The Obscene Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter book
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Authors
Stevenson, Douglas K.
Issue Date
1965
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Among the ninety-five Riddles of the Exeter
Book there are eight that have been classified as being obscene. They are also separated from the other Riddles
by having intended double meanings; one innocent, the
other of a salacious nature. Because they do often
have lewd connotations, they have been slandered,
ignored, and all but omitted from discussion that does
not have to do with semantics. It is my contention
that these eight riddles have inherent value when
compared to their fellows, and what is more, by the
intentional academic suppression of these riddles
by previous scholars, a great disservice has been
done to the image we have of the Anglo-Saxon and his
literature. This contention is the basis for this
paper. My translations of these eight riddles, while
far from being the best, are my first attempts in
translating Old English. These translations have
been placed near the originals in order to make
comparison easier. Even in a small manuscript such
as this one is, it is irritating to keep turning
pages back and forth.
Description
xiv, 47 p.
Citation
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License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.