Bibliography
Riddle Me This!
Riddles - Ancient and Modern, by Mark Bryant (Hutchinson, 1983) This fascinating book includes an engaging Introduction which discusses the "anatomy" of a riddle and the uses of riddles and riddling; Part One: A Brief History of Riddles and Riddling that ranges from ancient Sanskrit, Norse and Hebrew riddles through Medieval and Renaisance riddlers on to contemporary riddles in Africa and Asia; and Part Two: A Worldwide Riddle Anthology consisting of nearly 1,000 riddles from around the world and through the ages, followed by their solutions!
The White Goddess, A historical grammar of poetic myth, by Robert Graves (Farrar, Straus & Giroux,1948) The poem at the beginning of the show, I am a stag: of seven tines... comes from Graves' own interpretation of the Song of Amergin, "an ancient Celtic calendar-alphabet, found in several purposely garbled Irish and Welsh variants, which briefly summarizes the prime poetic myth," according to Graves. (Yes, this is the same Robert Graves who wrote both I, Claudius and many great 20c English poems. ek )
The Literary Riddle before 1600, by Archer Taylor (Greenwood Press, 1976) A short book that focuses on "a minor literary genre" (i.e. riddles with known authors and/or which are used in literature) in distinction from related popular and folk forms of riddling. The riddles, liberally sprinkled throughout the text, are in the original languages and their answers are indexed in the back of the book. With its Bibliography and its Index of Riddlemasters, this book is a must for anyone wanting to pursue riddlelore in any serious way.
"Riddles and Paradoxes", article by Michiko Yusa, from The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, editor in chief (MacMillan, 1987) This article from one of our most invaluable reference resources, brought to our attention most of the classic riddles from around the world and through the ages. The bibliography too, set us on the track of the best riddlelore in the program.
"Riddle", article by James A. Kelso, from Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, editor (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961) An older scholarly work with small print, this article broadened our understanding of the many types of riddles one finds.
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, edited by Francis James Child (Dover, out-of-print*...) This five-volume collection, generally known as "The Child Ballads," crowned the lifetime achievement of a 19c American scholar at Harvard. It contains the texts to hundreds of ballads with all their extant variants, and copious folkloric notes . . . all very helpful! Our "Riddles" show referred to "Riddles Wisely Expounded" (Child #1), "The Elfin Knight" (Child #2), "The Fause Knight Upon the Road (Child #3), and "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (Child #46). *It is a crying shame that the complete set is out-of-print -- maybe if enough of us write to Dover Press asking for it to be reprinted, they'll reconsider: Dover Publications, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014 ek
English Country Songbook, by Roy Palmer (Omnibus, 1986) An exceptional collection of traditional songs with their tunes. This is where the information on the arcane origins of "Green Grow the Rushes" came from (Palmer got it from Bob Stewart, Where is Saint George? Imagery in English Folk Song, Moonraker Press, Bradford-on-Avon, 1977.) The Songbook is prefaced by a quote from 19c English poet John Clare which Ellen Kushner says "may also serve to describe one of the motivating forces behind our radio program" :
Those rude old tales -- man's memory augurs ill
The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, by Iona and Peter Opie (Oxford, 1959) Based on information collected during eight years from five thousand children in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, this amazing collection of Brittish juvenalia-rhymes, nicknames, games, superstitions, songs, secrets, jump-rope jingles and more-has a wonderful chapter on riddles. Iona and Peter Opie are acknowledged authorites in the field of juvenile folklore and their work is engaging, fascinating and well worth reading.
Thus to forget the fragments of old days
Those long old songs -- their sweetness haunts me still...Lightning Inside You - and Other Native American Riddles, edited by John Bierhorst and Illustrated by Louise Brierley (Wm. Morrow, 1992) Found in the children's section of your local library, this collection of riddles (and answers) from over thirty Native American tribes, also includes explanations of the ways in which riddles and riddling figure in the riddlers' lives, a short guide to the tribes represented in the collection, and several pages of bibliography listing the author's sources.
Wit and Wisdom from West Africa; or, A Book of Proverbial Philosophy, Idioms, Enigmas, and Laconisms, compiled by inveterate traveler and orientalist Richard F. Burton (Negro Universities Press, 1969) Originally published in 1865, this amazing collection of African proverbs in the Wolof, Kanuri, Oji, Accra, Efik, Mpangwe and Yoruban languages of West Africa, includes a number of riddles, or what were called "enigmas". The transliterations are followed by translations and accompanied by interpretive notes.
Ji-Nongo-Nongo Means Riddles, compiled by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Four Winds, 1978) A collection of African riddles for children, this collection also has a Bibliography that was helpful in our search for African riddles.
Yes & No : The Intimate Folklore of Africa, by Alta Jablow (Horizon, 1961) A collection of African dilemma tales, proverbs, stories of love, and adult riddles. The introduction to the section on riddles is helpful when one wishes to understand how riddles figure in African life; it is followed by a nice collection of riddles accompanied by their answers.
The Rig Veda - An Anthlogy, selected, translated and annotated by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (Penguin, 1981) This excellent introduction to the oldest of Sanskrit scriptures, has materials about the puzzling cosmological riddles one finds among these ancient hymns.
The Sound of the One Hand, translations by Yoel Hoffman, with an Introduction by Ben-Ami Scharfstein (Sheldon Press, 1975) Hoffman explains, "This book contains all the koans which the Zen novice has to answer...together with their traditional answers." The 1916 Japanese edition of this book caused quite a stir since koans and their answers were supposed to be secrets. However, koan practice was not destroyed and the book is now considered a Zen classic.
Scharfstein's introduction is one of the most exciting things I've read in a long time! Part historical exploration, part personal essay, it conveys a picture of Zen Buddhism and of human thought that genuinely illuminates. ekFICTION
Contemporary fantasy literature abounds with riddling. Here are just a few suggestions for novels you might enjoy:The Hobbit, by J.R. R. Tolkien (1966, still in print) The "prequel" to Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, written as a children's book. In the chapter called "Riddles in the Dark," Bilbo and Gollum play a riddle-game which is "sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it..."
The Riddlemaster of Hed, by Patricia McKillip (Atheneum, 1976; available in Del Rey paperback) A landmark novel of mythic fantasy that explores an unlikely hero's quest for the answers to ancient riddles and his own identity. It includes a wonderful College of Wizards that also turns out Riddlemasters, blurring the boundary between riddling and magic.
The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge (1946, goes in and out of print) "An elegantly written book with the thoughtful, polished air of a Jane Austen gone exquisite" -- Kirkus Reviews. Do you get the feeling reviewers took fantasy more seriously in the 1940's than they do today? Contains some wonderful riddles!
Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner (Wm. Morrow, 1989; available in Tor Books paperback) This World Fantasy Award-winning novel by the host of Sound & Spirit is based on the traditional British ballad of the same name (Child #37). Part of the plot hinges on a riddle game played by the sinister Lords of Elfland. Folk riddles also abound.
"The Death of Raven", by Ellen Kushner, in The Horns of Elfland: An Anthology of Music and Magic, edited by Kushner, Keller & Sherman (Roc/Dutton, 1997). A doomed minstrel tries to set Death a riddle that cannot be answered.
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