Anglo Saxons were known for their riddles.
Here’s Exeter Book Riddle 44:
Wrætlic hongað bi weres þeo,
frean under sceate. Foran is þyrel.
Bið stiþ ond heard, stede hafað godne;
þonne se esne his agen hrægl
ofer cneo hefeð, wile þæt cuþe hol
mid his hangellan heafde gretan
þæt he efenlang ær oft gefylde.
A curious thing hangs,
dangles by a man’s thigh,
covered by his clothes.
It has an eye in its head;
it’s stiff and hard;
and because it’s borne firmly it yields a reward.
The man pulls his clothes above his knee,
in order to poke the head of his hanging thing
into that old familiar hole it fits so well,
and has filled so many times before.
The answer: key
