Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book/Annotated/40

Quill-pen. The four things are two fingers, thumb, and quill (or as in parallel riddles three fingers and pen). &ldquo;Its&rdquo; (l. 3) shows that the &ldquo;four things&rdquo; were a unit. The quill qua pen does not move faster than birds, but the expression is allowable hyperbole, or even an example of synthetic imagery, with possibly a humorous glance at the deliberation of some scribes. Similarly, the warrior is the guiding arm of the scribe. The &ldquo;plated gold&rdquo; has been explained as &ldquo;the gold mount of the ink-horn.&rdquo;