Arts & Sciences
Riddle 37: Bellows
Translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Everyman’s Library, 1926) · From Exeter Book Riddles (selection)
I saw the creature; its belly was at the back, mightily swollen; a servant was behind, a strong man; and he had endured much when its fullness flew out through its eye. It does not always die when it must yield its store to the other, but revival comes again to its bosom, its breath is exalted; it creates a son, it is its own father.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Gordon's riddle headed 'Bellows' (his selection gives headings, not numbers); ASPR Riddle 37.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle 37: Bellows.” Translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/245/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle 37: Bellows.” Translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/245/.
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