The Bern Riddles, also known as Aenigmata Bernensia, Aenigmata Hexasticha or Riddles of Tullius, are a collection of 64 rhythmic Latin riddles, named after the location of their earliest surviving manuscript, which today is held in Bern (though probably produced in Bourges): the early eighth-century Codex Bernensis 611.David Ganz, 'In the Circle of the Bishop of Bourges: Bern 611 and Late Merovingian Culture], in East and West in the Early Middle Ages: The Merovingian Kingdoms in Mediterranean Perspective, ed. by Stefan Esders, Yaniv Fox, Yitzhak Hen and Laury Sarti (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 265-80; .
Origin Although it has been suggested that they were composed in late antiquity, most scholars consider that the Bern Riddles were inspired by the c. fourth-century collection of riddles attributed to Symphosius, and date to around 700 AD.
The author of the Bern Riddles is not known but the book might have been written by "a Lombard familiar with Mediterranean flora and food".Bitterli, Dieter (2009) Say What I am Called: The Old English Riddles of the Exeter Book and the Anglo-Latin Riddle Tradition (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009), p. 22 According to Archer Taylor, "The Berne Riddles are especially interesting for the author's familiarity with the North Italian landscape and its plants. Whoever he was, we may safely call him the first medieval riddle-master in Italy".Archer Taylor, The Literary Riddle before 1600 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1948), p. 59. Some scholars have proposed that the Bern Riddles originated in early England, where several early medieval collections of verse riddles were created, including the Enigmata of Aldhelm. However, it is more probable that the Bern Riddles were written under the influence of Aldhelm's collection and therefore post-date it.
Subjects The subjects of the Bern Riddles are as follows:'Aenigmata in Dei nomine Tullii seu aenigmata quaestionum artis rhetoricae [aenigmata "bernensia"]', ed. by Fr. Glorie, trans. by Karl J. Minst, in Tatuini omnia opera, Variae collectiones aenigmatum merovingicae aetatis, Anonymus de dubiis nominibus, Corpus christianorum: series latina, 133-133a, 2 vols (Turnholt: Brepols, 1968), II 541-610.
1. (pot) 2. (lamp) 3. (salt) 4. (stool) 5. (table) 6. (glass beaker) 7. (bladder) 8. (egg) 9. (millstone) 10. (ladder) 11. (ship) 12. (grain of corn) 13. (grapevine) 14. (olive) 15. (palm-tree) 16. (juniper berry) 17. (sieve) 18. (broom) 19. (beeswax) 20. (honey) 21. (bee) 22. (sheep) 23. (fire) 24. (parchment) 25. (letters) 26. (mustard) 27. (papyrus) 28. (silk) 29. (mirror) 30. (fish) 31. (siphon) 32. (sponge) 33. (violet) 34. (rose) 35. (lily) 36. (saffron) 37. (pepper) 38. (ice) 39. (ivy) 40. (mousetrap) 41. (wind) 42. (ice) 43. (silkworms) 44. (pearl) 45. (earth) 46. (hammer) 47. (chestnut) 48. (walnut) 49. (rain) 50. (wine) 50a. (parchment) 51. (garlic) 52. (rose) 53. [de pistillo] (pestle) 54. [de follibus] (bellows and purse) 55. (sun) 56. (word) 57. (sun) 58. (moon) 59. (moon) 60. (sky) 61. (shadow) 62. (stars) 63. (wine)
Examples
The riddles are written in Latin rhythmic hexameter.
Manuscripts The Bern Riddles come down to us in the twelve medieval manuscripts, including: +SiglumNameFoliosDateNumber of RiddlesCommentsHCod. Bern 61173-80v8th c. (1st half)33See manuscript here. Parts of this manuscripts are missing.ICod. Berlin Philipps 16737v-45ca. 80061RCod. Leipzig Rep. I 7415v-249th (middle)63See manuscript here.W1Cod. Vienna 67168v-17012th c.62W2Cod. Vienna 2285206-1214th c.62QCod. Paris Lat. 5596165-9th (early)9See manuscript here.Q1Cod. Paris Lat. 8071no foliation9th c.2See manuscript here. Sometimes referred to as Codex Thuaneus.U4Cod. Vatican Reg. Lat. 15538v-21 (passim)9th c. (early)52See manuscript here. Mixed with riddles of Symphosius and Aldhelm.AChicago, Newberry MS f.1112th c. (first half)62
Editions and translations
Key modern editions of the Bern Riddles include:
'Aenigmata in Dei nomine Tullii seu aenigmata quaestionum artis rhetoricae [aenigmata "bernensia"]', ed. by Fr. Glorie, trans. by Karl J. Minst, in , Corpus christianorum: series latina, 133-133a, 2 vols (Turnholt: Brepols, 1968), II 541–610. Strecker, Karl (ed). “Aenigmata Hexasticha.” MGH: Poetae Latini aevi Carolingi, Vol. 4.2; Berlin, 1914. pp. 732-759. The Bern Riddles, in The Riddle Ages: Old English Riddles, Translations and Commentaries, ed. by Megan Cavell and Neville Mogford, with Matthias Ammon and Victoria Symons (2013-). An edition and English translation of the Bern Riddles begun in 2020. Die Berner Rätsel / Aenigmata Bernensia: Lateinisch - deutsch, ed. and trans. by Dieter Bitterli (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023),
References
Further reading Thomas Klein, 'Pater Occultus: The Latin Bern Riddles and Their Place in Early Medieval Riddling', Neophilologus 103 (2019): 399–417, Neville Mogford, 'The Moon and Stars in the Bern and Eusebius Riddles', in Riddles at Work in the Early Medieval Tradition: Words, Ideas, Interactions, ed. by Megan Cavell and Jennifer Neville (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2020), pp. 230–46 , .