Context
The Exeter Book was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register of treasures of worldwide cultural value in 2016. It is one of just four surviving Old English poetry manuscripts, and it is likely the world's earliest surviving books of English poetry. It has been in Exeter since the 11th century, when Bishop Leofric handed it to the Cathedral on his death in 1072, where it has been maintained and cared for ever since. It contains practically all of the Old English riddles that have survived. Many of them have obscene double meanings, and others are still unresolved. Poems and riddles in the Exeter Book cover a range of topics, which reveal a great deal about the Anglo-Saxon outlook,their knowledge of the globe. And it’s a unique way to learn about foreign regions and fascinating monsters beyond their own shores, their morals, religious beliefs, and even their (often edgy) sense of humor, etc. The Exeter Book has served a variety of purposes over the centuries, including as a press for gold and silver leaf, a cutting board, and a glue stand. It's a cultural artifact that is important to all of us. ("The Exeter Book Project | College of Humanities | University of Exeter", 2021) .
The manuscript of this "large collection of old English poetry" was severely damaged in a certain historical period. A total of seven vellums were lost at the beginning and the rest of the text. The first few pages of the existing manuscript were apparently contaminated with a liquid, causing some of the fonts to become blurred. There were many knife marks on the title page, and the last fourteen sheets of vellum were also incomplete as if a burning substance fell on the last page and gradually scorched the other pages. But it is also possible that this is caused by the corrosive effect of moisture. The mutilated state of the manuscript of the poem shows that it had no binding cover for a period of time, although it was put on a cow leather cover from about 1700. Now, this manuscript has been re-bound.