Exeter Book Riddle 83


Exeter Book Riddle 83 is one of the Old English riddles found in the later tenth-century Exeter Book. Its interpretation has occasioned a range of scholarly investigations, but it is taken to mean 'Ore/Gold/Metal', with most commentators preferring 'precious metal' or 'gold', and John D. Niles arguing specifically for the Old English solution ōra, meaning both 'ore' and 'a kind of silver coin'.

Text and translation

As edited by Williamson, the riddle reads:

Interpretation

Interpretation has focused on whether the riddle alludes to biblical figures, prominently Tubal-cain, though allusions to fallen angels have also been envisaged.

Analogues

The principal analogue noted in past work is Riddle 91 in the collection by Symphosius on 'money':

Editions