Arts & Sciences

Riddle 74

by Anonymous (Old English) c. 7th–11th century

Translated by Benjamin Thorpe (1842) · From Exeter Book Riddles (selection)

Arts & Sciences

I was a damsel young,
a hoary-headed woman,
and an excellent man,
at one time.
I flew with the birds,
and in the river swam,
div'd under the wave,
was dead with the fishes,
and on earth stept,
had a living soul.

✦ ✦ ✦

Thorpe's Riddle XIII (third series, pp. 479–500, in his Codex Exoniensis, 1842); ASPR Riddle 74.

MLA

Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle 74.” Translated by Benjamin Thorpe. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/290/.

Chicago

Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle 74.” Translated by Benjamin Thorpe. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/290/.

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