Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book/Annotated/7

Possibly Running Water, becoming ice in winter. The original has wiht (wight), which may be a thing or a creature; and there may be a pun in w&#277;g, with a short, meaning way, and w&#275;g with a long , meaning wave. Moreover, the scribe placed the usual sign marking the end of a riddle after the second line as well as after l. 3; and futher, since the first two lines are almost the same as those of 72 ( 36), q.v., it has been held that they represent the beginning of a riddle the rest of which is lost. The third line alone would then be a riddle by itself; which Tupper calls &ldquo;admirably complete.&rdquo; Norman E. Eliason (Philologica, Malone Anniversary Studies, Baltimore, 1949, pp. 18–19) has argued for a single riddle, describing Christ walking on the water; but later he withdrew the suggestion.