Literature & Literary Studies

Riddles at work in the early medieval tradition

Words, ideas, interactions

by Megan Cavell, Jennifer Neville

Description

Capitalising on developments in the field over the past decade, Riddles at work provides an up-to-date microcosm of research on the early medieval riddle tradition. The book presents a wide range of traditional and experimental methodologies. The contributors treat the riddles both as individual poems and as parts of a tradition, but, most importantly, they address Latin and Old English riddles side-by-side, bringing together texts that originally developed in conversation with each other but have often been separated by scholarship. Together, the chapters reveal that there is no single, right way to read these texts but rather a multitude of productive paths. This book will appeal to students and scholars of early medieval studies. It contains new as well as established voices, including Jonathan Wilcox, Mercedes Salvador-Bello and Jennifer Neville.

More Information

Rights Information

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Myanmar, Monaco

Reviews

Riddles at work assembles multiple scholarly voices to explore the vibrant, poetic riddle tradition of early medieval England and its neighbours. The chapters present a wide range of traditional and experimental methodologies. They treat the riddles both as individual poems and as parts of a tradition, but, most importantly, they address Latin and Old English riddles side-by-side, bringing together texts that originally developed in conversation with each other but have often been separated in scholarship. Following the introduction, which situates the book in its scholarly context, Part I (Words) presents philological approaches to early medieval riddles - interpretations rooted in close readings of texts - since riddles work by making readers question what words really mean. However, while reading carefully may lead to elegant solutions, such solutions are not the end of the riddling game. Part II (Ideas) therefore explores how riddles work to make readers think anew about objects, relationships, and experiences, using literary theory to facilitate new approaches. Part III (Interactions) then looks at how riddles work through connections with other fields, languages, times, and places. Together, the chapters reveal that there is no single, right way to read these texts but rather a multitude of productive paths - some explored here, some awaiting future work. Riddles at work will appeal to students and scholars of early medieval studies. It features a mixture of new and established voices, including Jonathan Wilcox, Mercedes Salvador-Bello, and Jennifer Neville.

Author Biography

Megan Cavell is Birmingham Fellow and lecturer in medieval literature at the University of Birmingham Jennifer Neville is Reader in Anglo-Saxon Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London

Trusted Partner
Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.

View all titles

Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date April 2024
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526178763 / 1526178761
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatPrint PDF
  • Pages344
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions216 X 138 mm
  • Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 4737
  • SeriesManchester Medieval Literature and Culture
  • Reference Code16552

Subscribe to our

newsletter