Tiddley-Bits tea

Tiddley-Bits tea

Friday 6 March 2015

{quotable thursdays}


Today's quote is a medieval riddle:

An enemy ended my life, took away
My bodily strength; then he dipped me
In water and drew me out again,
And put me in the sun where I soon shed
All my hair. The knife’s sharp edge
Bit into me once my blemishes had been scraped away;
Fingers folded me and the bird’s feather
Often moved across my brown surface,
Sprinkling useful drops; it swallowed the wood dye
(Part of the stream) and again travelled over me,
Leaving black tracks. Then a man bound me,
He stretched skin over me and adorned me
With gold; thus I am enriched by the wondrous work
Of smiths, wound about with shining metal….

(trans. K. Crossley-Holland, The Exeter Book Riddles, Penguin Classics, revised edition 1993- I found it on the web here))

Can you guess what it is?
It is a book! Of course in the Middle Ages books were made from animal skin (made into parchment).
{Antonello da Messina, St Jerome in His Study, National Gallery, London. Wikimedia commons)

I realise that this is a day late, but yesterday was World Book Day and I had a very busy day of back to back meetings so couldn't get up a quote but wanted to make sure I celebrated books!
If you read my blog regularly you'll know I love books!
{reading}

Happy Reading!
xo
L

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