Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book/Annotated/48

This is about all that remains of some twenty-nine lines. Supposedly a Lance or Spear, first as it grew in the ground, then as made into a weapon. &ldquo;With skill by his will&rdquo; is an attempt to represent cr&aelig;ft on h&aelig;fte; h&aelig;ft means both the &lsquo;haft&rsquo; of the spear and also &lsquo;constraint,&rsquo; i.e., the spear is forced to fight.