Gyfu
Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | |
---|---|---|---|
*Gebō | Gyfu | Gār | |
'gift' | 'gift' | "spear" | |
Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | |
Unicode | ᚷ U+16B7 | ᚷ U+16B7 | ᚸ U+16B8 |
Transliteration | g | ȝ | g |
Transcription | g | ȝ, g | g |
IPA | [ɣ] | [g], [ɣ], [ʎ], [j] | [g] |
Position in rune-row | 7 | 7 | 33 |
Gyfu is the name for the g-rune ᚷ in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:[1] | English Translation: |
ᚷ Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs, | Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; |
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is 𐌲 g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark, with a suggested Proto-Germanic name *gebô 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates[2] that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic g in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic *reihs compared to Latin rex (as opposed to the Etruscan alphabet, where /𐌗 had a value of [s]).
The gyfu rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modern mysticism, particularly amongst those interested in Celtic mythology. It's described, for example, in the book The Runic Tarot as a representation of the giving-receiving balance in friendships.[3]
Anglo-Saxon gār rune
In addition to gyfu, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc has the gār rune ⟨ᚸ⟩, named after a species of medieval spear. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in 11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically, gār represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu rune ᚷ.
Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune names ger, ear, ior: due to palatalization in Old English, the original g rune (i.e., the Gyfu rune ⟨ᚷ⟩) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see yogh). The ger unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly[when?] introduced gar rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.
Gār is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in Cotton Domitian A.ix.
See also
- Armanen runes § Gibor, 19th-century pseudo-runes of which the 18th character's name is similar to *gebô
References
- ^ Original poem and translation from the Rune Poem Page Archived 1999-05-01 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ J.H. Looijenga, Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent Ad 150-700, PhD diss. Groningen 1997, p. 56. Download PDF
- ^ The Runic Tarot. Gebo has no murkstave. By Caroline Smith, John Astrop. Page 24. Macmillan, Feb 1, 2005. 9780312321925
External links
- The Futhark on www.ancientscripts.com
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24-type Fuþark
(ca. AD to 9th c.)
28-type Fuþorc
(ca. 5th c. to 9th c.)
33-type Fuþorc
(ca. 8th c. to 12th c.)
16-type Fuþark
(ca. 8th c. to 11th c.)
Stung Fuþark
(ca. 11th c. to 13th c.)
Medieval Fuþark
(ca. 13th c. to 16th c.)
1st types | – | ᚠ | ᚢ | ᚦ | ᚮ | ᚱ | ᚴ | ᛬ | ᚼ | ᚿ | ᛁ | ᛆ | ᛋ | ᛬ | ᛐ | ᛒ | ᛘ | ᛚ | ᛦ | ||||||||||||||||||
f | u w | þ | o | r | k q | h x | n | i j | a | s | t | b | m | l | y | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd types | – | ᚡ | ᚤ | ᚧ | ᚰ | ᚵ | ᚾ | ᛂ | ᛅ | ᛍ | ᛑ | ᛔ | ᛛ | ᛨ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
v | y v | ð | ǫ å | g | n | e | ä | c z | d | p | ʟ | y | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd types | – | ᚯ | ᚶ | ᛀ | ᛎ | ᛕ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ö | ng | ɴ | z c | ᴘ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th types | – | ᛪ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
x | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alphabetical amalgamation | – | ᛆ | ᛒ | ᛍ ᛎ | ᛑ | ᚧ | ᛂ | ᚠ | ᚵ | ᚶ | ᚼ | ᛁ | ᛁ | ᚴ | ᛚ | ᛛ | ᛘ | ᚿ ᚾ | ᛀ | ᚮ | ᚰ | ᛔ | ᛕ | ᚴ | ᚱ | ᛋ | ᛐ | ᚦ | ᚢ | ᚡ ᚤ | ᚢ | ᚴᛋ ᛪ ᚼ | ᚤ ᛦ ᛨ | ᛎ ᛍ | ᚰ | ᛅ | ᚯ |
a | b | c | d | ð | e | f | g | ŋ | h | i | j | k | l | ʟ | m | n | ɴ | o | ǫ | p | ᴘ | q | r | s | t | þ | u | v | w | x | y | z | å | ä | ö |
Dalecarlian alphabet
(ca. 16th c. to 20th c.)
- See also
- Runic inscriptions interactive map
- Runic inscriptions
- Rune Poems
- Runestones
- Runic magic
- Modern runic writing
- Pseudo-runes
- Staveless runes
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