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Anglo-saxon Rune Poem




The rune poems list the letters of a Runic Alphabet with a short verse characterizing each one. Three different rune poems have been preserved, an Iceland ic, a Norwegian and an Anglo-Saxon one. The Icelandic and Norwegian poems both give the order of the sixteen runes of the Younger Futhark ,
:,
with slightly differing letter names, while the Anglo-Saxon poem ( Cotton Otho B.x.165) has
:,
i.e. 29 runes, with an order clearly related to the Scandinavian ones, but with some runes having variant shapes to the Younger Futhark, some taken from the Older Futhark , and some that have no Scandinavian counterpart at all.

There is also a list of rune names in the Abecedarium Nordmannicum , a 9th century manuscript, though it is debatable whether it can be called a poem.


RUNES


Fe

  • Nor . ''Fe'', Icel . ''Fé'', AS ''Feoh'' ᚠ "wealth"


The word ''fe'' for wealth is cognate to English ''fee'' and originally meant "cattle" (German ''Vieh'', Sanskrit ''pashu'').


Ur

  • Nor: ''Ur'' ᚢ " Iron "

  • Icel.: ''Úr'' ᚢ "rain"

  • AS: ''Ur'' ᚢ " Aurochs "


The name of the rune was preserved, but associated with different meanings. The name of Gothic 𐌿 ''u'' is ''urus''.


Þurs

  • Nor./Icel. '' Thurs '' ᚦ "giant"

  • AS ''Þorn'' ᚦ


The only rune to have permanently entered the Latin alphabet, Þ , for the writing of Old English and Icelandic . It was introduced to Icelandic orthography in the 12th Century work '' The First Grammatical Treatise '' (see Icelandic Alphabet ).


As

  • Nor. ''Óss'' ᚬ "estuary"

  • Icel. ''Óss'' ᚬ "one of the Aesir , Odin "

  • AS ''Os'' ᚩ "mouth"

  • AS''Æsc'' ᚫ " As rune.



Reidh

  • Icel./Nor. ''Reidh'', AS ''Rad'' ᚱ "ride, journey"



Kaun

  • Icel./Nor. ''Kaun'' ᚴ " Ulcer "

  • AS ''Cen'' ᚳ "torch"


Similar to the case of ''Ur'', the rune kept its name in Anglo-Saxon, but with a different meaning associated to it.


Hagall

  • Icel./Nor. ''Hagall'' ᚼ "hail"

  • AS ''Hægl'' ᚻ "hail"


The shape of the Anglo-Saxon rune is closer to the Old Futhark ᚺ.


Naud

  • Icel. ''Naud'', Nor. ''Naudhr'', AS ''Nyd'' ᚾ "need"



Is

  • Icel. ''Iss'', Nor. ''Isa'', AS ''Is'' ᛁ "ice



Ar

  • Icel. ''Ár'', Nord. ''Ar'' ᛅ "boon, plenty"



Sol




Tyr

  • Icel./Nor. '' Tyr '' ᛏ

  • AS ''Tiw'' ᛏ " Tiw "



Bjarken

  • Icel./Nor. ''Bjarken''/''Bjarkan'' ᛒ " Birch "

  • AS ''Beorc'' ᛒ "birch" (" Poplar "?)



Madr

  • Icel./Nor. ''Madr''/''Madhr'' ᛘ "man"

  • AS ''Mann'' ᛗ "man"



Logr

  • Icel. ''Lögr'' ᛚ "waterfall"

  • Nor. ''Logr'' ᛚ "water"

  • AS ''Lagu'' ᛚ "ocean"


The three names have similar meanings. The corresponding Gothic letter 𐌻 ''l'' is called ''lagus''.


Yr

  • Icel./Nor. ''Yr'' ᛦ " Yew "


C. f. Anglo-Saxon ''Yr'' ᚣ: one of the additional runes, with the shape a variant of Scandinavian ''Ur''.

There is an Anglo-Saxon rune whose name means "yew": ᛇ ''Eoh''. It is taken from the Old Futhark, and neither its shape nor its sound is related to the Scandinavian ''Yr'' rune.

  • ''Algiz'' rune ᛉ, originally for Proto-Germanic final ''z'', Proto-Norse final ''R'', Old Norse final ''r'' and eventually ''y'' (see Algiz ).



ANGLO-SAXON ONLY RUNES

While the Younger Futhark has reduced the original inventory of 24 runes, the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc has expanded it: to 29 runes in the rune poem, and later to a total of 33.

The fact that some Anglo-Saxon runes were given names of trees (ᛇ ''Eoh'' "yew", ᚪ ''Ac'' "oak", ᚫ ''Æsc'' "ash", c. f. also AS ''thorn'' vs. Norse ''thurs'') may be related to the names of the Ogham signs, all of which are called after trees.


Gyfu, Wynn

  • ᚷ ''Gyfu'' "gift"

  • The rune appears in the Older Futhark with the same shape. The corresponding Gothic letter is 𐌲 ''g'', called ''giba''.


  • ᚹ '' Wynn '' "joy"

  • Also taken from the Older Futhark. Corresponds to Gothic 𐍅 ''w'' ''winja''.



Ger, Eoh, Peordh, Eolh

  • ᛄ ''Ger'' "summer"


Ger corresponds to ᛃ "jera" of the Older Futhark. The corresponding Gothic letter is 𐌾 ''j'', named ''jer''.

  • ᛇ ''Eoh'' " Yew " (see ''Yr'' above, Gothic 𐌴 ''e'' ''aiƕus'')

  • ᛈ '' Peorð ''


Also in the Older Futhark. The meaning of the name is unclear, and apparently related to 𐍀 ''p'' ''pairþra'' of the Gothic Alphabet . It is glossed as:
Peorð byþ symble plega and hlehter / wlancum middum , ðar wigan sittaþ / on beorsele bliþe ætsomne.

:"Peorð is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall."

Etymologically possible, although not very credible, is a meaning "fart" (interpreting the verse in the sense that farts arouse merriment in the banquet hall).


Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne / wexeð on wature, wundaþ grimme / blode breneð beorna gehwylcne / ðe him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.

:"The Eolh-sedge is mostly to be found in a marsh; it grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound, covering with blood every warrior who touches it."

In both shape and position, the rune corresponds to Older Futhark ᛉ "algiz". The rune is a special case insofar that the reconstructed name is not acrophonic, because the sound expressed by it in the Old Futhark only appears word-final: continuing Proto-Germanic ''z'', it is transliterated as Proto-Norse ''R'', becoming Old Norse ''r''. For this reason, the rune became superfluous and was dropped in the Young Futhark, while it was assigned a new sound value in Anglo-Saxon.

This rune suffers the same translation problems of Algiz but may, like algiz, mean ''Elk''. Elk-Sedge may be, considering the description, a form of Sawgrass .


Eh

  • ᛖ ''Eh'' "horse"


Also in the Older Futhark.


Ing, Ethel, Daeg

  • ᛝ '' Ing ''


Corresponds to Older Futhark ᛜ "ingwaz".

  • ᛟ '' Eþel '' "estate"


Appears as the final rune (after ᛞ) in the Older Futhark. Gothic 𐍉 ''o'' ''oþal''.

ᛞ '' Daeg '' "day"

Also in the Older Futhark. Gothic 𐌳 ''d'' ''dags''.


Ac, Ash, Yr, Ior, Ear

Five additional runes expressing Anglo-Saxon vowels:

  • ᚪ ''Ac'' "oak"

  • ᚫ ''Æsc'' "ash" (C. f. ''As'' above)

  • ᚣ ''Yr''

  • See also ''Yr'' above.

Yr byþ æþelinga and eorla gehwæs / wyn and wyrþmynd, byþ on wicge fæger / fæstlic on færelde, fyrdgeatewa sum.

:"Yr is a source of joy and honour to every prince and knight; it looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey."

  • ᛡ ''Ior'' Possibly a form of fish; Also has been translated as ''Serpent''.

  • Iar byþ eafix and ðeah a bruceþ / fodres on foldan, hafaþ fægerne eard / wætre beworpen, ðær he wynnum leofaþ.

    : "Iar is a river fish and yet it always / feeds on land; it has a fair abode / encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness."

    • ᛠ ''Ear'' "grave"



    ABECEDARIUM NORDMANNICUM

    A short poem found in the Codex Sangallensis 878 , kept in the St. Gallen Abbey , probably originating in Fulda , written down in the 9th Century .

    Feu forman / Ur after / Thuris thriten stabu / Os ist imo oboro / Rat end os uuritan / Chaon thanne / Hagal / Naut habet / Is / Ar / endi Sol / {Link without Title} / Brica / endi Man midi / Lagu the leohto / Yr al bihabet



    SEE ALSO



    EXTERNAL LINKS


    • http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/rune_poems.html

    • http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html

    • http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a12.html



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