Riddles (Old Norse, Icelandic and Faroese gáta, pl. gátur; Bokmål and Nynorsk gåte, pl. gåter; Danish gåde, pl. gåder; Swedish gåta, pl. gåtor) are widely attested in post-medieval Scandinavian languages, though the traditional, oral riddle fell out of widespread use during the later twentieth century, being replaced by other oral-literary forms, and by other tests of wit such as quizzes.[1]
Few riddles are attested from medieval Scandinavia (by contrast with the numerous Anglo-Saxon riddles in the quite closely connected literature of medieval England), although Norse mythology does attest to a number of other wisdom-contests, usually involving the godÓðinn, and the complex metaphors of the extensive corpus of skaldic verse present an enigmatic aesthetic similar to riddles.[2][3][4] A number of riddles from medieval Scandinavia are also attested in Latin.[5]
The majority of the surviving Old Norse riddles occur in one section of the Icelandic Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in which the god Óðinn propounds around 37 verse riddles (depending on the manuscript), mostly in the ljóðaháttur metre; these are known as the Gátur Gestumblinda. The saga is thought to have been composed in the thirteenth century, but the riddles themselves may not be of uniform date and some could be older or younger.[6] They went on to influence oral riddling in Iceland.[7]: 196 Eight verse riddles, all in ljóðaháttur, are also attested in an Icelandic manuscript thought to date from between 1490 and 1510;[8] they seem to come from a collection of at least nineteen riddles and to have originated in the East Norse-speaking part of Continental Scandinavia around the twelfth or thirteenth century. Their solutions are steelyard, mould for casting nails, wool-combs, footstool, pot-hook, bell-clapper, fish-hook, and an angelica stalk; one is also attested from oral tradition in Norway and at least three circulated in oral as well as written tradition in Iceland.[9]
Three medieval riddles in verse about birds are known, first attested in a part of the manuscript Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar AM 625 4to from around 1500.[10][11] A riddle also appears in the perhaps fourteenth-century Þjalar-Jóns saga,[12][13] A runic graffito carved in Hopperstad stave-church that can be read as 'Lokarr fal lokar sinn í lokarspónum' and translated as 'Lokarr ("plane") concealed his plane in the plane-shavings' has also been seen as riddlic in sentiment.[14][15][16]
Modern periodEdit
With the advent of print in the West, collections of riddles and similar kinds of questions began to be published. A large number of riddle collections were printed in the German-speaking world and, partly under German influence, in Scandinavia.[17] Scandinavian riddles have also been extensively collected from oral tradition. Key collections and studies include:
Bødker, Laurits 1964 in co-operation with Brynjulf Alver, Bengt Holbek and Leea Virtanen. The Nordic Riddle. Terminology and Bibliography. Copenhagen.
Jón Árnason, Íslenzkar gátur, skemtanir, vikivakar og Þulur, I (Kaupmannahöfn: Hið Íslenzka bókmenntafélag, 1887).
Olsson, Helmer 1944. Svenska gåtor 1. Folkgåtor från Bohuslän. Uppsala.
Palmenfelt, Ulf 1987. Vad är det som går och går...? Svenska gåtor från alla tider i urval av Ulf Palmenfelt. Stockholm.
Peterson, Per 1985. Gåtor och skämt. En undersökning om vardagligt berättande bland skolbarn. Etnolore 4. Skrifter från Etnologiska institutionen vid Uppsala universitet. Uppsala: Uppsala universitet.
Ström, Fredrik 1937. Svenska Folkgåtor. Stockholm.
Wessman, V.E.V. (red.) 1949. Finlands svenska folktidning IV. Gåtor. Skrifter utg. av Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland 327. Helsingfors.
ReferencesEdit
^Annikki Kaivola-Bregenhøj, Riddles: Perspectives on the Use, Function, and Change in a Folklore Genre, Studia Fennica, Folkloristica, 10 (Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society, 2001), p. 163 doi:10.21435/sff.10.
^John Lindow, 'Riddles, Kennings, and the Complexity of Skaldic Poetry', Scandinavian Studies, 47 (1975), 311-27.
^Susanne 'Fela í rúnum eða í skáldskap: Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian Approaches to Riddles and Poetic Disguises', in Riddles, Knights, and Cross-dressing Saints: Essays on Medieval English, ed. by Thomas Honegger, Variations Sammlung/Collection, 5 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2004), pp. 139-64 ISBN3-03910-392-X.
^Karl G. Johansson, 'De gåtfulla texterna', in Bo65: Festskrift till Bo Ralph, ed. by Kristinn Jóhanesson and others, Meijerbergs arkiv för svensk ordforskning, 39 (Gothenburg: Meijerbergs institut för svensk etymologisk forskning, 2010), pp. 50–59; ISBN978-91-974747-8-8.
^Stephen Mitchell, 'Old Norse Riddles and Other Verbal Contests in Performance', in John Miles Foley's World of Oralities: Text, Tradition, and Contemporary Oral Theory, ed. by Mark C. Amodio (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2020), pp. 123-35 (pp. 126-27), ISBN9781641893381.
^Alaric Hall, "Changing Style and Changing Meaning: Icelandic Historiography and the Medieval Redactions of Heiðreks saga", Scandinavian Studies, 77 (2005), 1–30, at pp. 9–10. JSTOR 40920553
^Jeffrey Scott Love, The Reception of 'Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks' from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century, Münchener Nordistische Studien, 14 (Munich: Utz, 2013); ISBN978-3-8316-4225-0.
^Ólafur Halldórsson, 'Því flýgur krákan víða', Fróðskaparrit, 18 (1970), 236–58, doi:10.18602/fsj.v18i.410 [reprinted as Ólafur Halldórsson, 'Því flýgur krákan víða', in Grettisfærsla: Safn ritgerða eftir Ólaf Halldórsson gefið út á sjötugsafmæli hans 18. Apríl 1990 (Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1990), pp. 111–34].
^Íslenzkar gátur, skemtanir, vikivakar og þulur. I. Gátur, ed. by Jón Árnason and Ólafur Davíðsson (Copenhagen: Møller, 1887), p. 29; for a facsimile see http://handrit.is/is/manuscript/view/AM04-0625.
^H. M. Burrows, 'Anonymous gátur' in Poetry from Treatises on Poetics, ed. by KE Gade & E Marold, Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages, 3 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2017), pp. 631-35.
^'Þjalar-Jóns saga', trans. by Philip Lavender, Leeds Studies in English, n.s. 46 (2015), 73–113 (p. 79).
^See further Laurits Bødker, Brynjulf Alver, Bengt Holbek, Leea Virtanen, The Nordic Riddle: Terminology and Bibliography (Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1964).
^Norske runeinnskrifter i nummerrekkefølge, nos N390-N412.
^Gerd Høst, 'Små runologiske bidrag', Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, 15 (1949), 406-13.
^Frauke Rademann-Veith, Die skandinavischen Rätselbücher auf der Grundlage der deutschen Rätselbuch-Traditionen (1540–1805) (Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 2010) (PhD thesis, Münster University, 2004).
External linksEdit
Humoristen.no - Norwegian riddles
Gåter.no – collection of Norwegian riddles, categorised
Collection of Swedish riddles
October 19, 2023
scandinavian, riddles, also, riddles, finnic, riddles, norse, icelandic, faroese, gáta, gátur, bokmål, nynorsk, gåte, gåter, danish, gåde, gåder, swedish, gåta, gåtor, widely, attested, post, medieval, scandinavian, languages, though, traditional, oral, riddle. See also Riddles Finnic Riddles Old Norse Icelandic and Faroese gata pl gatur Bokmal and Nynorsk gate pl gater Danish gade pl gader Swedish gata pl gator are widely attested in post medieval Scandinavian languages though the traditional oral riddle fell out of widespread use during the later twentieth century being replaced by other oral literary forms and by other tests of wit such as quizzes 1 Contents 1 Medieval period 2 Modern period 3 References 4 External linksMedieval period EditFew riddles are attested from medieval Scandinavia by contrast with the numerous Anglo Saxon riddles in the quite closely connected literature of medieval England although Norse mythology does attest to a number of other wisdom contests usually involving the god odinn and the complex metaphors of the extensive corpus of skaldic verse present an enigmatic aesthetic similar to riddles 2 3 4 A number of riddles from medieval Scandinavia are also attested in Latin 5 The majority of the surviving Old Norse riddles occur in one section of the Icelandic Hervarar saga ok Heidreks in which the god odinn propounds around 37 verse riddles depending on the manuscript mostly in the ljodahattur metre these are known as the Gatur Gestumblinda The saga is thought to have been composed in the thirteenth century but the riddles themselves may not be of uniform date and some could be older or younger 6 They went on to influence oral riddling in Iceland 7 196 Eight verse riddles all in ljodahattur are also attested in an Icelandic manuscript thought to date from between 1490 and 1510 8 they seem to come from a collection of at least nineteen riddles and to have originated in the East Norse speaking part of Continental Scandinavia around the twelfth or thirteenth century Their solutions are steelyard mould for casting nails wool combs footstool pot hook bell clapper fish hook and an angelica stalk one is also attested from oral tradition in Norway and at least three circulated in oral as well as written tradition in Iceland 9 Three medieval riddles in verse about birds are known first attested in a part of the manuscript Reykjavik Stofnun Arna Magnussonar AM 625 4to from around 1500 10 11 A riddle also appears in the perhaps fourteenth century THjalar Jons saga 12 13 A runic graffito carved in Hopperstad stave church that can be read as Lokarr fal lokar sinn i lokarsponum and translated as Lokarr plane concealed his plane in the plane shavings has also been seen as riddlic in sentiment 14 15 16 Modern period EditWith the advent of print in the West collections of riddles and similar kinds of questions began to be published A large number of riddle collections were printed in the German speaking world and partly under German influence in Scandinavia 17 Scandinavian riddles have also been extensively collected from oral tradition Key collections and studies include Bodker Laurits 1964 in co operation with Brynjulf Alver Bengt Holbek and Leea Virtanen The Nordic Riddle Terminology and Bibliography Copenhagen Jon Arnason Islenzkar gatur skemtanir vikivakar og THulur I Kaupmannahofn Hid Islenzka bokmenntafelag 1887 Olsson Helmer 1944 Svenska gator 1 Folkgator fran Bohuslan Uppsala Palmenfelt Ulf 1987 Vad ar det som gar och gar Svenska gator fran alla tider i urval av Ulf Palmenfelt Stockholm Peterson Per 1985 Gator och skamt En undersokning om vardagligt berattande bland skolbarn Etnolore 4 Skrifter fran Etnologiska institutionen vid Uppsala universitet Uppsala Uppsala universitet Strom Fredrik 1937 Svenska Folkgator Stockholm Wessman V E V red 1949 Finlands svenska folktidning IV Gator Skrifter utg av Svenska Litteratursallskapet i Finland 327 Helsingfors References Edit Annikki Kaivola Bregenhoj Riddles Perspectives on the Use Function and Change in a Folklore Genre Studia Fennica Folkloristica 10 Helsinki Finnish Literature Society 2001 p 163 doi 10 21435 sff 10 John Lindow Riddles Kennings and the Complexity of Skaldic Poetry Scandinavian Studies 47 1975 311 27 Susanne Fela i runum eda i skaldskap Anglo Saxon and Scandinavian Approaches to Riddles and Poetic Disguises in Riddles Knights and Cross dressing Saints Essays on Medieval English ed by Thomas Honegger Variations Sammlung Collection 5 Bern Peter Lang 2004 pp 139 64 ISBN 3 03910 392 X Karl G Johansson De gatfulla texterna in Bo65 Festskrift till Bo Ralph ed by Kristinn Johanesson and others Meijerbergs arkiv for svensk ordforskning 39 Gothenburg Meijerbergs institut for svensk etymologisk forskning 2010 pp 50 59 ISBN 978 91 974747 8 8 Stephen Mitchell Old Norse Riddles and Other Verbal Contests in Performance in John Miles Foley s World of Oralities Text Tradition and Contemporary Oral Theory ed by Mark C Amodio Leeds Arc Humanities Press 2020 pp 123 35 pp 126 27 ISBN 9781641893381 Alaric Hall Changing Style and Changing Meaning Icelandic Historiography and the Medieval Redactions of Heidreks saga Scandinavian Studies 77 2005 1 30 at pp 9 10 JSTOR 40920553 Jeffrey Scott Love The Reception of Hervarar saga ok Heidreks from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century Munchener Nordistische Studien 14 Munich Utz 2013 ISBN 978 3 8316 4225 0 AM 687 b 4to Handrit is olafur Halldorsson THvi flygur krakan vida Frodskaparrit 18 1970 236 58 doi 10 18602 fsj v18i 410 reprinted as olafur Halldorsson THvi flygur krakan vida in Grettisfaersla Safn ritgerda eftir olaf Halldorsson gefid ut a sjotugsafmaeli hans 18 April 1990 Reykjavik Stofnun Arna Magnussonar 1990 pp 111 34 Islenzkar gatur skemtanir vikivakar og thulur I Gatur ed by Jon Arnason and olafur Davidsson Copenhagen Moller 1887 p 29 for a facsimile see http handrit is is manuscript view AM04 0625 H M Burrows Anonymous gatur in Poetry from Treatises on Poetics ed by KE Gade amp E Marold Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3 Turnhout Brepols 2017 pp 631 35 THjalar Jons saga trans by Philip Lavender Leeds Studies in English n s 46 2015 73 113 p 79 See further Laurits Bodker Brynjulf Alver Bengt Holbek Leea Virtanen The Nordic Riddle Terminology and Bibliography Copenhagen Rosenkilde and Bagger 1964 Norske runeinnskrifter i nummerrekkefolge nos N390 N412 N 392 Riksantikvarieambetet Gerd Host Sma runologiske bidrag Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap 15 1949 406 13 Frauke Rademann Veith Die skandinavischen Ratselbucher auf der Grundlage der deutschen Ratselbuch Traditionen 1540 1805 Frankfurt am Main Lang 2010 PhD thesis Munster University 2004 External links EditHumoristen no Norwegian riddles Gater no collection of Norwegian riddles categorised Collection of Swedish riddles Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Scandinavian riddles amp oldid 1175104108, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
