The art of posing riddles is possibly as old as mankind and spans two apparent extremes which
nevertheless converge in the riddlic form: that of wisdom and that of play. With this
perspective in mind the author examines the poetic enigmas present in the culture of
Anglo-Saxon England exploring both the Anglo-Latin riddles of Aldhelm and those recorded in
the Exeter Book. His study investigates the Old English riddlic texts from a variety of angles
arguing for the possibility of establishing patterns of Anglo-Saxon riddlic composition as
such. Rafal Boryslawski intends to prove that both the Exeter collection and the Aenigmata of
Aldhelm are constructed on the grounds of an identifiable structure of interrelations and
interdependencies. Additionally he argues that the riddlic mode of literary representation is
also visible in other Anglo-Saxon poetic compositions. The analysis of such an assumption leads
to the conclusion that the predilection for the riddle form in Anglo-Latin and Anglo-Saxon
poetry results from an Old English vision of the Christian world.
