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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

601–700

The Seventh Century

1 work

c. 680–690

Latin

The Riddles

Enigmata

Aldhelm · c. 639–709

A hundred verse riddles in which ordinary things — a candle, a bookcase, silkworms, a storm — speak in the first person about what they are.

Anglo-Saxon · PoetryRead elsewhere

901–1000

The Tenth Century

1 work

c. 960–990

Old English

The Exeter Book

Anonymous

The largest surviving collection of Old English poetry: the Christ poems, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and ninety-odd riddles ranging from the devout to the frankly obscene.

Anglo-Saxon · AnthologyRead elsewhere