End of the riddles of Symphosius and beginning of the riddles of Eusebius in London, British Library, Royal MA 12 c xxiii folio 113v, showing Eusebius's riddles on an angel and a demon

The Enigmata Eusebii (riddles of Eusebius) are a collection of sixty Latin, hexametrical riddles composed in early medieval England, probably in the eighth century.

Example

An example of Eusebius's work is enigma 42, on the dragon:[1]: 252 

Latin original English translation

Horridus horriferas speluncae cumbo latebras,

Concitus aethereis uolitans miscebor et auris,

Cristatusque uolans pulcher turbabitur aether.

Corpore uipereas monstra uel cetera turmas

Reptile sum superans gestantia pondus inorme.

Inmanisque ferus preparuo pascitur ore,

Atque per angustas assumunt uiscera uenas

Aethereum flatum; nec dentibus austera uirtus

Est mihi, sed mea uim uiolentem cauda tenebit.

 A horrid beast, I lie in the ghastly gloom of a cavern,

aroused, I fly fluttering into the lofty air

and fly with my crest displayed, the fair air whirling.

My crawling body is stronger than that of all snakes

or any monsters dragging their excessive weights.

Though uncouth and savage, I feed through a tiny mouth,

my chest through narrow pipes is filled with breath,

and not to my teeth do I owe my sinister power,

nay, the seat of my impetuous strength is in my tail.

Authorship

The manuscripts of the riddles name the author as Eusebius. This person has traditionally been identified as Hwætberht, the Abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory, based on Bede's identification of Hwætberht with the cognomen of 'Eusebius' in his Commentary on I Samuel.[2][3] However, the identification with Hwætberht has been questioned by several scholars, including Emily V Thornbury, who has suggested that a Kentish author might be likely.[4]

Origins

The Enigmata Eusebii seem to have been composed to expand on the forty riddles of Tatwine, a collection composed by the eighth-century Mercian priest and archbishop Tatwine, perhaps specifically to bring their number up to one hundred: the riddles of Tatwine and Eusebius both survive in the same two manuscripts, and in both the riddles of Eusebius are alongside Tatwine's. These are the early 11th-century London, British Library, Royal 12.Cxxiii (fols. 121v-7r) and the mid-11th-century Cambridge, University Library, Gg.5.35 (fols. 374v-77v). Both of these collections were almost certainly inspired by the slightly earlier riddles of Aldhelm, another collection of one hundred Latin riddles.[5][6] Many of Eusebius's riddles (and his predecessors') are based on the encyclopaedic writing of Isidore of Seville.

Contents

Riddles 1-4 of Eusebius's riddles are on the chain of being, from God to Man, 5-11 mostly on cosmological phenomena, 12-29 a miscellaneous collection mostly of objects, 30-36 mostly on writing, and 37-60 on animals.[7] The following is a complete list.[1]

Number Latin title English translation
1 de Deo God
2 de angelo angel
3 de demone fallen angel
4 de homine man
5 de caelo heaven
6 de terra earth
7 de littera letters
8 de uento et igne wind and fire
9 de alpha alpha
10 de sole sun
11 de luna moon
12 de boue bullock
13 de uacca cow
14 de x littera the letter x
15 de igne et aqua fire and water
16 de p<h>lasca flask
17 de cruce cross
18 de iniquitate et iustitia iniquity and justice
19 de v littera the letter u
20 de domo house
21 de terra et mare land and sea
22 de sermone speech
23 de <a>equore sea
24 de morte et uita death and life
25 de animo heart
26 de die bissextile bissextile day
27 de humilitate et superbia humility and pride
28 de candela candle
29 de <a>etate et saltu cycle and moon's leap
30 de atramentorio ink-horn
31 de cera wax
32 de membrano parchment-sheets
33 de scetha book-wallet
34 de flumine river
35 de penna quill
36 de gladio sword
37 de uitulo calf
38 de pullo chicken
39 de i littera the letter i
40 de pisce fish
41 de chelidro serpente water-serpent
42 de dracone dragon
43 de tigri bestia tiger
44 de pant[h]era panther
45 de cameleone camelopard (chameleon)
46 de leopardo leopard
47 de scitali serpente piebald serpent
48 de die et nocte day and night
49 de anfibina serpente two-headed serpent
50 de saura lacerto lizard
51 de scorpione scorpion
52 de cymera chimera
53 de y<ppo>potamo pisce hippopotamus
54 de oc<h>enao pisce ship-retaining fish
55 de turpedo pisce torpedo fish
56 de ciconia aui stork
57 de strutione ostrich
58 de noctua owlet
59 de psi<t>taco parrot
60 de bubone horned owl.

References

  1. 1 2 'Aenigmata Evsebii', ed. by Fr. Glorie, trans. by Erika von Erhardt-Seebold, in Tatuini omnia opera, Variae collectiones aenigmatum merovingicae aetatis, Anonymus de dubiis nominibus, Corpus christianorum: series latina, 133-133a, 2 vols (Turnholt: Brepols, 1968), I 209-71.
  2. ↑ Williams, Mary Jane McDonald (1974). The Riddles of Tatwine and Eusebius. University of Michigan: Unpublished PhD Thesis. pp. 44–57.
  3. ↑ Salvador-Bello. Isidorean Perceptions of Order. p. 234.
  4. ↑ Thornbury, Emily V. (2014). Becoming a Poet in Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–8.
  5. ↑ Salvador-Bello, Mercedes (2014). Isidorean Perceptions of Order: The Exeter Book Riddles and Medieval Latin Enigmata. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. p. 221. ISBN 9781935978527.
  6. ↑ Williams, Mary Jane McDonald (1974). The Riddles of Tatwine and Eusebius. University of Michigan: Unpublished PhD Thesis. pp. 44–57..
  7. ↑ Mercedes Salvador-Bello, 'Patterns of Compilation in Anglo-Latin Enigmata and the Evidence of A Source-Collection in Riddles 1-40 of the Exeter Book, Viator, 43 (2012), 339–374 (p. 373-74). 10.1484/J.VIATOR.1.102554.
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