Anglo-Saxon Riddles

Just under a hundred Anglo-Saxon riddles have come down to us. We can't say with any certainty who composed them, or when, or how, or for what purpose. They may have been oral compositions: short pieces the bards used while their audiences were getting settled, or as fill between sets during performances of epics such as Beowulf. There was an oral tradition of riddling in Anglo-Saxon England (the riddle is an almost universal form, found in most cultures) and that oral and literate riddling practices interacted with each other from the mid seventh century up to the Norman Conquest. It seems likely enough that those riddles which survive were produced largely by clergymen with a knowledge of Latin, but that native traditions of riddling found their way into their riddles. Nearly all the riddles that have survived are preserved in the Exeter Book, a tenth century miscellany including such Old English masterpieces as The Seafarer and The Wanderer.
Through many of the riddles we catch glimpses of Anglo-Saxon life and beliefs that we do not find elsewhere in Old English literature or archaeology. They share with other Anglo-Saxon poems, however, the notion that virtually everything in the world is part of a living continuum, any segment of which can speak with its own particular voice. It is important to note that many things described in the riddles are not seen as fixed and static entities but as living creatures with biographies. A cross or a spear begins as a tree. A goose begins as a barnacle. The creatures of the riddles often have to go through a period of suffering to become what they are and often experience a good deal of pain in their present state. A striking feature of the riddles is that the speaker, whether it be the creature of the riddle or an observer, accepts this pain and struggle as part of the order of things – sometimes with an almost cheerful stoicism, sometimes with what may be Christian patience. Often a creature's biography suggests that its pattern of growth gave it some of the powers it now has. Parchment had to suffer to become a holy (and magical) Bible. A sword had to endure trials in order to become strong and honored – not unlike its user.
Many riddles open with a formula like "I saw a wonderful thing" or "I am a marvel." This sort of formula probably helped the riddler get started, and alerted the hearer or reader to the fact that this was the beginning of a riddle. But formulas of this sort are not hollow or meaningless. The riddlers seem to have seen the world around them full of wonders. The world of the riddles lives, breathes, and speaks to man and to God.

Old English Christian Poetry

Caedmon

Caedmon, the first English poet, lived in the latter half of the 7th century. His story is told by Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (written in Latin).
Venerable Bede (673-735) was a Benedictine monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth. It is perhaps the most frequently quoted piece of all Bede's writings:
"In the monastery of this abbess [Hild], there was a certain brother, eminently distinguished by divine grace, for he was wont to make songs fit for religion and piety, so that, whatever he learnt out of Scripture by means of interpreters, this he would after a time produce in his own, that is to say, the Angles' tongue, with poetical words, composed with perfect sweetness and feeling. By this man's songs often the minds of many were kindled to contempt of the world and desire for the celestial life. Moreover, others after him in the nation of the Angles tried to make religious poems, but no one was able to equal him. For he learnt the art of singing not from men, nor through any man's instructions, but he received the gift of singing unacquired and by divine help. Wherefore he could never make any frivolous or unprofitable poem, but those things only which pertain to religion were fit themes for his religious tongue. During his secular life, which continued up to the time of advanced age, he had never learnt any songs. And, therefore, sometimes at a feast, when for merriment sake it was agreed that all should sing in turn, he, when he saw that the harp was nearing him, would rise from his unfinished supper and go quietly away to his own home."
On one occasion, when this had happened, he went, not to his home, but to the cattle sheds, to rest, because it was his turn to do so that night. In his sleep one appeared to him and bade him sing. He pleaded inability, but the command was repeated. "What then," he asked, "must I sing?" He was told he must sing of the beginning of created things. Then he sang a Hymn of Creation, and this hymn he remembered when he was raised from sleep, and it was the proof of his divine vocation. The hymn was preserved in Latin as well as in the original. The poems which he subsequently wrote are thus described:
"He sang of the creation of the world and the origin of the human race, and the whole story of Genesis, of Israel's departure out of Egypt and entrance into the land of promise, of many other parts of the sacred history, of the Lord's Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven, of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of the Apostles. Likewise of the terror of judgment to come, and the awfulpunishment of hell, and the bliss of the heavenly kingdom, he made many poems; many others also concerning divine benefits and judgments, in all which he sought to wean men from the love of sin, and stimulate them to the enjoyment and pursuit of good action."

The text of Cadmon"s Hymn can be founf here.

Cynewulf

Cynewulf is famous for his religious compositions, and is regarded as one of the preeminent figures of Old English Christian poetry. Posterity knows of his name by means of runic signatures that are interwoven into the four poems: The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II (also referred to as The Ascension). Unlike his literary predecessor, Caedmon, whose biography is solely derived from Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Cynewulf's life is a veritable mystery to scholars.
The Dream of the Rood is a religious poem dating back to the tenth century. It was found in a manuscript in Northern Italy with a number of other Old English poems, although some of the passages are also found inscribed on a stone cross in Scotland which dates back to the eighth century.
There are sections from The Dream of the Rood that are found on the Ruthwell Crossthat dates back to the 8th century. It was an 18 foot, free standing, Anglo-Saxon Cross, perhaps intended as a "conversion tool". At each side of the vine-tracery the runes are carved. On the cross there is an excerpt that was written in runes along with scenes of Jesus healing the blind, the annunciation, and the story of Egypt. Although it was torn down and destroyed during initial Protestant revolt, it was reconstructed as much as possible after the fear of iconography passed. Fortunately during that time of religious unrest, those words that were in the runes were still protected in the Vercelli Book, so called because the book is kept in Vercelli, Italy. The Vercelli Book dates back to the 10th century, and also holds 23 homilies interspersed with six poems; The Dream of the Rood, Andreas, The Fates of the Apostles, Soul and Body, Elene, and a poetic, homiletic fragment.
Like much of the surviving Old English poetry, no one knows who actually wrote The Dream of the Rood, but some features of the poem resemble those of Cynewulf’s poems. That is why it is sometimes referred to him.

The Dream of the Rood begins with the narration of the speaker of a dream he had. In his dream he sees a tree covered with gold and surrounded by angles. While he is gazing at the tree it starts to bleed heavily from its right side. It, then, addresses the dreamer. The tree is the cross of the crucifixion, and it portrays the details of the story. Jesus is described as a mighty warrior and a hero. The cross itself has been dug out after the crucifixion and now it dwells with Jesus and has the power to heal those who pray to him.
The cross requests the dreamer to tell other people of this vision. One who knows the story of the crucifixion will gain an after-life. After the dream the speaker dedicates his life to contemplation and spiritual devotion so after his death he could enter the heaven kingdom of Jesus.

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