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.[citation needed]
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
^ ab'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.
^Williams, Mary Jane McDonald (1974). The Riddles of Tatwine and Eusebius. University of Michigan: Unpublished PhD Thesis. pp. 44–57.
^Salvador-Bello. Isidorean Perceptions of Order. p. 234.
^Thornbury, Emily V. (2014). Becoming a Poet in Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–8.
^Salvador-Bello, Mercedes (2014). Isidorean Perceptions of Order: The Exeter Book Riddles and Medieval Latin Enigmata. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. p. 221. ISBN9781935978527.
^Williams, Mary Jane McDonald (1974). The Riddles of Tatwine and Eusebius. University of Michigan: Unpublished PhD Thesis. pp. 44–57..
^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.
