The Old English Rune Poem

Ac means "oak" in Old English. It was one of the four new runestaves added in the first extension of the Anglo-Frisian rune row.

Its shape appears to be a variation on the Common Germanic runestave *ansuz. Its phonetic value is a.

The oak tree plays a large role in Germanic folklore. It was believed that lightning struck the oak more often than any other tree; hence oak trees were often planted near buildings so that the tree would attract the lightning to itself and would not hit the buildings. It should come as no surprise, then, that the oak was considered sacred to ÞorR (OE Þúnor). In fact, in parts of Northern Europe crosses were even carved in oaks to sanctify them to the Christian God. As a tree sacred to the god of thunder, the oak was also thought to have the power to heal. It was thought that one could walk around an oak and be cured of most illnesses (the disease would be transferred to the first bird to light in its branches).

Oak wood is known for its durability and its strength. For that reason it was often used to build houses, furniture, and other items. The Old English Rune Poem verse makes reference to some of its uses. It is "food for the flesh (its acorns were often prepared as food for people or fed to swine)" and it "fares often/over the gannet's bath (it was used to build ships)." Oak then provides both sustenance and a means of travel. The final lines of the verse, "the ocean finds/whether oak has/noble troth," simply state that the ultimate test of the seaworthiness of a ship or the wood of which it is made is to take it out to sea. Perhaps one of the aspects of the rune ác is testing an individual or an object's mettle, testing whether they have "noble troth."

Æsc means "ash" in Old English. It was one of the four new runestaves added in the first expansion of the Anglo-Frisian futhorc.

Æsc's shape is the original shape belonging to the Common Germanic runestave *ansuz. Its phonetic value is æ (pronounced as the a in ash).

The ash played a central role in Germanic mythology. The World Tree was often called an ash (although it is described with the characteristics of other trees as well). The first man was named AskR ("ash" in Old Norse) and was said to have been made from a  tree. In the superstitions of the Germanic peoples the ash was believed to have had curative powers. In England children were passed through a cleft in an ash tree to cure them of various diseases. Ash rods were also used to cure diseased horses, cattle, and sheep.

In everyday life the ash played an equally important role. Besides providing lumber for houses and other goods, it provided wood for shields, spears, and other implements of war.  It is this that the Old English Rune Poem makes reference to. The ash is a tall tree which is firmly planted in the ground and hold its position, yet as shields and spears it fights off many men. The theme of the verse for æsc appears to be resolution (holding one's place) and defence (fighting off those things which threaten one).

The name ýr  is a bit of a mystery, as it corresponds to no known Old English word. It is perhaps a borrowing from Old Norse ýR, "yew, bow made of yew." Confirming this could be the Old English Rune Poem verse for this rune, which could describe a bow made of yew. Ýr was one of  the four new runes added in the first expansion of the Anglo-Frisian rune row.

By no means do scholars agree on what the verse for  ýr describes. While some believe that it does refer to a bow made of yew, others have theorised that it could refer to a saddle horn or some other gear for one's horse. It seems unlikely, however, that its resemblance to Old Norse ýR is a coincidence and the verse would appear to describe a bow of yew rather well. If ýr does mean "yew, bow made of yew" and that is precisely what the verse is describing, then its meaning could essentially be the same as that of  the rune éoh, which meant "yew."

Regardless, the verse for ýr describes a yew bow perfectly. In ancient times bows were not merely weapons. They could also provides hours of entertainment, whether through archery contests (such as the famous one portrayed in the Robin Hood myth) or hunting. As a man's success in battle often depended upon good weapons, a good bow could to some degree be a source of honour for a noble, allowing him to more efficiently defeat his enemies and defend  himself and his kith and kin. Bows of yew were also things of beauty, often lovingly crafted by bowsmiths to the point of being works of art. Finally, the yew bow was one of the most reliable pieces of equipment a man could own. Yew was known for its strength and durability, so that a bow made of yew would last for years. The rune ýr then involves the joy and honour which comes from owning fine tools, the beauty of a well crafted work, and the steadfastness of the yew. To some degree these are qualities which can also be found in the rune éoh.

Ior is given as iar in the Old English Rune Poem, although as it represents the diphthong io it is perhaps more properly ior. Unfortunately, there appears to be no known Old English word corresponding to either. Elliot notes that the rune's shape resembles that of geár in the Anglo-Frisian rune row, so that it could be a "meaningless development of early Scandinavian *jar, 'year (Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, p. 70).'"

Ior was actually one of the later runestaves added to the Anglo-Frisian futhorc, even though it appears before éar in the Old English Rune Poem. It is what Page refers to as a "pseudo-rune (Page, An Introduction to Old English Runes, pp. 42-43)."  It does not appear in inscriptions, although it is known from writings of the eighth century. It was perhaps the creation of an antiquarian fascinated by the runic script. Indeed, it must be pointed out that Old English had no need for a stave for the dipthong io.

Most scholars assume that the verse for ior refers to an eel or a newt or some other creature, which is as I have translated it here, however, Elliot developed an interesting alternative theory for the verse. He observes that the words ea fixa in the manuscript as it has been passed down to us today has been interpreted by most scholars as a compound meaning "sea fish." Elliot points out that it could instead be "a stream of fishes"--that is, the sea. He further believes that wætre beworpen could be translated as "covered by water." With Elliot's suggestions the verse would then be translated as "Ior is a sea of fishes/and though it enjoys/foods on earth/it has a lovely home/covered by water/where it lives in happiness." In other words, the verse is speaking of the sea, which is always eating its way into the land (Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, pp. 69-70).

Regardless of whether the verse for ior describes an amphibious creature or the ocean, its emphasis appears to be on adaptation. Ior lives in its water, yet takes its food on land. The verse for ior could then be a message that one should be able to adapt to places and situations other than those with one is already familiar. Quite simply, one should be able to take his food on land (somewhere other than home) even if he lives in the sea (home).

Old English éar could mean "ocean, sea, wave" or "earth, soil, gravel." In the instance of  the Old English Rune Poem it appears to be in the latter sense that it is being used. It was one of the four runes added in the first expansion of the Anglo-Frisian rune row.

Its phonetic value is the dipthong éa.

Éar's verse is simple and straight to the point--it is about death and the grave. The first line states that it is "loathsome to every earl." This describes man's fear of the grave, as common then as it is now. The next few lines describe the process of death itself. It is perhaps significant, however, that it includes the words "fruits fall." On the one hand, this points out the fact that man is not the only living thing that dies, fruit falls from the trees as well. On the other hand, as fruits contain the seeds from which new plants grow, it could be a way of stating that without death, there could be no new life. The final half lines, "joy departs/oaths are broken," are simple statements of what happens after one dies. Kinsmen will mourn the dead man, hence their joy departs. The phrase "oaths are broken" is perhaps a direct reference to the verse for mann, which details how men will betray each other when one of them dies. Often in ancient times heirs would battle over property in the wake of a death. In the case of the nobility and royalty, where lands and titles could be at stake, blood was even sometimes shed. To some degree this is still true. All of us have probably known or at least heard of cases in which heirs have contested a will or even brought lawsuits in order to gain what they feel is rightfully theirs. Éar is then a rune of death and all that death entails, including its aftermath.

Calc's name is a bit of a mystery. It could mean "shoe, slipper (from Latin calceus)" or "chalice (from Latin calix)". It could also be a variation of Old English cealc, "chalk."  As it does not appear in the Old English Rune Poem, we will probably never be certain. Its phonetic value is a "hard c" or k.

Calc was one of the runestaves added in the second extension of the Anglo-Frisian futhorc.

Old English gár meant "spear." It was one of the runestaves added in the second extension of the Anglo-Frisian rune row.  It does not have a verse in the Old English Rune Poem. Its phonetic value is a hard g (as in gar).

No Old English word corresponding to the name cweorð can be found, although it corresponds to the Gothic letter name quertra. Both cweorð and quertra would appear to be nonsense rhymes of Old English peorð and Gothic pertra respectively.

Cweorð does not appear in the Old English Rune Poem, perhaps with good reason. It appears to be a pseudo-rune, never appearing in inscriptions but only in latter day manuscripts. Its phonetic value was q (represented in Old English by cw).