Eihwaz
The rune ᛇ
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Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English |
---|---|---|
*Ē 2 haz / *Ē 2 waz | Ēoh | |
" yew " | ||
Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc |
Unicode |
ᛇ
U+16C7
|
|
Transliteration | ï | ï |
Transcription | ï | ï |
IPA | [iː], [ç]? | [iː], [x], [ç] |
Position in
rune-row |
13 |
Eiwaz or Eihaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the rune ᛇ , coming from a word for " yew ". Two variants of the word are reconstructed for Proto-Germanic, *īhaz ( *ē 2 haz , from Proto-Indo-European *eikos ), continued in Old English as ēoh (also īh ), and *īwaz ( *ē 2 waz , from Proto-Indo-European *eiwos ), continued in Old English as īw (whence English yew ). The latter is possibly an early loan from the Celtic, compare Gaulish ivos , Breton ivin , Welsh ywen , Old Irish ēo . The common spelling of the rune's name, " Eihwaz ", combines the two variants; strictly based on the Old English evidence, a spelling "Eihaz" would be more proper.
Following the convention of Wolfgang Krause , the rune's standard transliteration today is ï , though this designation is somewhat arbitrary as the rune's purpose and origin is still not well understood. Elmer Antonsen and Leo Connolly theorized that the rune originally stood for a Proto-Germanic vowel lost by the time of the earliest known runic inscriptions, though they put forth different vowels (Antonsen put forth [æː] while Connolly put forth [ɨ(ː)] ). Ottar Grønvik proposed [ç] . Tineke Looijenga postulates the rune was originally a bindrune of ᛁ and ᛃ, having the sound value of [ji(ː)] or [i(ː)j] . [1]
The rune survives in the Anglo-Saxon futhorc as ᛇ Ēoh or Īh "yew" (note that ᛖ eoh "horse" has a short diphthong). In futhorc inscriptions Ēoh appears as both a vowel around /iː/ , and as a consonant around [x] and [ç] . As a vowel, Ēoh shows up in jïslheard (ᛡᛇᛋᛚᚻᛠᚱᛞ) on the Dover Stone. As a consonant, Ēoh shows up in almeïttig (ᚪᛚᛗᛖᛇᛏᛏᛁᚷ) on the Ruthwell Cross. [2]
The Anglo-Saxon rune poem reads:
- ᛇ Eoh bẏþ utan unsmeþe treoƿ,
- heard hrusan fæst, hẏrde fẏres,
- ƿẏrtrumun underƿreþẏd, ƿẏn on eþle.
- The yew is a tree with rough bark,
- hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
- a guardian of flame and a joy on native land.
See also
- Wolfsangel , similar shape to the Eihwaz rune
References
- ↑ Mees, Bernard (2011). "The Yew Rune, Yogh and Yew". University of Leeds. p. 54.
- ↑ Waxenberger, Gaby (2006). Runes and Their Secrets: Studies in Runology . Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 391–394. ISBN 8763504286 .
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