A Riddle
Old English Reading 1
Chapter 7 · A Riddle
🧅 A Riddle
After the plain dialogue of Chapter 6, this is verse again, and a puzzle. Old English riddles speak in the first person ("I am ...") and ask the reader to say what they are. The answer here is given by the source, so you can check your reading against it.
The text
Ic eom wunderlicu wiht · wifum on hyhte
I am (a) wondrous creature · to-women in joy
"I am a wondrous creature, a delight to women,"
neahbuendum nyt; · nægum sceþþe
to-neighbours useful · to-none harm
"useful to neighbours; harming none"
burgsittendra nymthe · bonan anum.
of-town-dwellers except · slayer one
"of the town-dwellers except my one slayer."
Staþol min is steapheah · stonde ic on bedde
foundation my is steep-high · stand I in bed
"My base is steep and high; I stand in a bed,"
neoðan ruh nathwær. · Neþeð hwilum
from-beneath rough somewhere · ventures sometimes
"rough underneath somewhere. Sometimes ventures"
ful cyrtenu · ceorles dohtor
very lovely · churl's daughter
"a very lovely peasant's daughter,"
modwlonc meowle · þæt heo on mec gripe
proud-spirited maiden · that she on me may-grip
"a proud-spirited girl, to grip me,"
ræseð mec on reodne · reafath min heafod
rushes me on (reodne) · strips my head
"rushes at me, (...) strips my head,"
fegeð mec on fæsten. · Feleþ sona
fastens me in (a) fast-place · feels soon
"fastens me in a hold. She soon feels"
mines gemotes · seo þe mec nearwað
of-my meeting · she who me constrains
"the meeting with me, she who presses me,"
wif wundenlocc. · Wæt bið þæt eage.
woman curly-haired · wet will-be the eye
"the curly-haired woman. The eye will be wet."
Source: Wikipedia, Exeter Book, section "Riddles", Riddle 25: the Old English as printed there (CC BY-SA 4.0), which the article cites to Marsden (2015). The tool did not return the article's own English translation of these lines, so the glosses and translations are mine and unverified. I could not make sense of reodne, so my translation leaves a gap there.
Reading it: the routine in action
Lines 1 to 3: who I am
- Ic eom wunderlicu wiht: "I am a wondrous creature". eom is Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9. The riddle opens with the first-person statement that every riddle of this kind uses.
- wifum and neahbuendum both end in -um, the dative plural: "to women", "to neighbours". The second is built from neah "near" and būend "dweller", with the participle-like -end of Chapter 8 (my reading of its parts).
- nægum sceþþe "harming none" and nymthe bonan anum "except the one slayer": the riddle claims to be harmless to all but one. bonan and anum are both dative singular, with -an and -um endings (my reading). burgsittendra is a genitive plural, "of the town-dwellers".
Lines 4 to 5: where I am
- Staþol min: the possessive comes after the noun, as in Chapter 6 (weorc þin). on bedde is a dative singular in -e, "in a bed" (a garden bed, I read it).
- stonde ic: the verb comes before ic, an inversion; Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10 gives inversion for questions, and I did not read a rule for a statement like this.
- nathwær looks like ne wāt hwǣr "I know not where", joined (my own reading, not in the source). hwilum "sometimes" is the ancestor of the old word whilom (my own knowledge).
Lines 6 to 11: the visitor
- ceorles dohtor: ceorles is a genitive in -es, "of a churl", giving "a churl's daughter". The subject of the verb Neþeð follows it, and the whole phrase is spread over two half-lines.
- þæt heo on mec gripe: gripe ends in -e and follows þæt "that": a present subjunctive, "that she may grip" (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9). mec is "me", which I read as an older accusative form of mē.
- ræseð, reafath, fegeð, Feleþ, nearwað: third person singular presents in -að, -eð or -eþ. The meanings "rushes", "strips", "fastens", "feels" and "presses" are my readings; reodne I could not read, and fæsten "stronghold, hold" is a guess from the context.
- mines gemotes "of my meeting": a genitive object of Feleþ, with mines before its noun this time.
- seo þe mec nearwað: sēo (the feminine "she, that one") plus the relative þe (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10): "she who presses me".
- Wæt bið þæt eage: bið is the future-looking "will be" of bēon (Chapter 9: bist, biþ). This is the line that gives the answer away: an onion makes the eye wet.
The article says the riddle has "bawdy connotations", that is, a second, ruder meaning under the innocent one. It does not explain it, and I will not either. Reading it as a plain riddle about an onion is enough for this course.
Where the alliteration falls
| Line | Alliterating syllables |
|---|---|
| 1 | wunderlicu wiht · wifum |
| 2 | neahbuendum nyt; · nægum |
| 3 | burgsittendra · bonan |
| 4 | Staþol ... steapheah · stonde |
| 11 | wif wundenlocc · Wæt |
As in Chapter 3, the first stressed syllable of the second half-line matches the first half-line's. That st- matches st- in line 4 is my own reading of the verse form.
New words
| Old English | Meaning | Modern English relative |
|---|---|---|
| wiht | creature, thing | wight |
| wif | woman | wife |
| hyht | joy, hope | — |
| staþol | foundation, base | (cf. staple) |
| ruh | rough | rough |
| hwilum | sometimes | whilom |
| dohtor | daughter | daughter |
| heafod | head | head |
| eage | eye | eye |
| wæt | wet | wet |
The meanings are my readings from the lines, not from the source. The "Modern English relative" column is my own knowledge and unverified.
📋 Quick Reference
| Feature | Where |
|---|---|
| Dative plural -um | wifum, neahbuendum |
| Genitive -es / -ra | ceorles, mines gemotes, burgsittendra |
| Subjunctive after þæt | gripe |
| Relative seo þe | seo þe mec nearwað |
| Possessive after the noun | Staþol min |
| Third person singular present | ræseð, Feleþ, nearwað |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Translate Ic eom wunderlicu wiht.
Show answer
"I am a wondrous creature."
2. What ending is on wifum, and what does it mean?
Show answer
-um, the dative plural: "to women".
3. Which sound alliterates in line 1?
Show answer
w: wunderlicu, wiht, wifum.
4. How does Staþol min differ from the English order?
Show answer
The possessive follows the noun: "base my", not "my base".
5. What is the parts of neahbuendum, as I read them?
Show answer
neah "near" + būend "dweller" + -um (dative plural): "to near-dwellers", "to neighbours".
6. What mood is gripe in þæt heo on mec gripe?
Show answer
Present subjunctive, after þæt: "that she may grip".
7. What is the job of þe in seo þe mec nearwað?
Show answer
The invariable relative word: "she who presses me".
8. Which verb is bið in Wæt bið þæt eage?
Show answer
bēon, third person singular: "the eye will be wet".
9. What is the answer to the riddle, and which line gives it away?
Show answer
An onion (the answer the Wikipedia article gives); the last line, Wæt bið þæt eage.
10. What case is ceorles, and how can you tell?
Show answer
Genitive: the ending -es (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 3).