Page:Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book (1963).djvu/26

 liquor, come together but are well separated from 11, wine. No. 59, chalice, might have been regarded as a fitting Christian conclusion, but 40, creation, which Aldhelm placed at the end of his hundred is among unrelated subjects. The most markedly Christian riddles fall in the first fifty-nine but not side by side.

The six containing runes, 8, 19, 24, 42, 64, 74, are scattered. Of the seven &ldquo;obscene&rdquo; riddles five (25, 37, 44, 45, 54) are among the first fifty-nine; the other two, 61, 62, form a pair, like 44, 45.

For the present purpose of a non-scholarly edition, I have ventured, though with some misgiving, to bring together those of the riddles which are related by theme or subject, leaving a number which can only be classed as miscellaneous. To attempt a division according to merit would be risky, and by the distinction of learned and popular equally so. Even a grouping by subject is fraught with difficulties, partly because there is bound to be much overlapping and partly because of the variety of answers proposed by various scholars; and there are some which are still unsolved or sub judice.

The translations thus have each two numbers: the editorial number in parentheses and in the usual position, preceded by the new number. For convenience in cross-reference a comparative table will be found on p. 67.