Journal article
Objects That Object, Subjects That Subvert: Agency in Exeter Book Riddle 5
Humanities (Basel), Vol.11(2), p.33
02/25/2022
DOI: 10.3390/h11020033
Abstract
A sequence of Old English riddles from the Exeter Book allow an implement to speak. This article focuses on one example, Riddle 5, generally solved as either a shield or a cutting board, to show how each interpretation gives voice not just to an inanimate object but also to a non-elite member of early medieval English society—either a foot-soldier or a kitchen hand. The two solutions come together because the two answers are captured in a single Old English word—“bord”—and also because the two interpretations resonate in parallel ways, creating sympathy for down-trodden members of society who rarely get so much attention in the surviving poetic record. This article argues that Old English riddles provide an enduring legacy of social critique crafted through humor.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Objects That Object, Subjects That Subvert: Agency in Exeter Book Riddle 5
- Creators
- Jonathan Wilcox - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Humanities (Basel), Vol.11(2), p.33
- DOI
- 10.3390/h11020033
- ISSN
- 2076-0787
- eISSN
- 2076-0787
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/25/2022
- Academic Unit
- English
- Record Identifier
- 9984363652102771
Metrics
23 Record Views