Page:Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book (1963).djvu/66

 away from that place, the warrior who knows what are my ways. Say what my name is.

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.


 * 1) s49 ##

I am a lonely thing, wounded with iron, switten by sword, sated with battle-work, weary of blades. Often I see battle, fierce combat. I foresee no comfort, no help will come for me from the heat of battle, until among men I perish utterly; but the hammered swords will beat me and bite me, hard-edged and sharp, the handiwork of smiths, in towns among men. Abide I must always the meeting of foes. Never could I find among the leeches, where people foregather, any who with herbs would heal my wounds; but the sores from the swords are always greater with mortal blows day and night.

Beneath this the manuscript has the rune for S (scyld or scutum) which gives the answer: Shield.


 * 1) s50 ##

Me the wet ground, exceeding cold, first brought forth from within itself. Neither am I wrought of woolen fleece nor of hairs, with skill; I know it in my mind. I have no winding wefts nor any warp in me; nor with strong rods does the thread resound for me, nor the whirring shuttle move across me, nor the weaver&rsquo;s rods anywhere smite me.