The Signification of Aldhelm’s Enigma 70, “Tortella,” and the Characteristics of the Eucharist

Abstract

Aldhelm’s enigma 70, “Tortella,” describes a certain form of bread. It has been assumed that this is a secular bread form, but the similarities between Aldhelm’s bread and the communion host bread, coupled with attention to biblical allusions and other details of the text, suggest that Aldhelm meant the poem to allude to communion bread, giving the riddle a symbolic and theological dimension.