ANCR-301 Lessons

Introduction
Today we will study the changes that happened to the runes of the Younger Futhark, look at tips and tools for translating, as well as take a closer look at some of the sources from which the magical (and Muggle) world gets most of their information about these runes: the rune poems. For both the Younger Futhark and the Anglo-Saxon Futhork, we have sources that tell us both the names and the meanings of each rune. In the case of the Younger Futhark, we have two main rune poems, one in Old Icelandic and one in Old Norse. In today’s lesson, we will take a brief look at what these two poems can tell us about the runes, as well as studying one particular rune’s verses in more detail. For those of you interested, the original texts (as well as a translation of all the rune poems) can be found on the following page.

“Case Studies” on Changes: Jera and Ass
You will have noticed by now that the runes of the Younger Futhark sometimes cover several related sounds, where the Elder Futhark usually had no more than one or two sound values at most. This change is a result of the reduction in the number of runes in the Younger Futhark; other runes had to jump in and accept added responsibility to compensate for the lost symbols.

Rather than just adding more sounds, other runes completely changed their sound value. The rune we studied last year as Jera is now called Ar, and has changed its value from a “y/j” type of sound to something much closer to “a/æ.” The reason for this change lies in changes to the language itself. Over the centuries, the word “jera” (incidentally the root of our English word “year” and the German word “Jahr”) developed into the word “jara” in Old Norse, and eventually it lost the initial “j” sound and became “ara” and then “ar” (meaning “year”) in Old Norse. At this time, the Nordic runes actually had two symbols for the sound value “a,” but this was resolved eventually when the sound value of Ass (formerly Ansuz) drifted more towards the nasal “a” and eventually became closer to “o,” and was then used to represent this sound instead of the original “a.”

The Rune Poems and the Younger Futhark
The Norwegian Rune Poem preserves the Old Norse meanings of the runes and was originally written down in a 13th century manuscript whose original is, unfortunately, no longer in existence and survives in a copy from the 17th century. Most notable about this poem is the fact that it is written in skaldic meter (a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables from the Norse tradition), and consists of two rhyming phrases or sentences per rune. The first section or line defines the rune, while the second part appears to have no real connection with the meaning of the rune apart from its rhyming properties. This meter still retains some of the alliterative features of the older tradition, but it is less obvious to the modern reader (as the language has changed and obscured the rhymes) and may involve sounds in the middle of words as well as those at the beginning.

The Icelandic Rune Poem is younger still, and survives in a total of four manuscripts. The oldest surviving version dates from the late 15th century. In the Icelandic Rune Poem, each rune is followed by three descriptions sometimes referred to as “kenningar.” In contrast to the Old Norse Rune Poem, all three of these kenningar are directly linked to the rune’s meaning, and similar to the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, we have more obvious alliteration again.

A kenning (singular of “kenningar”) is a term most closely associated with Nordic poetry, specifically Old Norse and Icelandic, although it is also found in Old English texts. A kenning is a descriptive phrase, usually in the form of a compound word, that uses imagery and common associations to replace a single word noun. They are often forms of metaphor. An example would be “oar steed” which is used as a stand-in for the word “ship.”

Other examples from Old English include “whale road” or “whale way” as kenningar for the sea. In a way, kenningar are almost like miniature riddles, challenging the reader to decipher the meaning behind them through association. Modern English does not commonly use them, but they are found in other languages such as German. As an example, “Drahtesel” or, literally, “wire-donkey” is a common term for a bicycle.

Kenningar are used in the Icelandic Rune Poem (and also the Old English Rune Poem, which we will cover later) for two reasons. R. I. Page has suggested that the rune poem(s) (which does not include the spelled out forms of the runes’ names) meant to present the runes as riddles in which the meanings are clues towards the rune’s name. Theoretically, this aids in learning the letters of the futhark.1

Secondly, kenningar are useful for alliterative poetry (the type of poetry that both the Old English and Old Icelandic Rune Poem are), because through skillful combination of words and meanings, many ideas can be made to fit the alliterative pattern. They also serve as a means to show off the poet’s creativity and give additional colour and interest to the poem.

The Norwegian (Old Norse) Rune Poem
In the Old Norse (often called the Norwegian) Rune Poem, the rune Ur has the following lines:

ᚢ
Úr er af illu jarne;
opt løypr ræinn á hjarne.
Dross comes from bad iron;
The reindeer often races over the frozen snow.

The first line of the Old Norse text is introduced by the runic symbol, making it clear which rune is identified by the following text. You can see that this first line is meant as an explanation of what the rune’s name means, giving in essence a dictionary definition of the word Ur. The line following it, however, does not seem to be connected at all, apart from the fact that the final words of each line rhyme in Old Norse. Scholars have speculated that the rhyming couplet is merely intended as a memory aid, and so far, not even the runic writings left by the Nordic magi to Rowena Ravenclaw have revealed anything that indicates otherwise.

The Icelandic Rune Poem
Now onto the Icelandic Rune Poem, which was likely written roughly two centuries later. This poem has a distinctly different structure. For the same rune (Ur), the poem gives us the following lines:

ᚢ Úr er skýja grátr,    ok skára þverrir
  ok hirðis hatr.
  umbre            vísi

Úr (shower/drizzle) is lamentation of the clouds,
  And ruin of the hay-harvest
  And abomination of the shepherd.

Several things can be noted about this poem. Firstly, from the sentence structure, it is clear that each of the three lines is meant as a definition or description of what the rune means. In contrast to the Old Norse Rune Poem, all three parts are directly related to the rune’s name, and in fact, each one could start with the name of the rune and would make sense.

In addition, the Icelandic Rune Poem supplies an extra two words at the end of each rune’s stanza. In this case they are “umbre” and “vísi.” These two additions are incredibly helpful to scholars and translators. The first one is always a Latin word, which is related to the rune name’s meaning, but not usually a direct translation. In this case, the Latin word is “umbre.” which means “shadow.” The second word included for each rune is a term in Old Icelandic that can be used to describe a leader or king, and serves to illustrate the sound value of the rune. This literary device (of using a related adjective for each rune) means that in contrast to the Elder Futhark, we can be much more certain about the sounds that the letters of the Younger Futhark stood for, at least when it comes to Old Icelandic.

Translating and Using the Younger Futhark - Tools and Methods
In light of the differences not just between different runic alphabets but also between different languages and geographic areas using the same alphabet, I would like to conclude today’s lesson by telling you about some of the ways in which we can make our lives easier when identifying and transcribing runic texts.

First of all, for runes, the wizarding world has developed a tool that has proved extremely useful to runologists all over the world. It was used first in the late 19th century, when Sven Sigurdsson, an expert on mythology and ancient languages, grew tired of the complication of having to identify the origins and language of a runic text before being able to accurately translate it. To make his life easier, he created a booklet with samples of all the scripts and languages he knew, and then enchanted it to show the closest match when something was traced on the empty pages. Over time, Sigurdsson came to realise that a booklet wasn’t always the most practical way, especially as copying the runes onto the paper proved a source of many errors. He eventually refined his invention to a sheet of pliable parchment, which was enchanted to recognise variations in light when held against any surface with markings on it.

I have here an example of the current entry range model of the aforementioned tool, called a Script Identifier Sheet or SIS. This model, known as Runes-SIS-1, is available at Flourish and Blotts, but other sizes, better equipped models and different makes (such as the Basic Rune Organiser, or BRO) are also available. This basic model of the SIS is limited to the main magic scripts found throughout the world. To use it, you simply place the sheet on top of the text or inscription and touch the corner with your wand while saying the incantation Inscriptum Identificatio (in-SKRIP-toom  ee-DEN-tih-FEE-cah-tee-oh). The parchment will then magically trace all marks on the surface and compare them to its stored information about magical scripts and languages; once complete, it will show you the names of the closest matching scripts and languages.

One major flaw, particularly with the entry level models, is that they may have difficulties distinguishing between intentional marks that are part of the text and other marks that may be the result of natural wear and tear (scratches on a weapon, for example), part of the original surface (such as cracks and variations in colour on stone, wood or parchment), or merely dirt that happens to be in between the surface and the tool. Higher priced models may have modes that can distinguish these from the runic texts, but it is always important to keep in mind that common sense should always come before reliance on magical tools.

The SIS is a useful tool if you deal with inscriptions of uncertain origins. It is not, however, a translation device. Due to the various layers of meaning that can be intended by each rune, translation by magical means is simply not possible. These magical devices won’t be able to tell you the name of a hitherto unknown language or script, either; they can only provide the information that is stored in their information hoard, which can differ between different models.

Should you not be in possession of such a device, however, there are still other ways you can narrow down your options. For one thing, you can consider the origins and age of the inscription or text you are studying and combine it with your knowledge of how and where the different scripts developed. For example, if you have a runic inscription on a weapon that clearly originates from medieval England, it is highly likely that it is written in Anglo-Saxon Futhork. Conversely, a stone inscribed during the 5th century found in Southern Scandinavia won’t be written in Old Icelandic, but is likely to be in the Elder Futhark script.

In short, although the study of ancient runes can be made easier by the use of magical tools, there is still much call for those of us who prefer to use our own heads and knowledge rather than rely on a one-time invention.

Moreover, when it comes to new discoveries and things that have been forgotten for centuries, nothing can replace simple human curiosity and the way our minds can make connections between what we already know, and new things we encounter.

Conclusion and Assignments
With that, we come to the end of today’s lesson. Your assignments today consist of a short answer quiz of mixed transcriptions as well as a short essay on identifying runic scripts. Additionally, now that we have finished our two lesson long look at the Younger Futhark, make sure you read through the sections called Chapters 11-14 on this script in the Rune Dictionary before we see each other again next week.

Footnotes:
1. R.I. Page, “The Icelandic Rune-Poem”, Viking Society for Northern Research http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/The%20Icelandic%20Rune-Poem.pdf, p. 15.

Vocabulary
Basic Rune Organizer (BRO): an automated system for identifying the script that a rune belongs to. Does not automatically translate or transcribe runes.
Icelandic Rune Poem: a text written in Old Icelandic that details the meanings of the 16 runes of the Younger Futhark. It was likely written in the 15th century.
Kenning (plural “Kenningar”): a literary device that uses multiple pre-existing words to make a new word which is usually metaphorical. Often used in Old English and Old Norse poetry.
Norwegian (Norse) Rune Poem: a text written in Old Norse that details the meanings of the 16 runes of the Younger Futhark.  It was likely written in the 13th century.
Old Icelandic: Generally speaking, a form of Old Norse used specifically in Iceland until the 16th century.
Script Identifier Sheet (SIS): an automated system for identifying the script that a rune belongs to. Does not automatically translate or transcribe runes.

Original lesson written by Professor Mathilda Stevens
Image credits here and here