Exeter Book Riddles – What’s Old is News

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By Sean Graham

This week I’m joined by Jennifer Neville, author of Truth is Trickiest: The Case for Ambiguity in the Exeter Book Riddles. We discuss the background of the riddles, who may have transcribed them and why, as well as the challenge of deciphering their meaning. We also talk about the literary tradition behind the riddles, the various interpretations and arguments surrounding potential answers, and what they can tell us about the nature of literature both 1,000 years ago and today.

Historical Headline of the Week

Jo Livingstone, “What do our oldest books say about us?The New Republic, November 7, 2018.

Sean Graham is a cultural historian, an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University, and a contributing editor with Activehistory.ca

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