Ic eom wunderlicu wiht,
This is a standard opening in a number of first-person riddles where the riddler pretends to be the creature itself.
ic, pron. nom.s.
I
eom, anomalous verb, 1s. of beon/wesan,
to be
wunderlicu, adj. nom.s.f.
wonderful, remarkable, strange. The root word wundor can mean: miracle, wonder, horror, monster. Like the word aglæca in
Beowulf, it seems to mean "whatever startles you (whether terrible monster or godlike hero)."
wiht, noun f. or n., nom.s.
creature, being, person
wifum on hyhte,
"for the purpose of (bringing about) joy to women"
wif, noun n., dat.p. wifum,
woman, wife
on, prep. normally
on, in, into; here it marks purpose, for, as
hyht, noun m., dat.s. hyhte,
hope, joy
neahbuendum nyt.
neahbuend, noun m., dat.p. neahbuendum,
neighbor, near-dweller
nyt, adj. nom.s.f.
useful. See also the noun, nytt.
Nængum sceþþe
nænig, adj. or pron. from ne + ænig, dat.s.m. nængum,
not any, none
sceþþan, verb 6, 1s. sceþþe,
hurt, injure
burgsittendra burgsittende, noun m.p., gen.p. burgsittendra, citizens, town-dwellers
nymþe bonan anum.
nymþe, conj.
except, unless
bona, (bana), noun m. dat.s. bonan,
slayer, killer, murder
an, adj. or pron. dat.s.m. anum,
one, a certain one, here used adverbially, alone
Staþol min is steapheah;
staþol, noun m. nom.s.
foundation, place. Compare Rid. 45.5, ond þæs strangan staþol
min, poss. pro. nom.s.m.
my
is, anomalous verb, 3s. of beon/wesan,
to be
steapheah, adj. nom.s.m.
very high, literally, steap-high
stonde ic on bedde,
stondan (standan), verb 6, 1s. stonde,
stand, remain, occupy a space
ic, pron. n.s.
I
on, prep.
on
bed(d), noun n. dat.s. bedde,
bed, couch, resting place, garden bed. Notice that the bed here is in bawdy terms something to sleep on (or make love on), but in plain terms it's a garden bed. Since the creature is a double, it stands on both!
neoþan ruh nathwær.
neoþan, adv.
beneath, below, from beneath. This location often carries bawdy implications in the double entendre riddles.
ruh, adj. nom.s.m.
rough, hairy, shaggy, (occasionally) undressed
nathwær, adv.
somewhere, literally, I know not where (ne + wat + hwær) This tongue-in-cheek ignorance as to location is typical in bawdy riddles when referring to sexual parts.
Neþeð hwilum
neþan, verb I, 3s. neþeð,
venture, dare. See below (þæt heo on mec gripeð) for what the ceorles dohtor dares.
hwilum, adv.
sometimes, at times
ful cyrtenu
ful, adv. very
cyrten, adj. nom.s.f. cyrtenu,
beautiful, fair, bright, (and in some contexts) intelligent
ceorles dohtor,
ceorl, noun, gen.s. ceorles,
churl, countryman. OE ceorl can mean any of the following: churl, layman, peasant, freeman of the lowest class, man.
dohtor, noun, nom.s.
daughter
modwlonc meowle,
modwlonc, adj. nom.s.f.
proud, haughty, licentious. Compare the bawdy implications of hygewlonc in Rid. 43, where a proud-hearted bride grabs at the boneless wonder of the bread-dough (penis) with her hands: On þæt banlease bryd grapode, / hygewlonc hondum.
meowle, noun f. nom.s.
maid, woman
þæt heo on mec gripeð,
þæt, conj.
that . Substantive clause which tells what the ceorles dohtor dares to do.
heo, pron. (he, heo, hit), nom.s.f.
she
on, prep.
on, onto (here used with acc. object)
mec, pron. acc.s. of ic,
me
gripan, verb 1, 3s. gripeð,
grab, grab onto, seize, take, attack
ræseð mec on reodne,
ræsan, verb I, 3s. ræseð,
rush, hasten, attack
mec, pron. acc.s. of ic, me. The preposition “on” here follows the preposition.
on, prep.
on, onto (here used with acc. object)
reod (read), adj. acc.s.m. reodne,
red
reafað min heafod,
reafian, verb II, 3s. reafað,
rob, ravage, plunder, take forcefully, ?strip
min, poss. pron. acc.s.m.
my
heafod, noun n. acc.s.
head
fegeð mec on fæsten.
fegan, verb I, 3s. fegeð,
fix, join, confine
mec, pron. acc.s. of ic,
me.
on, prep.
on, onto (here used with acc. object)
fæsten, noun n. acc.s.
fastness, enclosure, confinement, prison
Feleþ sona
felan, verb I (with gen. object) 3s. feleþ,
touch, feel, perceive
sona, adv.
soon, immediately, at once
mines gemotes
min, poss. pro. gen.s.n.
mines, my
gemot, noun n. gen.s. gemotes,
meeting, encounter, council
seo þe mec nearwað,
seo þe, compound relative pronoun, nom.s.f.
she who
mec, pron. acc.s. of ic,
me.
nearwian, verb II, 3s. nearwað,
confine, cramp, force in
wif wundenlocc--
wif, noun n., nom.s.
woman, wife
wundenlocc, adj. nom.s.n.
curly-haired
wæt bið þæt eage.
wæt, adj. nom.s.n.
moist, wet
bið, anomalous verb, 3s. of beon/wesan,
to be. Sometime the beon forms carry future tense connotations.
þæt, dem. adj., def. art. nom.s.n.
that, the
eage, noun n. nom.s.
eye, (in some contexts) aperture, hole
Click a phrase in the poem to view a translation/explaination of each phrase.
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I am a wonderful help to women,
The hope of something to come. I harm
No citizen except my slayer.
Rooted I stand on a high bed.
I am shaggy below. Sometimes the beautiful
Peasant's daughter, an eager-armed,
Proud woman grabs my body,
Rushes my red skin, holds me hard,
Claims my head. The curly-haired
Woman who catches me fast will feel
Our meeting. Her eye will be wet.
This is one of several Old English double-entendre riddles with a sexual solution for the bawdy and a plain solution for the prim. On the kitchen-counter carving-bed, the lady lays an onion. Back in the bedroom--another bulb and skin. The onion begins its "Song of Myself" with a litany of power; but after the entrance of the Achillic woman, eager-armed and proud, the "I" fractures into body, head, and skin--as the lady grabs, rushes, holds, and claims. The power struggle is resolved in the paradox of the fast catch, the mutual delight of "our meeting," and the oblique conclusion (the enactment of "something to come"). The phallic onion links the green world with the world of human sexuality. Nature is charged with human metaphor; passion is charted with natural myth. For more on the bawdy Old English riddles, see Edith Williams, "What's So New About the Sexual Revolution? Some Comments on Anglo-Saxon Attitudes toward Sexuality in Women Based on Four Exeter Book Riddles," Texas Quarterly 18(1975), 46-55.
Riddle 63 in the Exeter Book is a companion "onion" riddle without the bawdy overtones. In translation it reads:
A stalk of the living, I nothing said;
Dumb, stand waiting to join the dead.
I have risen before and will rise again
Though plunderers carve and split my skin,
Bite through my bare body, shear my head,
Hold me hard in a slicing bed.
I do not bite a man unless he bites me,
But the number of men who bite is many.
The motif of the biter bitten probably derives from the 4th or 5th century Latin riddle of Symphosius which reads in translation:
I bite my biters; otherwise I bite nobody.
But many do bite me (and I bite back).
Yet nobody fears my bite--it's toothless!
In the notes for Riddle 23, I have given not half-line translations but brief explanations of difficulties or complexities in the half-lines along with a half-line glossary. I expect by this time in the Web Riddle sequence that students will have learned enough Old English grammar to proceed with this more limited help.