Seniors create riddle books

Posted by: Debbie Bowley on Tue, 23 November 2010 01:32:16

Lauralton Hall seniors recently completed a study of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period. Included in the study is The Exeter Book, a collection of manuscripts most likely compiled by monks in approximately 880 A.D. containing Celtic literature from Wales and Ireland as well as Anglo-Saxon riddles. “The riddles were a popular form of party game for the Anglo-Saxons as they gathered around the hearth fires of their mead halls after the evening meal,” stated English teacher Donna Gibson. 

Students created five original riddles using The Exeter Book riddles as models and presented them in book form, many of the booklets with burned or torn pages imitating the burned areas of The Exeter Book. According to Mrs. Gibson, “the students’ books are artful creations decorated with researched Celtic designs and intricate lettering duplicating the ornate patterns found in illuminated manuscripts.”