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: +Latin originalEnglish translationA 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. 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.
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.. 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.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. The following is a complete list.'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. +NumberLatin titleEnglish translation1de DeoGod2de angeloangel3de demonefallen angel4de homineman5de caeloheaven6de terraearth7de litteraletters8de uento et ignewind and fire9de alphaalpha10de solesun11de lunamoon12de bouebullock13de uaccacow14de x litterathe letter x15de igne et aquafire and water16de p<h>lascaflask17de crucecross18de iniquitate et iustitiainiquity and justice19de v litterathe letter u20de domohouse21de terra et mareland and sea22de sermonespeech23de <a>equoresea24de morte et uitadeath and life25de animoheart26de die bissextilebissextile day27de humilitate et superbiahumility and pride28de candelacandle29de <a>etate et saltucycle and moon's leap30de atramentorioink-horn31de cerawax32de membranoparchment-sheets33de scethabook-wallet34de flumineriver35de pennaquill36de gladiosword37de uitulocalf38de pullochicken39de i litterathe letter i40de piscefish41de chelidro serpentewater-serpent42de draconedragon43de tigri bestiatiger44de pant[h]erapanther45de cameleonecamelopard (chameleon)46de leopardoleopard47de scitali serpentepiebald serpent48de die et nocteday and night49de anfibina serpentetwo-headed serpent50de saura lacertolizard51de scorpionescorpion52de cymerachimera53de y<ppo>potamo piscehippopotamus54de oc<h>enao pisceship-retaining fish55de turpedo piscetorpedo fish56de ciconia auistork57de strutioneostrich58de noctuaowlet59de psi<t>tacoparrot60de bubonehorned owl.
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