Wrætlic’s documented semantic range encompasses a number of the aesthetic qualities possessed by exquisite objects. Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller offer two definitions for this adjective: (I) “wondrous, curious” and (II) “of wondrous excellence, beautiful, noble, excellent, elegant.” Wrætlic arose from the noun wræt, which means “a work of art, a jewel, an ornament,” this noun’s senses directly and clearly informing Definition II of the adjective form. John Frow explains the reasoning behind Definition I of wrætlic: this adjective—by virtue of its relationship to wræt—“has the sense of something skillfully wrought, hence wondrous, curious, or rare.” McFadden argues that “the hint of strangeness” figures into wræt’s semantic range, as well, and H. R. Ellis Davidson similarly maintains that “wræt is a word which could be used of any curious or beautiful piece of craftsmanship” (Bosworth-Toller “wrætlic” I, II; “wræt”; Frow
37; McFadden “Raiding, Reform, and Reaction” 336; Davidson 133-34). The Bosworth and Toller definitions for wrætlic omit any explicit reference to highly-wrought objects, which results in a distancing of the adjective from its original connection to such fine items. In other words, the two definitions lead to the expectation that a wrætlic thing can be “wondrous,” “curious,” “of wondrous excellence,” “beautiful,” “noble,” “excellent,” or “elegant” in a way that might have very little if anything to do with exceptional craftwork items. However, in the Exeter Book, wrætlic frequently does invoke wræt’s specific signification (see below). This vital link will prove to be highly-pertinent to the consideration of the crafted aspects of the Panther’s, Whale/Asp-Turtle’s, and Phoenix’s respective bodies.
Wrætlic notably occurs a large number of times in the Exeter Book, describing an array of riddle-objects and providing a rich opportunity for an investigation of the way in which this adjective typically functions in the codex. In fact, the Exeter Book accounts for thirty-two of wrætlic’s forty-nine instances in Old English writings. Nineteen of its instances in this codex occur in sixteen of the Riddles; hence, the Riddles contain over one-third of this adjective’s total instances in Old English writings and more than half of its instances in the Exeter Book. The three beast narratives account for ten of wrætlic’s remaining instances in the Exeter Book—the adjective occurs three times in The Panther, once in The Whale, and six times in The Phoenix. In other words, one-fifth of the instances of wrætlic in Old English writings and just under one-third of its instances in the Exeter Book occur in connection with the three creatures (Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus “wrætlic”). As I will demonstrate, wrætlic twice describes the Panther’s body, twice describes the Phoenix’s body, and links two of the Whale/Asp-Turtle’s remarkable physical capabilities in a comparative relationship; a close investigation of this word in the three accounts therefore holds considerable potential for shedding light on these wondrous
animals’ physical natures. No critic has commented upon the concentration of instances of wrætlic in the three beast narratives or investigated exactly what this word signifies regarding the animals’ wondrous bodies.
In contrast, a few critics have commented on wrætlic’s appearances in the Exeter Book Riddles. Emily Thornbury states that “the ic, the detached, bemused observer who finds all things wrætlic, is a common persona in the Old English riddles” (70). We may infer from Thornbury’s comment that a precise understanding of wrætlic’s meaning would contribute to a rich scholarly engagement with the Riddles. Although Thornbury does not further discuss this adjective, Frow mentions its high incidence in the Exeter Book Riddles and then proceeds to explain why he translates it as “curious thing” in one Riddle (see above for his discussion of the requisite senses of wrætlic). The “curious thing” is a key—the Riddle’s answer. Frow’s choice of “curious thing” for wrætlic (he supplies the implied noun, “thing”) in part arises from the
Riddle’s focus upon “the material thingness of this object” (37). Wrætlic, in other words, constitutes an important part of the poet’s strategy in calling the reader’s attention to this particular item’s very existence and nature as a wrought object. This adjective likely serves a similar purpose in a number of the remaining Riddles; for example, in Riddles 53, 57, 24, 67, and 21, this adjective respectively describes a highly-wrought scabbard /cross, chalice, bible,
shepherd’s pipe, and bow. Artfully-worked gold adorns the first three of these wrætlic objects, silver ornamentation also embellishes the scabbard/cross, and jewels bedeck the elegantly- shaped shepherd’s pipe (Williamson 228-30, 115, 119, 84, 129, 81). Clearly, the riddler displays the tendency to use wrætlic to describe the types of items signified by wræt. Frow’s
in Riddles 53, 57, 24, and 67 function specifically to foreground each item’s existence and nature as an exquisite item of smithwork. In fact, the key discussed by Frow also is just such an object.
For wrætlic to perform this foregrounding in these particular Exeter Book Riddles raises the possibility of it operating similarly when describing the very same codex’s Panther,
Whale/Asp-Turtle, and Phoenix. The respective research of several critics opens the door to this adjective moreover actually indicating a conflation of highly-wrought metal object and living thing in the Riddles. As mentioned in this chapter’s Introduction, Tiffany and Williamson concur that “the riddle produces a complex object—a ‘riddle-creature.’” Williamson further discusses these “monsters [that] inhabit the world of the Old English riddles,” asserting that the “monsters” arise from “the crossing of categories” in each riddle (Tiffany 79; Williamson 26, 38, 41).
McFadden looks at wrætlic’s role in depicting these so-called “riddle-creatures” and “monsters,” first explaining that wræt “includes both the idea of artistry as well as the hint of strangeness; the implication of artificially created wonder suggests the verbal manipulations that have elevated an ordinary object into something strange and unfamiliar.” McFadden then reasons that the oft- occurring phrase wrætlic wiht in the Riddles therefore denotes an “ornamental, artistic, or wondrous being” (McFadden “Raiding, Reform, and Reaction” 335-36). By offering the translations “ornamental being” and “artistic being,” McFadden allows for the possibility that wrætlic specifically describes a riddle-creature that not only is marvelous, but also possesses a dual nature—simultaneously existing as an exquisite object and a living creature. If wrætlic conveys the idea of “artificially created wonder” and describes “ornamental beings” or “artistic beings” in the Exeter Book Riddles, then it likely denotes such qualities—artificiality,
ornamentality, and artistic flourishes—in the bodies of the Panther, Whale/Asp-Turtle, and Phoenix, effectively indicating these bodies to be “created wonders” from the hands of highly-
skilled artisans. In other words, the three beasts, too, exist as “ornamental beings” and “artistic beings” in the larger world of the Exeter Book.