Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Acknowledgments vii
4. Abbreviations ix
5. Exeter Book Riddle Numbers: A Comparative Chart xi
6. Introduction: Old English Literature and Humour 1
7. Chapter One. Risible Riddles and Witty Wisdom: The Appeal of Playful Puzzles 27
8. Chapter Two. Laughing at Letters: Runic Riddles and Riddling Runes 59
9. Chapter Three. Metrical Mirth: Sonorous Sounds and Rambunctious Rhymes 93
10. Chapter Four. Heroic Humour: Comic Insouciance and Embarrassments of Etiquette 119
11. Chapter Five. Playing with Parody to Comic Effect 151
12. Chapter Six. Homiletic Humour: Christian Laughter and Clerical Satire 186
13. Chapter Seven. Hagiographic Humour: Decorous Delight and Full-Throated Funniness 227
14. Chapter Eight. Relishing Romance: Horror and Happiness in Apollonius of Tyre 283
15. Conclusion 297
16. Bibliography 307
17. Index 337