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 |
Gyfuis the name for theg-runeᚷin theAnglo-Saxonrune poem,meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:[1] | English Translation: |
|
ᚷGẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs,
|
Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
|
The corresponding letter of theGothic Alpha betis 𐌲g,calledgiba.The same rune also appears in theElder Futhark,with a suggestedProto-Germanicname*gebô'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates[2]that the rune is directly derived from LatinΧ,the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanicgin the 1st century, e.g., Gothic*reihscompared to Latinrex(as opposed to theEtruscan Alpha bet,where
/𐌗 had a value of[s]).
Thegyfurune is sometimes used as a symbol within modernmysticism,particularly amongst those interested inCeltic mythology.It's described, for example, in the bookThe Runic Tarotas a representation of the giving-receiving balance infriendships.[3]
Anglo-Saxongārrune[edit]
In addition togyfu,theAnglo-Saxon futhorchas thegārrune⟨ᚸ⟩,named after a species ofmedieval spear.It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in 11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically,gārrepresents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu runeᚷ.
Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune namesger,ear,ior:due to palatalization in Old English, the originalgrune (i.e., theGyfurune⟨ᚷ⟩) could express either /j/ or /g/ (seeyogh). Thegerunambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly[when?]introducedgarrune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.
Gāris the 33rd and final rune in the row as given inCotton DomitianA.ix.
See also[edit]
- Armanen runes § Gibor,19th-centurypseudo-runesof which the 18th character's name is similar to*gebô
References[edit]
- ^Original poem and translation from theRune Poem PageArchived1999-05-01 at theWayback 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[edit]
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