Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book/Annotated/XI. Runes

Runic writing was brought to England from the Continent in the fifth century and ceased to be used after the Danish invasion of 866. The word r&#363;n early took on a sense of mystery&mdash;as in The Wanderer, ges&aelig;t him sundor &aelig;t rune (&lsquo;sat apart in secret communing&rsquo;). Cynewulf used runes as a kind of code signature. In the Riddles they serve as a test of knowledge, as much as to say: I give you the clues in this form instead of by ambiguous description.


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