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Bern Riddles facts for kids

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Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 611, f. 73r – Composite manuscript Merovingian excerpts from grammatical, patristic, computistic and medical works
Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 611, f. 73v: Two of the Bern Riddles ("De sale" 'salt' and "De mensa" 'table') from the original manuscript.

The Bern Riddles, also called Aenigmata Bernensia, are a group of 63 Latin riddles written in a poetic style. They are named after the city of Bern, Switzerland, where the oldest surviving book containing them is kept. This book, called Codex Bernensis 611, was made in the early 700s.

Where Did They Come From?

Most experts believe the Bern Riddles were written around the 600s AD. They were likely inspired by an older collection of riddles from the 300s, written by someone named Symphosius. We don't know who wrote the Bern Riddles. Some think the author might have been from a place called Lombardy in Italy, perhaps even from a monastery in Bobbio.

One expert, Archer Taylor, said that the author knew a lot about the plants and landscape of northern Italy. This makes him the "first medieval riddle-master in Italy." However, some scholars think the riddles might have come from Anglo-Saxon England, where other riddle collections were created around that time.

What Are the Riddles About?

The Bern Riddles cover a wide range of everyday things and nature. Here are some of the subjects they describe:

  • 1. Bowl
  • 2. Lamp
  • 3. Salt
  • 4. Bench
  • 5. Table
  • 6. (Glass) chalice
  • 7. Air-bubble
  • 8. Egg
  • 9. Millstone
  • 10. Ladder
  • 11. Ship
  • 12. Grain of corn
  • 13. Grapevine
  • 14. Olive
  • 15. Palm-tree
  • 16. Cedar-berry
  • 17. Sieve
  • 18. Broom
  • 19. Wax tablet
  • 20. Honey
  • 21. Bee
  • 22. Egg
  • 23. Fire-spark
  • 24. Parchment
  • 25. Letters
  • 26. Mustard
  • 27. (Papyrus)-paper
  • 28. Silkworm
  • 29. Mirror
  • 30. Fish
  • 31. Siphon
  • 32. Sponge
  • 33. Violet
  • 34. Rose
  • 35. Lilies
  • 36. Saffron
  • 37. Pepper
  • 38. Ice
  • 39. Ivy
  • 40. Mousetrap
  • 41. Wind
  • 42. Ice
  • 43. Silkworms
  • 44. Pearl
  • 45. Earth
  • 46. Pestle
  • 47. Snail-shell
  • 48. Chestnut
  • 49. Rain
  • 50. Wine
  • 50a. [Wood-pulp] paper
  • 51. Garlic
  • 52. Rose
  • 53. Weighing-scales
  • 54. Weaving-loom
  • 55. Sun
  • 56. Sun
  • 57. Sun
  • 58. Moon
  • 59. Moon
  • 60. Sky
  • 61. Shadow
  • 62. Stars
  • 63. Wine

Examples of Riddles

Here are a couple of examples of the Bern Riddles, first in their original Latin and then translated into English. Can you guess the answers before looking?


LI. De alio.
Multiplici ueste natus de matre productor
Nec habere corpus possum, si uestem amitto.
Meos, unde nasco, in uentre fero parentes;
Viuo nam sepultus, uitam et inde resumo.
Superis eductus nec umquam crescere possum,
Dum natura caput facit succedere plantis.

51. Garlic.
I am brought forth, born from my mother, with many-layered clothing;
I cannot have a body if I lose my clothing.
I carry my parents, from whom I am born, in my womb/stomach;
I live though interred, and from that place I resume my life.
I can never grow up, nurtured, to a great height,
since Nature makes my head go beneath my shoots/the soles of my feet.


LII. De rosa.
Mollis ego duro de corde genero natos;
In conceptu numquam amplexu uiri delector.
Sed dum infra meis concrescunt fili latebris,
Meum quisque nascens disrumpit uulnere corpus.
Postquam decorato uelantes tegmine matrem
Saepe delicati frangunt acumine fortes.

52. Rose.
Soft as I am, I produce sons from my hard heart;
in conceiving I am never delighted by the embrace of a man.
But as my sons grow strong beneath my hiding-places,
each ruptures my body with a wound as it is born.
Thereafter, covering their mother with an ornate blanket,
the weak often break the strong with a sharp point.


Old Manuscripts

The Bern Riddles have survived through history in several old handwritten books, called manuscripts. These books were copied by hand many centuries ago. Here are some of the most important ones:

Name Pages Date Number of Riddles Notes
Cod. Bern 611 73-80v Early 8th century 33 See manuscript here. Some parts of this book are missing.
Cod. Berlin Philipps 167 37v-45 9th century 2
Cod. Leipzig Rep. I 74 15v-24 9th or 10th century 63
Cod. Vienna 67 168v-170 12th century 62
Cod. Vienna 2285 206-12 14th century 62
Cod. Paris Lat. 5596 165- 8th or 9th century 9 See manuscript here.
Cod. Paris Lat. 8071 no foliation Late 9th century 2 See manuscript here. Sometimes called Codex Thuaneus.
Cod. Vatican Reg. Lat. 1553 8v-21 (passim) Early 9th century 52 See manuscript here. Mixed with riddles by Symphosius and Aldhelm.
Newberry Case MS f.11 First half of 12th century 62
Cod. Vatican Barb. Lat. 1717 16th century ?
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