History of the Riddle
The beginings
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The history of riddles and the history of humans go hand in hand. As soon as the humans of ages ago had developed a written history for us to study today, they have written down riddles for us to decipher.
The first known existence of riddles was from an ancient Babylonian School text that dates back to 1700 BCE. When they were first discovered by scholars, the riddles in these texts were first identified by the fact that they made no contextual sense and that they had confusing rhetoric. The riddles in these texts did not fit in with the rest of the verbiage; they were questions without answers.
Some examples of them are here:
1) "My knees hasten, my feet do not rest, a shepherd without pity drives me to pasture"
2) "You went and took the enemy's property; the enemy came and took your property"
3) "Who becomes pregnant without conceiving, who becomes fat without eating?"
4) "It is clear that we have here riddles from oral tradition that a teacher has put into a schoolbook."
The answers to these questions can be guessed, but that it all. The answers have been lost to the test of time. We will never know what these Babylonian teachers meant nor if the students were even able to solve them.
Why they would write down these nonsensical phrases, we can only ask ourselves the same questions about today’s riddles; we do it to tease the mind. They wanted to task their peers with questions that would make them think.
From the very first riddles to the riddles of ancient Greece to the riddles of today, why do people continue to create riddles? Now that is something that we may never know.
The first known existence of riddles was from an ancient Babylonian School text that dates back to 1700 BCE. When they were first discovered by scholars, the riddles in these texts were first identified by the fact that they made no contextual sense and that they had confusing rhetoric. The riddles in these texts did not fit in with the rest of the verbiage; they were questions without answers.
Some examples of them are here:
1) "My knees hasten, my feet do not rest, a shepherd without pity drives me to pasture"
2) "You went and took the enemy's property; the enemy came and took your property"
3) "Who becomes pregnant without conceiving, who becomes fat without eating?"
4) "It is clear that we have here riddles from oral tradition that a teacher has put into a schoolbook."
The answers to these questions can be guessed, but that it all. The answers have been lost to the test of time. We will never know what these Babylonian teachers meant nor if the students were even able to solve them.
Why they would write down these nonsensical phrases, we can only ask ourselves the same questions about today’s riddles; we do it to tease the mind. They wanted to task their peers with questions that would make them think.
From the very first riddles to the riddles of ancient Greece to the riddles of today, why do people continue to create riddles? Now that is something that we may never know.
Development of literary riddles
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Riddles have continued to be made throughout the ages, but they have evolved alongside our cultures. With the publications of books becoming more widespread after the 15th century, riddles made their way into novels. From children's stories to best selling novels, riddles have made their way through the ages by way of papered escorts: books.
"The Riddle"
One example of a simple story comes from the collection of the Bothers Grimm. In their anthology of children's tales, there is one with the name of "The Riddle". It is a story of a Prince and his servant that go on a journey. They are plagued by a witch and her poison while in a dark forest. While they did not consume the poison, their horse died due to it and the pair killed the raven that was eating the horse's corpse so that they could eat later. They eventually arrived at an inn, but little did they know that it was a robbers' den. When the robbers returned, the robbers decided to kill the Prince and his servant, but wanted to have a meal first. They ate the crow and quickly died due to the poison in the bird's body.
The unfortunate duo left the inn and soon arrive in a town where a princess promised to marry the man who can tell her a riddle that she was unable to solve. The prince went up and told her "What slew none, but slew twelve". She was unable to solve it, but she did not give up. She tried and eventually successfully cheated her way into finding the answer by sneaking into the prince's chambers at night and questioning him while he was asleep. However she did not know that he was still awake. When he accused her of cheating and proved it with a robe that she left behind, the judge announced that they would wed.
"The Riddle"
One example of a simple story comes from the collection of the Bothers Grimm. In their anthology of children's tales, there is one with the name of "The Riddle". It is a story of a Prince and his servant that go on a journey. They are plagued by a witch and her poison while in a dark forest. While they did not consume the poison, their horse died due to it and the pair killed the raven that was eating the horse's corpse so that they could eat later. They eventually arrived at an inn, but little did they know that it was a robbers' den. When the robbers returned, the robbers decided to kill the Prince and his servant, but wanted to have a meal first. They ate the crow and quickly died due to the poison in the bird's body.
The unfortunate duo left the inn and soon arrive in a town where a princess promised to marry the man who can tell her a riddle that she was unable to solve. The prince went up and told her "What slew none, but slew twelve". She was unable to solve it, but she did not give up. She tried and eventually successfully cheated her way into finding the answer by sneaking into the prince's chambers at night and questioning him while he was asleep. However she did not know that he was still awake. When he accused her of cheating and proved it with a robe that she left behind, the judge announced that they would wed.
Riddles in the Dark
In the novel "The Hobbit", by J.R.R. Tolkien, the characters Bilbo and Gollum have a battle of wits with riddles to determine the fate of Bilbo; it was to decide whether he would be escorted out of the labyrinth under the mountain or be eaten by Gollum. Some of the riddles in this part of the book are listed below.
In the novel "The Hobbit", by J.R.R. Tolkien, the characters Bilbo and Gollum have a battle of wits with riddles to determine the fate of Bilbo; it was to decide whether he would be escorted out of the labyrinth under the mountain or be eaten by Gollum. Some of the riddles in this part of the book are listed below.
Gollum
What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees Up, up, up it goes, And yet never grows? Answer: Mountain Gollum Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters. . . Answer: Wind Gollum It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter. Answer: Dark Gollum Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking Answer: Fish Gollum This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down. Answer: Time |
Bilbo
Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still. Answer: Teeth Bilbo An eye in a blue face Saw an eye in a green face. 'That eye is like to this eye' Said the first eye, 'But in low place Not in high place.' Answer: Sun shining on daisies Bilbo A box without hinges, key or lid, Yet golden treasure inside is hid. Answer: Egg Bilbo No-legs lay on one-leg, two legs sat near on three legs, four legs got some. Answer: Fish on a little one-legged table, man at table sitting on a three-legged stool, the cat gets the bones Bilbo What have I got in my pocket? Answer: The One Ring |