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 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. 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. The following is a complete list.
| 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 pantera | 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
- ^ '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. ISBN 9781935978527.
- 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.