Anglo-Saxon runes
Anglo-Saxon runes or Anglo-Frisian runes are runes that were used by the Anglo-Saxons and Medieval Frisians as an alphabet in their native writing system, recording both Old English and Pre–Old Frisian. Today, the characters are known collectively as the Futhorc from the first six runes and their sound values. The futhorc was a development from the older co-Germanic 24-character runic alphabet, known today as Elder Futhark, expanding to 28 characters in its older form and up to 34 characters in its younger form. In contemporary Scandinavia, the Elder Futhark developed into a shorter 16-character alphabet, today simply called Younger Futhark.
Use of the Anglo-Frisian runes is likely to have started in the 5th century onward and they continued to see use into the High Middle Ages. By the 8th century, they were eventually overtaken by the Old English [Latin alphabet] introduced to Anglo-Saxon England by missionaries at the end of the 6th century. Futhorc runes were no longer in common use by the 11th century, but MS Oxford St John's College 17 indicates that fairly accurate understanding of them persisted into at least the 12th century.
History
The Anglo-Frisian runic row was a 28-type further development of the 24-type Elder Futhark, introducing more runes and reworking some existing runes to fit the period language. Starting from around the 5th century, it was used in Britain and Frisia as part of the diffuse Anglo-Frisian cultured sphere. Around the 8th century, runic writing disappears from Frisia, but use continues in Britain.In the 9th century, the now Anglo-Saxon runic row, was further developed and more runes were introduced, eventually becoming a 33-type runic row with some further unstandardized examples of runes existing. In its late stage, it was largely analogous to the Latin script, and disappeared in its favour during the High Middle Ages.
Usage and commonality is unclear. From at least five centuries of use, fewer than 200 artifacts bearing futhorc inscriptions have survived.
Origin
The origin of the Anglo-Frisian runic row is unknown. There are various theories to its creation. It could have been created in either Frisia or Britain and then exported to the other, alternatively something completely different. One theory proposes that it was developed in Frisia and from there later spread to Britain. Another holds that runes were first introduced to Britain from the mainland where they were then modified and exported to Frisia. Both theories have their inherent weaknesses, and a definitive answer may come from further archaeological evidence.Anglo-Frisian development
The early futhorc was nearly identical to the Elder Futhark, except for the split of [ansuz rune|] a into three variants āc, æsc and ōs, resulting in 26 runes. This was done to account for the new phoneme produced by the Ingvaeonic split of allophones of long and short a. The earliest known instance of the ōs rune may be from the 5th century, on the Undley bracteate. The earliest known instances of the āc rune may be from the 6th century, appearing on objects such as the Schweindorf solidus. The double-barred hægl characteristic of continental inscriptions is first attested as late as 698, on St Cuthbert's coffin; before that, the single-barred variant was used.Anglo-Saxon development
In England, outside of the Brittonic West Country where evidence of Latin and even Ogham continued for several centuries, usage of the futhorc expanded. Runic writing in England became closely associated with the Latin scriptoria from the time of Anglo-Saxon Christianization in the 7th century. In some cases, texts would be written in the Latin alphabet, and þorn and ƿynn came to be used as extensions of the Latin alphabet. Additionally, in texts such as Beowulf and The Exeter Book, Anglo-Saxon runes were sometimes used as ideographic runes alongside the Latin alphabet to abbreviate words; for example, ᛗ was sometimes used to abbreviate "mann". By the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 it was very rare, and it disappeared altogether a few centuries thereafter.Several famous English examples mix runes and Roman script, or Old English and Latin, on the same object, including the Franks Casket and St Cuthbert's coffin; in the latter, three of the names of the Four Evangelists are given in Latin written in runes, but "LUKAS" is in Roman script. The coffin is also an example of an object created at the heart of the Anglo-Saxon church that uses runes. A leading expert, Raymond Ian Page, rejects the assumption often made in non-scholarly literature that runes were especially associated in post-conversion Anglo-Saxon England with Anglo-Saxon paganism or magic.
Letters
The letter sequence and letter inventory of futhorc, along with the actual sounds indicated by those letters, could vary depending on location and time. That being so, an authentic and unified list of runes is not possible.Rune inventory
| Image | Unicode | Name | Name meaning | Transliteration | IPA |
| feh (feoh) | wealth, cattle | f | /f/, | ||
| ur (ūr) | aurochs | u | /u/ | ||
| ðorn (þorn) | thorn | þ | /θ/, Voiced dental fricative| | ||
| os (ōs) | The great god, Woden | o | /o/ | ||
| rada (rād) | riding | r | /r/ | ||
| cen (cēn) | torch | c | /k/, /kʲ/, /tʃ/ | ||
| geofu (gyfu) | gift | g | /ɡ/, Voiced velar fricative|, /j/ | ||
| wyn (wynn) | joy | w | /w/ | ||
| hægil (hægl) | hail | h | /h/, Voiceless velar fricative|, Voiceless palatal fricative| | ||
| næd (nēod) | plight, | n | /n/ | ||
| is (īs) | ice | i | /i/ | ||
| gær (gēar) | year | j | /j/ | ||
| ih (īw) | yew tree | ï | /i/ Voiceless velar fricative|, Voiceless_palatal_fricative| | ||
| peord (peorð) | p | /p/ | |||
| ilcs (eolh?) | |||||
| sygil (sigel) | sun | s | /s/, | ||
| ti (Tīw) | t | /t/ | |||
| berc (beorc) | birch tree | b | /b/ | ||
| eh (eh) | steed | e | /e/ | ||
| mon (mann) | man | m | /m/ | ||
| lagu (lagu) | body of water | l | /l/ | ||
| ing (ing) | Ing | ŋ | /ŋɡ/, /ŋ/ | ||
| oedil (ēðel) | inherited land, native country | œ | /ø/ | ||
| dæg (dæg) | day | d | /d/ | ||
| ac (āc) | oak tree | a | /ɑ(:)/ | ||
| æsc (æsc) | ash tree | æ | /æ(:)/ | ||
| ear (ēar) | ea | /æɑ/ | |||
| yr (ȳr) | y | /y(:)/ |
The sequence of the runes above is based on The first 24 of these runes directly continue the elder futhark letters, and do not deviate in sequence. The manuscripts Codex Sangallensis 878 and Cotton MS have precede.
The names of the runes above are based on Codex Vindobonensis 795, besides the names ing and æsc which come from The Byrhtferth's Manuscript and replace the seemingly corrupted names lug and æs found in Codex Vindobonensis 795. Ti is sometimes named tir or tyr in other manuscripts. The words in parentheses in the name column are standardized spellings.
| Image | UCS | Name | Name meaning | Transliteration | IPA |
| calc | chalk? chalice? sandal? | k | /k/ | ||
| gar | spear | ḡ | /g/, | ||
| cweorð | q | /k/? | |||
| stan | stone | st | /st/ | ||
| ę, ᴇ | /ǝ/? | ||||
| į | /eo/? /io/? | ||||
| īor | beaver? eel? | /io/? | |||
| c̄, k̄ | /k/ |
The runes in the second table, above, were not included in Codex Vindobonensis 795: Calc appears in manuscripts, and epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, the Bramham Moor Ring, the Kingmoor Ring, and elsewhere. Gar appears in manuscripts, and epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross and probably on the Bewcastle Cross. The unnamed rune only appears on the Ruthwell Cross, where it seems to take calc
There is little doubt that calc and gar are modified forms of cen and gyfu, and that they were invented to address the ambiguity which arose from /k/ and /g/ spawning palatalized offshoots. R.I. Page designated cweorð and stan "pseudo-runes" because they appear pointless, and speculated that cweorð was invented merely to give futhorc an equivalent to 'Q'. The ę rune is likely a local innovation, possibly representing an unstressed vowel, and may derive its shape from
Combinations and digraphs
Various runic combinations are found in the futhorc corpus. For example, the sequence ᚫᚪ appears on the Mortain Casket where ᛠ could theoretically have been used.| Combination | IPA | Word | Meaning | Found on |
| ᚩᛁ | /oi/? | ]oin | Lindisfarne Stone II | |
| ᚷᚳ | ~/dʒ/? | blagcmon | Maughold Stone I | |
| ᚷᚷ | ~/dʒ/ | eggbrect | ||
| ᚻᚹ | /ʍ/ | gehwelc | each | Honington Clip |
| ᚻᛋ | /ks/ | wohs | to wax | Brandon Antler |
| ᚾᚷ | /ŋg/ | hring | ring | Wheatley Hill Silver-Gilt Finger-Ring |
| ᛁᚷ | /ij/ | modig | proud/bold/arrogant | Ruthwell Cross |
| ᛇᛋ | /ks/ | BennaREïs | king Benna | |
| ᛋᚳ | /sk/, /ʃ/ | fisc | fish | Franks Casket |
| ᛖᚩ | /eo/, /eːo/ | eoh | Kirkheaton Stone | |
| ᛖᚷ | /ej/ | legdun | laid | Ruthwell Cross |
| ᛖᛇ | ~/ej/, ? | eateïnne | Thornhill Stone II | |
| ᛖᚪ | /æɑ/, /æːɑ/ | eadbald | Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano Graffiti | |
| ᚪᚢ | ~/ɑu/ | saule | soul | Thornhill Stone III |
| ᚪᛁ | /ɑi/ | aib | Oostum Comb | |
| ᚫᚢ | ~/æu/ | dæus | deus | Whitby Comb |
| ᚫᚪ | /æɑ/, /æːɑ/ | æadan | Mortain Casket |
Usage and culture
A rune in Old English could be called a rūnstæf, or simply rūn.Futhorc inscriptions hold diverse styles and contents. Ochre has been detected on at least one English runestone, implying its runes were once painted. Bind runes are common in futhorc, and were seemingly used most often to ensure the runes would fit in a limited space. Futhorc logography is attested to in a few manuscripts. This was done by having a rune stand for its name, or a similar sounding word. In the sole extant manuscript of the poem Beowulf, the ēðel rune was used as a logogram for the word ēðel. Both the Hackness Stone and Codex Vindobonensis 795 attest to futhorc Cipher runes. In one manuscript a writer seems to have used futhorc runes like Roman numerals, writing ᛉᛁᛁ⁊ᛉᛉᛉᛋᚹᛁᚦᚩᚱ, which likely means "12&30 more".
There is some evidence of futhorc rune magic. The possibly magical alu sequence seems to appear on an urn found at Spong Hill in spiegelrunes. In a tale from Bede's Ecclesiastical [History of the English People|Ecclesiastical History], a man named Imma cannot be bound by his captors and is asked if he is using "litteras solutorias" to break his binds. In one Old English translation of the passage, Imma is asked if he is using "drycraft" or "runestaves" to break his binds. Furthermore, futhorc rings have been found with what appear to be enchanted inscriptions for the stanching of blood.
Inscription corpus
The Old English and Old Frisian Runic Inscriptions database project at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, aims at collecting the genuine corpus of Old English inscriptions containing more than two runes in its paper edition, while the electronic edition aims at including both genuine and doubtful inscriptions down to single-rune inscriptions.The corpus of the paper edition encompasses about one hundred objects.
The database includes, in addition, 16 inscriptions containing a single rune, several runic coins, and 8 cases of dubious runic characters. Comprising fewer than 200 inscriptions, the corpus is slightly larger than that of Continental Elder Futhark, but slightly smaller than that of the Scandinavian Elder Futhark.
Runic finds in England cluster along the east coast with a few finds scattered further inland in Southern England. Frisian finds cluster in West Frisia. Looijenga lists 23 English and 21 Frisian inscriptions predating the 9th century.
Frisian
Currently known inscriptions in Anglo-Frisian runes from Frisia include:- Ferwerd combcase, 6th century; me uræ
- Amay comb, c. 600; eda
- Oostyn comb, 8th century; aib kabu / deda habuku
- Toornwerd comb, 8th century; kabu
- Skanomodu solidus, 575–610; skanomodu
- Harlingen solidus, 575–625, hada
- Schweindorf solidus, 575–625, weladu "Weyland"
- Folkestone tremissis, c. 650; æniwulufu
- Midlum sceat, c. 750; æpa
- Rasquert swordhandle, late 8th century; ek mædit oka, "I, Oka, not made mad"
- Arum sword, a yew-wood miniature sword, late 8th century; edæboda
- Westeremden A, a yew weaving-slay; adujislumejisuhidu
- Westeremden B, a yew-stick, 8th century; oph?nmuji?adaamluþ / :wimœ?ahþu?? / iwio?u?du?ale
- Britsum yew-stick; þkniaberetdud / ]n:bsrsdnu; the k has Younger Futhark shape and probably represents a vowel.
- Hantum whalebone plate; :aha:knlu / ded
- Wijnaldum A antler piece; ''zwfuwizw''
English
Currently known inscriptions in Anglo-Frisian runes from England include:- Ash Gilton gilt silver sword pommel, 6th century; emsigimer
- Chessel Down I, 6th century; bwseeekkkaaa
- Chessel Down II silver plate, early 6th century; æko:ori
- Boarley copper disc-brooch, c. 600; ærsil
- Harford brooch, c. 650; luda:gibœtæsigilæ "Luda repaired the brooch"
- West Heslerton copper cruciform brooch, early 6th century; neim
- Loveden Hill urn; 5th to 6th century; reading uncertain, maybe sïþæbæd þiuw hlaw "the grave of Siþæbæd the maid"
- Spong Hill, three cremation urns, 5th century; decorated with identical runic stamps, reading alu.
- Kent II coins, 7th century; reading pada
- Kent III, IV silver sceattas, c. 600; reading æpa and epa
- Suffolk gold shillings, c. 660; stamped with desaiona
- Caistor-by-Norwich astragalus, 5th century; possibly a Scandinavian import, in Elder Futhark transliteration reading raïhan "roe"
- Watchfield copper fittings, 6th century; Elder Futhark reading hariboki:wusa
- Wakerley copper brooch, 6th century; buhui
- Dover brooch, c. 600; þd bli / bkk
- Upper Thames Valley gold coins, 620s; benu:tigoii; benu:+:tidi
- Willoughby-on-the-Wolds copper bowl, c. 600; a
- Cleatham copper bowl, c. 600; edih
- Sandwich/Richborough stone, 650 or earlier; ahabui, perhaps *ræhæbul "stag"
- Whitby I jet spindle whorl; ueu
- Selsey gold plates, 6th to 8th centuries; brnrn / anmu
- St. Cuthbert's coffin, dated to 698
- Whitby II bone comb, 7th century; ''us mæus godaluwalu dohelipæ cy grew on a wild animal"; 9th century.
- Kingmoor Ring
- the Seax of Beagnoth; 9th century ; the only complete alphabet
- Near Fakenham plaque; 8th-11th century lead plaque interpreted as bearing a healing inscription
Related manuscript texts
- Codex Sangallensis 270 — lists runes with their names, and explains how to use certain rune ciphers
- Codex Sangallensis 878 — contains a presentation of Anglo-Saxon runes
- Codex Vindobonensis 795 — contains a description of Anglo-Saxon runes
- Cotton Domitian A.IX — lists runes with their names
- Cotton Otho B.x.165 — contained the Old English rune poem before being destroyed in a fire
- Cotton Vitellius A.XII — lists runes in alphabetical order
- MS Oxford St. John's College 17 — contains a