Arts & Sciences
Riddle LXXIX. A Falcon
Translated by Herbert B. Brougham, in Cook & Tinker, Select Translations from Old English Poetry (1902) · From Exeter Book Riddles (selection)
I'm bosom-friend to one of noble blood,
The soldier's comrade, minion of my lord,
And courtier to the king. Sometimes on me
A fair-haired, stately woman lays her hand,
The queenliest daughter of a nobleman.
The bloom of the trees I wear upon my breast!
At times I ride perched on a fiery steed,
Leading the troop. My tongue is dry and hard.
Oft when a seer sings his prophetic song,
I furnish fit reward. Fine is my fashion,
And I am dark of hue. Tell what I'm called.
Codex Note
One of roughly ninety riddles preserved in the Exeter Book; this is one of a further selection translated for Cook & Tinker's anthology. The manuscript gives no solutions — the title here follows the translator's own guess. ASPR 80.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle LXXIX. A Falcon.” Translated by Herbert B. Brougham, in Cook and Tinker, Select Translations from Old English Poetry. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/35/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle LXXIX. A Falcon.” Translated by Herbert B. Brougham, in Cook and Tinker, Select Translations from Old English Poetry. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/35/.
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