The name of the website – ferende gæst or ‘travelling spirit’ – is taken from the last two words of an Anglo-Saxon riddle which appears in The Exeter Book, one of the four great collections of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is kept, as it has been since the 11th century, in the library of Exeter Cathedral. The answer to the riddle in question is generally taken to be ‘swan’. Hence the choice.
Hrægl min swigað þonne ic hrusan trede
oþþe þa wic buge oþþe wado drefe
hwilum mec ahebbað ofer hæleþa byht
hyrste mine and þeos hea lyft
and mec þonne wide wolcna strengu
ofer folc byreð frætwe mine
swogað hlude and swinsiað
torhte singað þōnne ic getenge ne beom
flode and foldan ferende gæst
Silent is my dress when I tread on the ground
Or stay in the city or stir on the waters
Sometimes I am borne over the dwellings of men
by my garments and the lofty air
and then far by the wind’s strength
over people my ornaments
resound loudly make melody
and sing clearly when I do not touch
earth and water a travelling spirit