Fostering the Cuckoo: Exeter Book Riddle 9

Abstract

Riddlesare generally thought to end once a solution has been found, but Exeter Book Riddle 9, although apparently straightforward and only twelve lines long, has more to offer than a disguised description of a cuckoo. The anthropomorphism that serves as the bird's disguise reveals social commentary regarding the practice of fostering, which may cast light on the hero's childhood in Beowulf. In addition, although the Exeter Book riddles do not demand spiritual or didactic readings, Riddle 9 may support an allegorical interpretation: cuckoo for devil, mother-bird for soul, nest for heart, and cuckoo-egg for sinful thought. Interpreting natural history allegorically has clear precedents, both within and without the Exeter Book, and the idea of continuing the interpretive process past an initial answer can be seen both to underlie the enigmata of the Anglo-Latin tradition and to play an important role in current understanding of the runic riddles of the Exeter Book. This essay thus argues that ‘solving’ Riddle 9 is only the starting point for interpretation; more than a solution, this text requires a different understanding of the riddle-genre itself.