Patterns of Compilation in Anglo-Latin Enigmata and the Evidence of a Source Collection in Riddles 1–40 of the Exeter Book

It has generally been assumed that the Exeter Book Riddles are indebted to Latin riddling tradition. Yet the connection between Anglo-Latin enigmata and the Exeter collection has normally focused on the former's role as sources to the detriment of other aspects like structure and organization. Not much attention has been paid to the possibility that the Exeter Riddles might have been compiled according to structural criteria similar to those found in Anglo-Latin enigmata. The first sequence of the Exeter Riddles (nos. 1-40) offers a fairly consistent thematic arrangement: the collection opens with a series of cosmological motifs, followed by a group of ornithological themes, four-footed animals, varied tools, and a cosmological composition (no. 40). On this basis, this essay investigates the existence of thematic boundaries, examining evidence of what seems to have constituted a source-collection in the manner of preceding Anglo-Latin models.