The Old English Rune Poem

Old English hægl simply means "hail." It is the same in the Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic Rune Poems (hagall). The words derive ultimately from Proto-Germanic *halgaloz.

The original shape of hægl had but a single bar through the middle, later developing two bars in the Anglo-Frisian rune row. Its phonetic value could be the aspirate h of Modern English, a palatal as in German ich, or a velar as in Scottish loch.

The Old English Rune Poem, the Old Icelandic Rune Poem, and the Old Norwegian Rune Poem may well agree on hægl more than any other rune. The Old English Rune Poem states "hail is the whitest corn." Similarly, the Old Icelandic Rune Poem states that "hail is cold corn." Finally, the Old Norwegian Rune Poem states that "hail is the coldest of corns." The metaphor of hail as a corn or a seed of grain in all three rune poems may well be significant. A corn or a seed is that part of a plant from which new plants can grow . This seems to fit in quite well with the Old English Rune Poem verse which refers to the transformation of hail, after having whirled from the sky and being tossed by the wind, into water. It also fits quite well with the Old Norwegian Rune Poem verse for hægl, which states that "Christ created the world in olden times (it must be noted that in Runelore Edred Thorsson theorised that the Christ in the verse was originally Hropt, a byname of Óðinn)." Hægl could then be a rune of transformation, growth, and creation, representing the shift of someone or something into a different state (as in hail turning to water).
 

Old English nied means "need, oppression, affliction." The Scandinavian name of the rune  (given in the Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian Rune Poems), nauðR, meant "need, difficulty, distress." Both words derive from a Proto-Germanic *nauþiz.

The phonetic value of nied is n.

The verse for nied is a fairly straight forward one. "Nied is narrow on the chest." This brings to mind the shortness of breath or, in extreme cases, chest pains that most human beings experience when faced with extreme stress. The verse goes onto say that nied "often becomes to the children of men/to help and to save however/if they listen to it soon." The message of these lines appears to be to remain alert to any problems or possible problems in one's  life and take care of them before they become worse. Often an oddly shaped mole could turn out to be cancerous or mounting debts could lead one to bankruptcy. By getting the mole examined by a physician or changing one's spending habits one can avoid much bigger problems later on. Nied can then act as a wake up call for individuals to take care of that which must be taken care of.

Old English ís meant "ice" Its cognates in the Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian Rune Poems (íss and ís respectively) meant the same. All three derive form Proto-Germanic *isa-.

The phonetic value of  ís is a long e, as in modern English see, although in the Younger Futhark it could also denote e and j (as in German ja).

The rune verse for ís essentially describes that substance. Anyone who lives in an area where the winters are sometimes accompanied by ice can readily testify that it is cold and slippery. Crossing ice can be dangerous and only a few can say that they have never fallen while doing so. At the same time, however, ice can be very beautiful. As the Rune Poem says, "a floor of frost wrought is fair to see." The message of the verse for ís then appears to be that things which are beautiful are also sometimes dangerous.
 

Old English géar is simply the antecedent of our word year. Its Old Norse cognate, ár (which appears as the name of this rune in the Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian Rune Poems), not only meant "year," but "a fruitful year" or "a good harvest." Both géar and ár derive from Proto-Germanic *jera-, which may have originally denoted "harvest, fertile season." All three Rune Poems make reference to abundance or fruitfulness, so that much of the word's original meaning shines through the three rune poem verses on this rune.

In the Anglo-Frisian rune row,  géar was changed from its original shape. Its original phonetic value (which it retained in Old English) was j as in German ja. Old Norse lost the initial j before the vowel á, so that the stave came to represent its new initial sound, á.

Of all the verses in the Old English Rune Poem, the one for géar shows the most Christian tampering. The ancient Germanic peoples probably did not see one god as letting the earth give  fruits to rich and poor alike. Instead a number of deities (among them Yngvi FreyR, god of fertility,  and ÞórR, god of thunder) appear to have had an impact on the fertility of plants. Regardless, the verse is very consistent with those of the Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic Rune Poems. While in the Old English verse it is "man's hope," it is "the profit of men" in the Old Norwegian Rune Poem and "the profit of all men" in the Old Icelandic Rune Poem. And while the Old English Rune Poem makes reference to the earth's bright fruits, the Old Icelandic Rune Poem makes reference to "a good summer" and "a ripe field." Despite the Christian attitude of portions of the verse, it seems clear that géar is a rune of fruitfulness and abundance.

Old English éoh meant "yew." The rune does not appear in the Younger Futhark, although the Old Norse cognate of éoh, ýR (which also meant "yew" and could also mean "a bow of yew"), is given as the name of the state corresponding to Old English eolhsecg. The Gothic letter name was uuær, which could indicate that éoh ws this particular rune's original name. Both éoh and ýR derive from Proto-Germanic *eihwaz.

The phonetic value of  éoh has been debated by scholars for years. Elliot states that it was "probably an intermediate high frontal vowel lying between e and i, at one time a distinct phoneme, although in some inscriptions it represents short or long i (Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, p. 16.)."" In Old English it was eventually applied to several sounds for which other runestaves were lacking, such as the yogh (represented here by a g) in almegttig as it appears on the Ruthwell Cross.

The yew played a very important role in the lives of the Germanic peoples. Its wood is among the hardest and most durable to be found. This made it the ideal material for bows, as any follower of the Robin Hood legend knows. Yew was often used for making runic talismans, as a few such items have been unearthed. It was perhaps believed that yew wood had the power to avert bad luck or evil spirits. It should come as no surprise then that yews are commonly found in churchyards and graveyards throughout northern Europe. This could well be a survival of a heathen custom. Many believe that the tree which stood outside the ancient  temple at Uppsala was a yew. It was described as a large tree which was always green,  in the winter as it was the summer. Both the size of the tree and the fact that it was an evergreen makes it quite possible that it was a yew. Some have even argued that the World Tree was viewed as a yew, although it must be pointed out that it was also said to bear fruit as a fruit tree would and was often described in poetry as an ash (quite possibly the World Tree has characteristics of all trees).

The verse for éoh brings to mind a tough tree rooted firmly in the earth, one that is particularly prized on individuals' estates. Given the position of the yew in the folklore of the Germanic peoples (it was used to make bows and may have been believed to ward off evil spirits), éoh is perhaps a rune of protection or defence. Indeed, the rune verse for éoh even refers to it as "the guardian of fire."

It is perhaps notable that the rune names wynn and éþel appear in the verse for éoh. This could indicate that the meanings of the three rune are somehow interrelated. To some degree this only makes common sense. One's security, protection from that which might harm him, plays a large role in one's happiness--insecure people are rarely happy and vice versa. As a defencive rune, then, éoh would naturally be linked to joy or happiness in a way. Similarly, the defence of one's home, of one's éþel, is very important if one wishes to keep that home. The rune éoh would then be linked to the concept of one's home or one's estate as well.
 

The name peorð is something of a mystery. The stave does not appear in the Younger Futhark, so neither the Old Icelandic or the Old Norwegian Rune Poems can be of any help. The Gothic letter name was pertra, which appears to be a cognate of peorð. Unfortunately we don't know its meaning either. Based on its verse in the Old English Rune Poem, several scholars have advanced theories as to its meaning. Some have thought it could mean "chess piece" or "dice cup." Others have theorised "dance." W. Jungandreas theorised that it could refer to archery in the hall. Yet others have suggested that it refers to yet other forms of entertainment. Regardless, peorð may have derived from a Proto-Germanic *perþ-, which Elliot theorised may have come from a foreign source (possibly Celtic) as initial p was rare in Germanic and there was no native word beginning with this sound important enough for a rune name (Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, p. 67.).

Regardless of its meaning of the word peorð, we can perhaps assume the meaning of the rune peorð from its verse in the Old English Rune Poem, which emphasises camaraderie among men. The verse brings to mind warriors playing some game or engaging in some sort of entertainment together, an experience with which anyone who has gone to a tavern, a concert, or a sporting event with close friends can readily identify. Peorð is then perhaps a rune of camaraderie, of enjoying the company of others in activities that all involved consider to be fun.

The name of this stave has always been a matter of debate among scholars. The Old English Rune Poem actually gives its name as eolhx. The word would appear to derive form Old English eolh, "elk." Some scholars have then theorised that Proto-Germanic *alhiz, "elk," could have been the original name for this rune. This certainly seems possible. The elk would have been an animal familiar to the Germanic peoples and one which they would have hunted and killed for food. As Page points out, the second half of the Old English Rune Poem verse could even refer to an animal (Page, An Introduction to English Runes, p. 80). Of course, whether this would be significant enough reason to name a rune for an animal is a matter of debate.

Other scholars have pointed out that the word eolhx could ultimately derive from Proto-Germanic *algiz, "protection, defence," from which Old English ealh "temple, sanctuary" and ealgian "to defend, to protect," also derive. This in turn could link the name to the divine brothers called the Alcis whom Tacitus in Germania says were worshipped by the Naharvali--the word Alcis possibly stemming from the same root. Unfortunately, evidence for this argument is rather thin, so that is only remains possible, but not probable.

Regardless, the Old English Rune Poem verse is clearly describing a plant which lives in the marsh. It appears safe to assume, then, that eolhx is actually eolhsecg. In earlier Old English eolhsecg is used to gloss papiluus (perhaps papyrus) and among the spellings of the word is eolhxsecg. Eolhx could then simply be an abbreviated form of eolhsecg.

At any rate, the Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic Rune Poems appear to be of little help here, both giving the rune's name as ýR, "yew," the name of the thirteenth rune of the Anglo-Frisian futhorc. Eolhsecg's original name may then remain a mystery.

Eolhsecg's original phonetic value may have been a cross between a z and an r--the sound found in Proto-Germanic inflexional endings. Both the phoneme and the inflexional endings were lost in Old English , whereupon it came to be used for the Latin x.

On the surface the verse for eolhsecg appears to have a  message very similar to that of þorn--one should not attempt to take hold of something which could well be dangerous.  It must also be pointed out, however, that the verse for eolhsecg also tells us where its home is (most often in the fen) and that it grows in water. In this verse, then, the emphasis could well be on the defences of  the plant. That is, for one to grab eolhsecg and thus be burned with blood, one must first invade its watery home in the fen. The individual attempting to grab the plant could then be considered an intruder and could have what was coming to him when he is wounded grimly. Eolhsecg could then be a defencive rune. This would give it meaning very similar to that of  éoh, which could explain why in the Younger Futhark it bears what must have been éoh's original Old Norse name (ýR).

Old English sigel meant "sun." Its name in the Younger Futhark is its Old Norse cognate, sól. Its phonetic value is s.

The verse for sigel is simple and straight forward. Seamen always hope for sun when they travel over the waves. This is for obvious reasons--sailing on a sunny day presents far fewer dangerous than faring forth amidst storms. Beyond the obvious fact that the seas are much calmer, visibility is also much better. Though they do not make reference to the sea, the other two rune poems are also positive in outlook with regards to the rune sigel. The Old Norwegian Rune Poem calls it "the light of the land," while the Old Icelandic Rune Poem calls it "the clouds' shield/and a shining glow." Sigel is then perhaps the rune of the light, the security, and the warmth that accompanies a sunny day.