Riddle Ages

Aldhelm Riddle 75: Crabro

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Aera per sudum nunc binis remigo pennis

Horridus et grossae depromo murmura vocis

Inque cavo densis conversor stipite turmis

Dulcia conficiens propriis alimenta catervis,

Et tamen humanis horrent haec pabula buccis.

Sed quicumque cupit disrumpens foedera pacis

Dirus commaculare domum sub culmine querno,

Extemplo socias in bellum clamo cohortes,

Dumque catervatim stridunt et spicula trudunt,

Agmina defugiunt iaculis exterrita diris:

Insontes hosti sic torquent tela nocenti

Plurima, quae constant tetris infecta venenis.

Translation:

Now I row through clear air on two wings,

Horrible, and I produce a buzzing with a full voice

And I frequent a hollow trunk in thick swarms,

Producing sweet food for our own kind,

And yet these foods are disgusting to human mouths.

But if someone dreadful, disrupting pacts of peace, 

Wishes to defile our home under its oaken roof,

I immediately rally groups of our fellows to battle,

And while they buzz in groups and thrust their stings,

The enemy troops flee, terrified of our cruel darts:

Thus, innocent, they send their many darts, which stand

Corrupted by foul poison, to the guilty enemy.

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Hornet

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

Aldhelm Riddle 76: Melarius

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Fausta fuit primo mundi nascentis origo,

Donec prostratus succumberet arte maligni;

Ex me tunc priscae processit causa ruinae,

Dulcia quae rudibus tradebam mala colonis.

En iterum mundo testor remeasse salutem,

Stipite de patulo dum penderet arbiter orbis

Et poenas lueret soboles veneranda Tonantis.

Translation:

The beginning of the young world was happy at first,

Until the overthrown one succumbed to the deceit of the evil one;

The cause of the ancient ruin then came from me,

Who was giving out sweet apples to the uncultivated inhabitants.

Behold: I attest that well-being returned to the world again,

When the judge of the world was suspended from a stretched-out tree

And the venerable son of the Thundering God atoned for sins.

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Apple 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

Aldhelm Riddle 77: Ficulnea

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Quis prior in mundo deprompsit tegmina vestis

Aut quis clementer miserum protexit egenum?

Irrita non referam verbis nec frivola fingam.

Primitus in terra proprio de corpore peplum,

Ut fama fertur, produxi frondibus altis;

Carica me curvat, dum massis pabula praestat,

Sedulus agricola brumae quas tempore mandit.

Translation:

Who in the world was quicker to produce the coverings of garment

Or who more gently covered the miserable needy? 

I do not report nullities nor do I fashion trifles with my words.

First on earth a robe from my own body,

As the story goes, I produced with high foliage;

The fig bends me, while it offers food in masses,

Which the attentive farmer eats in wintertime.

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Fig 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

Aldhelm Riddle 78: Cupa vinaria

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

En, plures debrians impendo pocula Bacchi,

Vinitor expressit quae flavescentibus uvis

Pampinus et viridi genuit de palmite botris,

Nectare cauponis complens ex vite tabernam.

Sic mea turgescunt ad plenum viscera musto,

Et tamen inflatum non vexat crapula corpus,

Quamvis hoc nectar centenis hauserit urnis.

Proles sum terrae glescens in saltibus altis;

Materiam cuneis findit sed cultor agrestis

Pinos evertens altas et robora ferro.

Translation:

Behold, inebriating many, I give out Bacchus’ goblets,

Which the vintner pressed from yellowing grapes

And the vine produced from the grape’s green sprout,

Filling the innkeeper’s tavern with the nectar from the vine.

Thus my insides grow full with new wine,

And yet drunkenness does not afflict my swollen body,

Even though it might drink this nectar in a hundred jars.

I am offspring of the earth, growing in deep forests;

But the country farmer splits my material with wedges,

Uprooting tall pines and oaks with iron.

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Wine-cask

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

Aldhelm Riddle 79: Sol et luna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Non nos Saturni genuit spurcissima proles

Iupiter, immensum fingunt quem carmina vatum,

Nec fuit in Delo mater Latona creatrix;

Cynthia non dicor nec frater Apollo vocatur,

Sed potius summi genuit regnator Olimpi,

Qui nunc in caelis excelsae praesidet arci.

Dividimus mundum communi lege quadratum:

Nocturnes regimus cursus et frena dierum.

Ni soror et frater vaga saecula iure gubernent,

Heu! chaos immensum clauderet cuncta latebris

Atraque nunc Erebi regnarent Tartara nigri.

Translation:

Saturn’s vilest child did not produce us—

That is, Jupiter, whom the poets’ songs depict as immense— 

Nor was mother Latona our creator on Delos; 

I am not called Cynthia and my brother is not called Apollo,

But rather the ruler of high Olympus,

Who now presides over the lofty castle on high, did produce us.

We divide the four-part world with a shared law:

We rule the nocturnal courses and the mastery of days.

If sister and brother did not govern the unstable world with authority,

Alas! measureless chaos would surround everything in shadow

And then black Erebus would reign over gloomy Tartarus.

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Sun and Moon

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

Aldhelm Riddle 80: Calix vitreus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

De rimis lapidum profluxi flumine lento,

Dum frangant flammae saxorum viscera dura

Et laxis ardor fornacis regnat habenis;

Nunc mihi forma capax glacieque simillima lucet.

Nempe volunt plures collum constringere dextra

Et pulchre digitis lubricum comprendere corpus;

Sed mentes muto, dum labris oscula trado

Dulcia compressis impendens basia buccis,

Atque pedum gressus titubantes sterno ruina.

Translation:

From cracks in rocks I flowed in a slow stream,

While flames shatter the hard insides of rocks

And the heat of the furnace rules, with the reins being slack;

Now my shape, retentive and very like ice, shines. 

Indeed, many wish to hold fast my neck with their right hand

And grasp my beautifully smooth body their fingers;

But I change minds when I give their lips kisses,

Bestowing sweet kisses on their pressed-together mouths,

And with ruin I vanquish the staggering steps of their feet.

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Glass Goblet

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

Aldhelm Riddle 81: Lucifer

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Semper ego clarum praecedo lumine lumen

Signifer et Phoebi, lustrat qui limpidus orbem,

Per caelum gradiens obliquo tramite flector;

Eoas partes amo, dum iubar inde meabit

Finibus Indorum, cernunt qui lumina primi.

O felix olim servata lege Tonantis!

Heu! post haec cecidi proterva mente superbus;

Ultio quapropter funestum perculit hostem.

Sex igitur comites mecum super aethera scandunt,

Gnarus quos poterit per biblos pandere lector.

Translation:

I always precede the clear light with my own light

And am the sign-bearer of Phoebus, who shines brightly over the world,

Advancing through the sky I am turned along an oblique path;

I love the eastern regions, for my brilliance passes thence 

To the territories of the Indians, who glimpse the lights first.

O how happy I was once, when the law of the Thunderer was obeyed!

Alas! After this I fell, proud in my reckless intent;

Therefore, punishment overthrew the deadly enemy.

As a result, six fellows ascend through the heavens with me,

Which the knowledgeable reader will be able to explain with books.

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Lucifer

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

Aldhelm Riddle 82: Mustela

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Discolor in curvis conversor quadripes antris

Pugnas exercens dira cum gente draconum.

Non ego dilecta turgesco prole mariti,

Nec fecunda viro sobolem sic edidit alvus,

Residuae matres ut sumunt semina partus;

Quin magis ex aure praegnantur viscera fetu.

Si vero proles patitur discrimina mortis,

Dicor habere rudem componens arte medelam.

Translation:

A multicoloured quadruped, I dwell in curved caves,

Undertaking fights with the dreadful race of dragons.

I do not swell with the beloved offspring of a husband,

Nor does my womb, pregnant by a male, produce progeny

As do the other mothers who receive the seeds of young;

Rather, what is more, my insides are made pregnant with child from my ear.

If indeed my baby should suffer the hazards of death,

I am said to have envisaged a new cure with my skill.

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Weasel

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

Aldhelm Riddle 83: Iuvencus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Arida spumosis dissolvens faucibus ora

Bis binis bibulus potum de fontibus hausi.

Vivens nam terrae glebas cum stirpibus imis

Nisu virtutis validae disrumpo feraces;

At vero linquit dum spiritus algida membra,

Nexibus horrendis homines constringere possum.

Translation:

Opening my dry mouth with foaming jaws,

Thirsty, I drank up liquid from twice-two fountains.

For, living, I break the fertile clods of earth with deep roots

Through the labour of my strength;

But indeed when breath leaves my cold limbs,

I am able to bind men with horrendous fetters.

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Young Bull

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

Aldhelm Riddle 84: Scrofa praegnans

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Nunc mihi sunt oculi bis seni in corpore solo

Bis ternumque caput, sed cetera membra gubernant.

Nam gradior pedibus suffultus bis duodenis,

Sed decies novem sunt et sex corporis ungues,

Sinzigias numero pariter similabo pedestres.

Populus et taxus, viridi quoque fronde salicta

Sunt invisa mihi, sed fagos glandibus uncas,

Fructiferas itidem florenti vertice quercus

Diligo; sic nemorosa simul non spernitur ilex.

Translation:

Now I have twice-six eyes in one body

And twice-three heads, but my other limbs are in charge.

For I walk supported by twice-twelve feet,

But my body has ninety-six toenails,

Likewise in this number I resemble the metrical syzygies.

The poplar and the yew-tree, also the green-leafed willow trees

Are hated by me, but the crooked beech-tree with its beechnuts,

As well as the fruitful oak-trees with their flowering top,

I love; in the same way, at the same time, is the leafy holm-oak not spurned.

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Pregnant Sow

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

Aldhelm Riddle 85: Caecus natus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Iam referam verbis tibi, quod vix credere possis,

Cum constet verum fallant nec frivola mentem.

Nam dudum dederam soboli munuscula grata,

Tradere quae numquam poterat mihi quislibet alter,

Dum Deus ex alto fraudaret munere claro,

In quo cunctorum gaudent praecordia dono.

Translation:

Now I shall relate in words to you what you will hardly be able believe,

Though it is the truth and not follies that cheat the mind.

For once I gave welcome little gifts to my son,

Which no one else was ever able to give me,

Because God from on high deprived me of the bright gift,

The gift in which the hearts of all are glad.

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A Man Born Blind

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

Aldhelm Riddle 86: Aries

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Sum namque armatus rugosis cornibus horrens,

Herbas arvorum buccis decerpo virentes,

Et tamen astrifero procedens agmine stipor,

Culmina caelorum quae scandunt celsa catervis.

Turritas urbes capitis certamine quasso

Oppida murorum prosternens arcibus altis.

Induo mortales retorto stamine pepli;

Littera quindecima praestat, quod pars domus adsto.

Translation:

For I am dreadful, armed with rough horns,

I gather the fields’ green grasses with my mouth,

And yet, advancing, I am crowded by starry company,

Which ascend the lofty heights of the heavens in groups.

I crush turreted cities with my head’s combat,

Overthrowing the towns of walls with their high strongholds.

I clothe mortals with fabric’s twisted thread;

If the fifteenth letter stands in front, I stand as part of a house.

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Ram

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

Aldhelm Riddle 87: Clipeus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

De salicis trunco, pecoris quoque tergore raso

Componor patiens discrimina cruda duelli.

Semper ego proprio gestantis corpore corpus

Conservabo, viri vitam ne dempserit Orcus.

Quis tantos casus aut quis tam plurima leti

Suscipit in bello crudelis vulnera miles?

Translation:

From the trunk of the willow-tree, also from the cattle’s scraped hide,

Am I composed, awaiting the bloody hazards of war.

I shall always guard the body of my carrier with my own

Body, so that Orcus will not rob the man’s life.

What fierce soldier incurs such losses or so many 

Deadly wounds in battle?

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Shield

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

Aldhelm Riddle 88: Basiliscus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Callidior cunctis aura vescentibus aethrae

Late per mundum dispersi semina mortis;

Unde horrenda seges diris succrevit aristis,

Quam metit ad scelera scortator falce maligna;

Cornigeri multum vereor certamina cervi.

Namque senescenti spoliabor pelle vetustus

Atque nova rursus fretus remanebo iuventa.

Translation:

Craftier than all those who rely on the air in the sky,

I spread the seeds of death widely throughout the world;

Whence grew a dreadful crop with its fearful harvest,

Which the Fornicator reaps to wicked ends with his malign scythe;

I am very much afraid of contests with the antlered stag.

When aged, I will certainly be spoiled of my decaying skin

And I will continue again, strengthened by my new youth.

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Serpent

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

Aldhelm Riddle 89: Arca libraria

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Nunc mea divinis complentur viscera verbis

Totaque sacratos gestant praecordia biblos;

At tamen ex isdem nequeo cognoscere quicquam:

Infelix fato fraudabor munere tali,

Dum tollunt dirae librorum lumina Parcae.

Translation:

Now my entrails are filled with divine words 

And all my organs carry sacred books;

And yet from them I cannot learn anything:

Unhappy, I am deprived by fate of such a gift,

Because the dreadful Parcae remove the books’ illumination.

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Library Chest

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

Aldhelm Riddle 90: Puerpera geminas enixa

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Sunt mihi sex oculi, totidem simul auribus hausi,

Sed digitos decies senos in corpore gesto;

Ex quibus ecce quater denis de carne revulsis

Quinquies at tantum video remanere quaternos.

Translation:

I have six eyes, at the same time as I perceive sound with exactly that many ears,

But I carry sixty fingers and toes on my person;

And yet behold, with forty of them torn from my flesh,

I see that only twenty remain.

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Woman Birthing Twins

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

Aldhelm Riddle 91: Palma

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Omnipotens auctor, nutu qui cuncta creavit,

Mi dedit in mundo tam "victrix" nomen habendum.

Nomine nempe meo florescit gloria regum,

Martiribus necnon, dum vincunt proelia mundi,

Edita caelestis prensant et praemia vitae;

Frondigeris tegitur bellantum turma coronis

Et viridi ramo victor certamine miles.

In summo capitis densescit vertice vellus,

Ex quo multiplicis torquentur tegmina pepli;

Sic quoque mellifluis escarum pasco saginis

Nectare per populos tribuens alimenta ciborum.

Translation:

The omnipotent author, who created all things by his will,

Gave me the name "victorious" to have in the world. 

Of course the glory of the kings flourishes in my name,

And also for the martyrs, who, when they win the world’s battles,

Take hold of the elevated rewards of celestial life;

The crowd of warriors is covered with leafy crowns

And the soldier, the victor in the contest, with a green branch.

At the top point of my head grows foliage,

From which the coverings of different fabrics are woven;

So too I sustain with the honeyed nourishment of food,

Bestowing items of food among the people with my nectar.

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Palm

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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Aldhelm Riddle 92: Farus editissima

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Rupibus in celsis, qua tundunt caerula cautes

Et salis undantes turgescunt aequore fluctus,

Machina me summis construxit molibus amplam,

Navigeros calles ut pandam classibus index.

Non maris aequoreos lustrabam remige campos

Nec ratibus pontum sulcabam tramite flexo

Et tamen immensis errantes fluctibus actos

Arcibus ex celsis signans ad litora duco

Flammiger imponens torres in turribus altis,

Ignea brumales dum condunt sidera nimbi.

Translation:

On the towering rocks, where the sea beats the rocks

And the salt-waves swell the floods with the sea,

Apparatus constructed me, extensive, with the highest structure,

So that I, a revealer, might disclose the navigable paths to fleets.

I do not traverse the watery fields of the sea with oar 

Nor do I plow through the sea on a curved path with ships

But nevertheless I lead drifting ships impelled by the immense waves

To shore, giving out signals from my lofty summit;

The flame-bearer lights the firebrands in the high towers,

While the winter clouds conceal the fiery stars.

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A Very Tall Lighthouse

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

Aldhelm Riddle 93: Scintilla

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Quae res in terris armatur robore tanto

Aut paribus fungi nitatur viribus audax?

Parva mihi primo constant exordia vitae,

Sed gracilis grandes soleo prosternere leto,

Quod letum proprii gestant penetralia ventris.

Nam saltus nemorum densos pariterque frutecta

Piniferosque simul montes cum molibus altos

Truxque rapaxque capaxque feroxque sub aethere spargo

Et minor existens gracili quam corpore scnifes,

Frigida dum genetrix dura generaret ab alvo

Primitus ex utero producens pignora gentis.

Translation:

What thing on earth is equipped of such strength

Or, bold, labors to discharge similar strength?

At first my foundations in life are but little,

But, though meagre, I tend to overthrow the great in ruin,

Which ruin the innermost parts of my womb themselves carry.

For dense regions of forest and likewise thickets

As well as pine-bearing mountains with high mounds

I, savage and greedy and able and aggressive, squander under the heavens,

And with my meagre form I stand smaller than a flea,

When my cold, hard mother brings me from her womb,

Producing from her uterus for the first time the offspring of her race.

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Spark

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

Aldhelm Riddle 94: Ebulus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Sambucus, in silva putris dum fronde virescit,

Est mihi par foliis; nam glesco surculus arvis

Nigros bacarum portans in fronte corimbos.

Quem medici multum ruris per terga virentem,

Cum scabies morbi pulpas irrepserit aegras,

Lustrantes orbem crebro quaesisse feruntur:

Cladibus horrendae, dum vexat viscera tabo,

Ne virus serpat, possum succurrere, leprae,

Sic olidas hominum restaurans germine fibras.

Translation:

The elder tree, when it grows, putrid, in the woods,

Is like me in its leaves; for I grow as a sprig in the fields,

Carrying black bunches of berries on my brow.

Doctors, when the roughness of disease creeps on to sick skin,

Are said frequently to have sought much of me, 

Growing green, by roaming the world around the back country: 

I am able to bring remedy so that the poison of leprosy, horrendous in its harm

When it irritates the insides with pestilence, does not progress,

Thus restoring fetid bowels with my sprout.

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Wallwort

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

Aldhelm Riddle 95: Scilla

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Ecce, molosorum nomen mihi fata dederunt

(Argolicae gentis sic promit lingua loquelis),

Ex quo me dirae fallebant carmina Circae,

Quae fontis liquidi maculabat flumina verbis:

Femora cum cruribus, suras cum poplite bino

Abstulit immiscens crudelis verba virago.

Pignora nunc pavidi referunt ululantia nautae,

Tonsis dum trudunt classes et caerula findunt

Vastos verrentes fluctus grassante procella,

Palmula qua remis succurrit panda per undas,

Auscultare procul, quae latrant inguina circum.

Sic me pellexit dudum Titania proles,

Ut merito vivam salsis in fluctibus exul.

Translation:

Behold, the Fates gave me the name of dogs

(Thus does the language of the Argive people express it in speech),

After the songs of frightful Circe deceived me,

She who sullied the streams from the flowing fountain with words:

Thighs as well as shins, calves with both knees, 

The cruel woman removed, joining words.

Fearful sailors now tell of the howling offspring—

When the fleets drive through with oars and cleave the sea,

Sweeping along the vast waves as the storm advances,

And the curved blade of the oar runs through the waves—

That they hear far away, which bay around my loins.

Thus did Titania’s progeny once deceive me,

Such that I deservedly live as an exile in the salt-waves.

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Scylla

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

Aldhelm Riddle 96: Elefans

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Ferratas acies et denso milite turmas,

Bellandi miseros stimulat quos vana cupido,

Dum maculare student armis pia foedera regni

Salpix et sorbet ventosis flatibus auras

Raucaque clangenti resultant classica sistro,

Cernere non pavidus didici trux murmura Martis.

Quamquam me turpem nascendi fecerit auctor,

Editus ex alvo dum sumpsi munera vitae,

Ecce tamen morti successit gloria formae,

Letifer in fibras dum finis serpat apertas;

Bratea non auri fulvis pretiosa metallis,

Quamvis gemmarum constent ornata lucernis,

Vincere, non quibunt falerarum floribus umquam.

Me flecti genibus fessum natura negavit

Poplite seu curvo palpebris tradere somnos,

Quin potius vitam compellor degere stando.

Translation:

The iron-covered battle lines and throngs of crowded soldiers,

The wretches whom the vain desire for fighting spurs on,

When they strive to dishonour the holy treaties of the kingdom with weapons,

And the trumpet sucks in the airs with windy gusts

And the harsh instruments echo with sounding call:

Wild, I learned to regard the rumble of Mars unafraid.

Although the creator made me unsightly at birth,

When, tall out of the womb, I assumed the gifts of life,

Behold: the glory of my shape nevertheless succeeds upon my death,

When the death-bringing end creeps into my open insides;

Precious golden foils with amber metals,

Although they be decorated with the shine of gems, 

Are never able to surpass me at the zenith of ornamentations.

Nature refused me kneeling when tired

And entrusting sleep to my eyelids on curved knee;

Even more, I am compelled to pass my life standing.

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Elephant

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

Aldhelm Riddle 97: Nox

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Florida me genuit nigrantem corpore tellus

Et nil fecundum stereli de viscere promo,

Quamvis Eumenidum narrantes carmine vates

Tartaream partu testentur gignere prolem.

Nulla mihi constat certi substantia partus,

Sed modo quadratum complector caerula mundum.

Est inimica mihi, quae cunctis constat amica,

Saecula dum lustrat, lampas Titania Phoebi;

Diri latrones me semper amare solebant,

Quos gremio tectos nitor defendere fusco.

Vergilium constat caram cecinisse sororem:

"Ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit

Monstrum horrendum, ingens, cui quot sunt corpore plumae,

Tot vigiles oculi subter, mirabile dictu,

Tot linguae, totidem ora sonant, tot subrigit auris;

Nocte volat caeli medio terraeque per umbras."

Translation:

Blooming earth bore me, black, from her body

And I produce nothing fertile from my sterile insides,

Although the poets, telling of the Eumenides in verse,

Testify that I begot the Tartarean race in birth.

No substance of certain birth belongs to me,

But I presently embrace the four-part world with darkness.

The Titanian lantern of Phoebus, who exists as a friend to all

As it roams the world, is inimical to me;

Cruel thieves, whom I work to protect in my dark bosom,

Always tend to love me.

It is known that Vergil sang this of my dear sister:

"And she walks on land and conceals her head among the crowds,

A horrendous monster, huge, on whose body there are so many feathers,

So many vigilant eyes underneath, miraculous to say,

So many tongues, the same number of mouths sound, and so many ears perked up;

At night she flies through the shadows, in-between heaven and earth."

Click to show riddle solution?

Night

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

Aldhelm Riddle 98: Elleborus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Ostriger en arvo vernabam frondibus hirtis

Conquilio similis: sic cocci murice rubro

Purpureus stillat sanguis de palmite guttis.

Exuvias vitae mandenti tollere nolo

Mitia nec penitus spoliabunt mente venena;

Sed tamen insanum vexat dementia cordis,

Dum rotat in giro vecors vertigine membra.

Translation:

Behold: purple, I bloom in the field with shaggy leaves.

I am similar to an oyster: thus with red dye of scarlet 

A purple blood drips in drops from my branch.

I do not wish to take prizes of life from the one chewing me,

Nor do my sweet poisons totally strip him of mind;

And yet madness of the heart afflicts the insane,

When he spins his limbs around, foolish with dizziness.

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Hellebore

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

Aldhelm Riddle 99: Camellus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022

Original text:

Consul eram quondam, Romanus miles equester

Arbiter imperio dum regni sceptra regebat;

Nunc onus horrendum reportant corpora gippi

Et premit immensum truculentae sarcina molis.

Terreo cornipedum nunc velox agmen equorum,

Qui trepidi fugiunt mox quadripedante meatu,

Dum trucis aspectant immensos corporis artus.

Translation:

Once I was consul, when the Roman equestrian soldier was

Judge, governed the scepters of power with his command.

Now my body bears the horrible burden of a hump

And an excess of cruel weight presses with its burden.

Now I terrify a swift company of horn-footed horses,

Who presently flee in trepidation from my four-footed course,

When they look upon the immense limbs of my wild body.

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Camel

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