Enigmata Saxonica Nuper Inventa Duo

Enigmata Saxonica Nuper Inventa Duo is a shared title of two Old English poems written by J.R.R. Tolkien.The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, Volume II: Reader's Guide, pg. 252 (entry "Enigmata Saxonica Nuper Inventa Duo")
==First riddle==
:Meolchwitum sind marmanstane
:wagas mine wundrum frætwede;
:…
:Milky-white are my marble
:walls wondrously adorned;
==Second riddle==
:Hæfth Hild Hunecan hwite tunecan,
:ond swa read rose hæfth rudige nose;
:…
:Hild Hunic has a white tunic,
:and like a red rose is her ruddy nose;
==Etymology==
Enigmata Saxonica Nuper Inventa Duo is a Latin phrase meaning "two Saxon riddles newly discovered".
==Background==
Tolkien wrote these two riddles no later than June 26 of 1922, when Tolkien sent a version of the riddles to Henry Bradley for entertainment purposes. The riddles were modeled after traditional early English sources such as the ones found in the Exeter Book. They were both first published in June of 1923 on page 20 of A Northern Venture: Verses by Members of the Leeds University English School Association. In The Annotated Hobbit, Douglas A. Anderson suggested that he first riddle may be based on the rhyme known as 'In Marble Halls' while the second riddle seems to have been based on the nursery rhyme 'Little Nancy Etticoat / In a white petticoat'.
==References==
Category:Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien