liquor, come together but are well separated from 11, wine. No. 59, chalice, might have been regarded as a fitting Christian conclusion, but 40, creation, which Aldhelm placed at the end of his hundred is among unrelated subjects. The most markedly Christian riddles fall in the first fifty-nine but not side by side.
The six containing runes, 8, 19, 24, 42, 64, 74, are scattered. Of the seven “obscene” riddles five (25, 37, 44, 45, 54) are among the first fifty-nine; the other two, 61, 62, form a pair, like 44, 45.
For the present purpose of a non-scholarly edition, I have ventured, though with some misgiving, to bring together those of the riddles which are related by theme or subject, leaving a number which can only be classed as miscellaneous. To attempt a division according to merit would be risky, and by the distinction of learned and popular equally so. Even a grouping by subject is fraught with difficulties, partly because there is bound to be much overlapping and partly because of the variety of answers proposed by various scholars; and there are some which are still unsolved or sub judice.
The translations thus have each two numbers: the editorial number in parentheses and in the usual position, preceded by the new number. For convenience in cross-reference a comparative table will be found on p. 67.
