able to surpass me,

Nor the lively nightingale, singing at the same time in the broom,

The bird that the Greeks in their own language call 'acalanthis'.

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Trumpet

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm

Symphosius Riddle 68: Specular

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Perspicior penitus nec luminis arceo visus,

Transmittens oculos ultra mea membra meantes;

Nec me transit hiems, sed sol tamen emicat in me.

Translation:

I am seen through from within and do not hinder the eye’s sight,

Transmitting the visions passing beyond my parts;

The cold does not pass through me, and yet the sun springs out in me.

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Window-pane

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 69: Taxus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Semper habens virides frondenti in corpore crines

Tempore non ullo viduabor tegmine spisso,

Circius et Boreas quamvis et flamina Chauri

Viribus horrendis studeant deglobere frontem;

Sed me pestiferam fecerunt fata reorum,

Cumque venenatus glescit de corpore stipes,

Lurcones rabidi quem carpunt rictibus oris,

Occido mandentum mox plura cadavera leto.

Translation:

Always having green foliage on my leafy body,

At no time am I deprived of a thick covering,

Although Circus and Boreas and Chaurus’ gusts 

Devote themselves to peeling off my covering with horrible force;

But the fates of things made me pestilential:

Whenever a poisonous branch grows from my body

Which frenzied gluttons consume with gaping mouths,

I immediately kill dead the chewers’ many corpses.

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Yew-Tree

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm

Symphosius Riddle 69: Speculum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 09 Sep 2022

Original text:

Nulla mihi certa est, nulla est peregrina figura.

Fulgor inest intus radianti luce coruscus,

Qui nihil ostendit, nisi si quid viderit ante.

Translation:

No shape is sure for me, and none is unknown.

My brightness lies within, shining with radiant light,

Which reveals nothing except what was seen before.

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Mirror

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 70: Tortella

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

De terris orior candenti corpore pelta

Et nive fecunda, Vulcani torre rigescens,

Carior et multo quam cetera scuta duelli;

Nec tamen in medio clipei stat ferreus umbo.

Me sine quid prodest dirorum parma virorum?

Vix artus animaeque carerent tramite mortis,

Ni forsan validis refrager viribus Orco.

Translation:

From the earth am I born, crescent-shield-shaped with a shining body

And fertile snow, hardening in Vulcan’s heat,

Yet I am much more precious than other war-shields;

And there is nevertheless no iron boss in the middle of this shield.

Without me what good is a shield for fearful warriors? 

Limbs and souls would barely be separated from death’s track 

If I did not resist Hades with worthy strength.

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Loaf of Bread

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 70: Clepsydra

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022

Original text:

Lex bona dicendi, lex sum quoque dura tacendi,

Ius avidae linguae, finis sine fine loquendi,

Ipsa fluens, dum verba fluunt, ut lingua quiescat.

Translation:

A good rule of speaking, I am also a hard rule of silence,

The law of a greedy tongue, an end to talking without end,

Flowing myself, while the words flow, so that the tongue may rest.

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Water-clock

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 71: Piscis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Me pedibus manibusque simul fraudaverat almus

Arbiter, immensum primo dum pangeret orbem.

Fulcior haud volitans veloci praepetis ala

Spiritus alterno vegitat nec corpora flatu.

Quamvis in caelis convexa cacumina cernam,

Non tamen undosi contemno marmora ponti.

Translation:

The blessed creator withheld feet and hands from me

At the same time, when he first arranged the immense world. 

I am not supported, flying, by a bird’s swift wing

And breath in alternating blows does not strengthen my body.

Although I discern vaulted summits in the heavens,

I nevertheless do not disdain the marbly surface of the surging sea.

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Fish

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 71: Puteus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022

Original text:

Mersa procul terris in cespite lympha profundo

Non nisi perfossis possum procedere venis,

Et trahor ad superos alieno ducta labore.

Translation:

Water sunk deep in the earth, far down,

I am not able to appear except by channels dug out,

I am pulled and led to those above by another’s labour.

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Well

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 72: Colosus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Omnia membra mihi plasmavit corporis auctor,

Nec tamen ex isdem membrorum munia sumpsi,

Pergere nec plantis oculis nec cernere possum,

Quamquam nunc patulae constent sub fronte fenestrae.

Nullus anhelanti procedit viscere flatus

Spicula nec geminis nitor torquere lacertis.

Heu! frustra factor confinxit corpus inorme,

Totis membrorum dum frauder sensibus intus.

Translation:

My body’s maker shaped all my limbs,

And yet with them I do not benefit from the functions of limbs,

I am neither able to walk on feet or see with eyes,

Although wide-open windows stand now below my brow.

No breath comes from my panting insides

Nor do I endeavour to hurl weapons with both arms.

Alas! My creator fashioned this enormous body in vain,

For inside I am cheated of all feeling in my limbs.

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Colossus

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 72: Tubus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022

Original text:

Truncum terra tegit, latitant in cespite lymphae;

Alveus est modicus, qui ripas non habet ullas;

In ligno vehitur medio, quae ligna vehebat.

Translation:

The earth covers a tree trunk, water lurks in the ground;

There is a moderately sized riverbed, which does not have any banks;

In the middle of the wood is borne that which bore wood.

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Tube

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 73: Fons

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Per cava telluris clam serpo celerrimus antra

Flexos venarum girans anfractibus orbes;

Cum caream vita sensu quoque funditus expers,

Quis numerus capiat vel quis laterculus aequet,

Vita viventum generem quot milia partu?

His neque per caelum rutilantis sidera sperae

Fluctivagi ponti nec compensantur harenae.

Translation:

Through empty hollows of the earth I spread, secretly and very quickly,

Following the winding circuits of its channels around the bend;

Though I lack life and am also totally without sensation,

What number could capture or what calculation get at 

How many thousands of living things I bring to life through birth? 

Neither the stars of the glowing sphere of heaven 

Nor the sands of the stormy sea are equivalent to these.

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Fountain

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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Symphosius Riddle 73: Uter

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022

Original text:

Non ego continuo morior, dum spiritus exit;

Nam redit adsidue, quamvis et saepe recedit:

Et mihi nunc magna est animae, nunc nulla facultas.

Translation:

I do not immediately die when my breath leaves;

For it continually returns, although it often recedes again:

Now is my power of breath great, now is it nothing.

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Bellows

Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

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Aldhelm Riddle 74: Fundibalum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Glauca seges lini vernans ex aequore campi

Et tergus mihi tradebant primordia fati.

Bina mihi constant torto retinacula filo,

Ex quibus immensum trucidabam mole tirannum,

Cum cuperent olim gentis saevire falanges.

Plus amo cum tereti bellum decernere saxo

Quam duris pugnans ferrata cuspide contis.

Tres digiti totum versant super ardua corpus;

Erro caput circa tenues et tendor in auras.

Translation:

The brilliant crop of flax blooming from the field’s plain

And animal hide gave me the origins of my fate.

I have a double band of twined cord,

With a rock from these I slew a great tyrant

When at that time phalanxes of Gentiles wished to attack.

I would rather determine a battle with a polished stone

Than fight with hard spears with iron points.

Three fingers drive my whole body into the heights;

I circle around the head and am stretched into thin air.

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Sling

Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.

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