History
The Exeter Book is a manuscript that collects a wide range of Old English poetry. It was given by Leofric, bishop of Exeter, to his cathedral library sometime before his death in 1072. Toward the end of the manuscript come three sets of riddles. The hundred riddles are of varying quality and some are incomplete. (To see them in the Old English visit this Georgetown site.)
Preparation
They may sound a bit strange to our ear but after you try a few, you can begin to get the feel for both the language and the concerns of the Anglo-Saxons.
A brief review: Of particular importance are three conventions: alliteration, a medial caesura, and kennings. Go to the first riddle, written in the Old English. Note, for example that words in the first line begin with aitch (h) or eth (that funny letter the looks like a p with a smokestack). For the Anglo-Saxons, alliteration is the driving force, much as rhyme becomes the foundation of poetry after the Norman Invasion. The riddles given below have been translated into modern English. I've indicated the medial caesura with a series of dots (because the html wouldn't recognize and retain blank space). It is similar to a fulcrum. The alliterative elements are balanced on each side of that space. The kennings are expressions or noun phrases to represent common but important elements in the poetry. Remember in "Caedmon's Hymn" how God was given a variety of names, such as heofonrices Weard (heaven-kingdom's Guardian). You'll find, even in these riddles that kennings are employed. In the first riddle, for example, in line 13, people are called foldbuendra (earth-dwellers).
Now, there are 8 riddles that I've selected for you to work through. If you can do it all in one sitting, as I have intended, the pages are designed to take you from the correct answer to the next riddle. If you need to exit and return later, note which riddle you are on and click below on that riddle to begin where you left off.