Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English |
---|---|---|
*Ōþala- | Ēðel | |
"heritage, estate" | ||
Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc |
Unicode | ᛟ U+16DF | |
Transliteration | o | œ |
Transcription | o, ō | œ, oe, ōe |
IPA | [o(ː)] | [eː],[ø(ː)] |
Position in rune-row | 23 or 24 |
Othala (ᛟ), also known as ēðel and odal, is a rune that represents the o and œ phonemes in the Elder Futhark and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc writing systems respectively. Its name is derived from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *ōþala- "heritage; inheritance, inherited estate". As it does not occur in Younger Futhark, it disappears from the Scandinavian record around the 8th century, however its usage continued in England into the 11th century, where it was sometimes further used in manuscripts as a shorthand for the word ēðel ("homeland"), similar to how other runes were sometimes used at the time.
As with other symbols used historically in Europe such as the swastika and Celtic cross, othala has been appropriated by far-right groups such as the Nazi party and neo-Nazis, who have used it to represent ideas like Aryan heritage, a usage that is wholy modern and not attested in any ancient or medieval source. The rune also continues to be used in non-racist contexts, both in Heathenry and in wider popular culture such as the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and video games.
The sole attested name of the rune is Old English : ēþel, meaning "homeland". Based on this, and cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old Norse : óðal and Old Frisian : ēthel, the Proto-Germanic : *ōþalą can be reconstructed, meaning "ancestral land", "the land owned by one's kin", and by extension "property" or "inheritance". *ōþalą is in turn derived from Proto-Germanic : *aþalą, meaning "nobility" and "disposition".[ citation needed ]
Terms derived from *ōþalą are formative elements in some Germanic names, notably Ulrich .[ citation needed ]
The term "odal" (Old Norse : óðal) refers to Scandinavian laws of inheritance which established land rights for families that had owned that parcel of land over a number of generations, restricting its sale to others. Among other aspects, this protected the inheritance rights of daughters against males from outside the immediate family. [1] Some of these laws remain in effect today in Norway as the Odelsrett (allodial right). The tradition of Udal law found in Shetland, Orkney, and the Isle of Man, is from the same origin.[ citation needed ]
The o-rune is attested early, in inscriptions from the 3rd century, such as the Thorsberg chape (DR7) and the Vimose planer (Vimose-Høvelen, DR 206). [ citation needed ] The corresponding Gothic letter is 𐍉 (derived from Greek Ω), which had the name oþal.[ citation needed ] The othala rune is found in some transitional inscriptions of the 6th or 7th century, such as the Gummarp, Björketorp and Stentoften runestones, but it disappears from the Scandinavian record by the 8th century. The Old Norse o phoneme at this time becomes written in Younger Futhark in the same way as the u phoneme, with the Ur rune.[ citation needed ]
It has been suggested that the othala rune on the Ring of Pietroassa is used to represent the word "*oþal", referencing the ring as hereditary treasure. [2] Similarly, Wolfgang Krause speculated that the o rune is used as an ideograph denoting possession in the Thorsberg chape inscription, reading the inscription owlþuþewaz as O[þila] - W[u]lþu-þewaz "inherited property - the servant of Wulþuz". [3] [4] [5] [6]
The Anglo-Saxon runes preserve the full set of 24 Elder Futhark runes (besides introducing innovations), but in some cases these runes are given new sound values due to Anglo-Frisian sound changes. The othala rune is such a case: the o sound in the Anglo-Saxon system is now expressed by ōs ᚩ, a derivation of the old Ansuz rune; the othala rune is known in Old English as ēðel (with umlaut due to the form ōþila-) and is used to express an œ sound, but is attested only rarely in epigraphy (outside of simply appearing in a futhark row).[ citation needed ] In some runic inscriptions, such as on the Seax of Beagnoth, and more commonly in manuscripts, othala is written with a single vertical line instead of the two diagonal legs, perhaps due to its simpler form. [7]
The rune is also used as a shorthand for the word ēþel or œþel ("ancestral property or land") in texts such as Beowulf, Waldere and the Old English translation of Orosius' Historiae adversus paganos. [8] [9] This is similar to wider practices of the time, in which runes such as ᛞ , ᚹ and ᛗ were also used as shorthands to write the name of the rune. [9]
Epigraphical attestations include:
The Anglo-Saxon rune poem preserves the meaning "an inherited estate" for the rune name:
ᛟbẏþ oferleof æghƿẏlcum men, | [An estate] is very dear to every man, |
The symbol derived from othala with wings or feet (serifs) was the badge of the SS Race and Settlement Main Office, which was responsible for maintaining the racial purity of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS). [10] It was also the emblem of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen operating during World War II in the Nazi Germany-sponsored Independent State of Croatia.[ citation needed ]
The rune and winged symbol have been used by the Neo-Nazi Wiking-Jugend in Germany, and in South Africa by the Anglo-Afrikaner Bond, the Boeremag , the Blanke Bevrydingsbeweging , [11] the Italian neo-fascist group National Vanguard, [12] the Afrikaner Student Federation and the far-right wing White Liberation Movement before it was disbanded. [13] [14] [ better source needed ] In November 2016, the leadership of the National Socialist Movement announced their intention to replace the Nazi-pattern swastika with the othala rune on their uniforms and party regalia in an attempt to enter mainstream politics. [15] [16] The rune was further used, along with other traditional symbols from European cultures such as a Tiwaz rune and a Celtic cross, and slogans associated with Nazism and far-right extremism by the Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant. [17] Heathen Front was a Neo-Nazi group, active during the 1990s to 2005 that espoused a racist form of Heathenry and described its ideas as odalism in reference to the alternative name for othala. [18] [19]
White supremacists who use the rune often claim it symbolises the heritage or land of "white" or "Aryan" people which should be free from foreigners. It has been noted however that this usage is a new invention by the groups and is not attested in any source from before the modern period, being labelled by runologist Michael Barnes as "spring[ing] entirely from the imagination". [20]
In some cases, individuals and organisations have been accused of using the rune as a far-right symbol, such as in April 2014 when the British Topman clothing company apologised after using it in one of their clothing lines. [21] Furthermore, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Orlando, Florida, on February 25–28, 2021, the floor layout of the main stage resembled the winged form of the othala rune, leading to speculation on social media as to why that design was chosen. CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp said comparisons were "outrageous and slanderous". [22] Design firm Design Foundry later took responsibility for the design of the stage, saying that it "intended to provide the best use of space, given the constraints of the ballroom and social distancing requirements." Ian Walters, director of communications for the ACU and CPAC, said they would stop using Design Foundry. [23] [24]
The neo-folk group Death in June used othala on the cover of their 7''Come Before Christ And Murder Love alongside their "Totenkopf 6" logo. [25] The group does not openly support far-right ideologies however scholars have noted the group's fascination with Nazism and extensive usage of Nazi, and more widely fascist, imagery. [26]
Othala, along with other runes more widely, often feature prominently in the practices of Heathens, [27] [28] [29] and are commonly used to decorate items and in tattoos. [30] The use of runes such as othala by far-right groups has been strongly condemned by some Heathen groups, including Asatru UK which released a public statement that "[it] is categorically opposed to fascist movements, or any movements, using the symbols of our faith for hate". [31]
The Anti-Defamation League notes that because it is part of the runic alphabet, the othala rune is used widely in a non-racist manner and should be interpreted in conjunction with its context. [32]
As with other historical runes, othala is used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit as seen on Thror's map of Erebor, and as a base for the dwarvish Cirth writing systems used in The Lord of the Rings and described in Tolkien's Legendarium. [33] [34] Othala is also used as the symbol for the "Lore" resource in Northgard, released in 2018. [35]
The name of the rune is also used in Stargate SG-1, in which Othala is a world in the Ida Galaxy where the Asgard had lived.[ citation needed ]
Æsir or ēse are gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and mythology, the precise meaning of the term "Æsir" is debated, with it being able to refer to both the gods in general or specifically to one of the main families of gods, in contrast to the Vanir, with whom they waged war, ultimately leading to a joining of the families. The term can further be used to describe local gods that were believed to live in specific features in the landscape such as fells. In the Old English Wið færstice, the Ēse are referred to, along with elves, as harmful beings that could cause a stabbing pain, although exactly how they were conceived of by the author of the text is unclear.
A rune is a letter in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write Germanic languages before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised purposes thereafter. In addition to representing a sound value, runes can be used to represent the concepts after which they are named (ideographs). Scholars refer to instances of the latter as Begriffsrunen. The Scandinavian variants are also known as fuþark, or futhark, these names derived from the first six letters of the script, ⟨ᚠ⟩, ⟨ᚢ⟩, ⟨ᚦ⟩, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚬ⟩, ⟨ᚱ⟩, and ⟨ᚲ⟩/⟨ᚴ⟩, corresponding to the Latin letters ⟨f⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨þ⟩/⟨th⟩, ⟨a⟩, ⟨r⟩, and ⟨k⟩. The Anglo-Saxon variant is futhorc, or fuþorc, due to changes in Old English of the sounds represented by the fourth letter, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚩ⟩.
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries. The reduction, somewhat paradoxically, happened at the same time as phonetic changes that led to a greater number of different phonemes in the spoken language, when Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse. Also, the writing custom avoided carving the same rune consecutively for the same sound, so the spoken distinction between long and short vowels was lost in writing. Thus, the language included distinct sounds and minimal pairs that were written the same.
The Elder Futhark, also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Period. Inscriptions are found on artifacts including jewelry, amulets, plateware, tools, and weapons, as well as runestones in Scandinavia, from the 2nd to the 10th centuries.
Algiz is the name conventionally given to the "z-rune" ᛉ of the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. Its transliteration is z, understood as a phoneme of the Proto-Germanic language, the terminal *z continuing Proto-Indo-European terminal *s via Verner's law.
Jera is the conventional name of the j-rune ᛃ of the Elder Futhark, from a reconstructed Common Germanic stem *jēra- meaning "harvest, (good) year".
Armanen runes are 18 pseudo-runes, inspired by the historic Younger Futhark runes, invented by Austrian mysticist and Germanic revivalist Guido von List during a state of temporary blindness in 1902, and described in his Das Geheimnis der Runen, published as a periodical article in 1906, and as a standalone publication in 1908. The name seeks to associate the runes with the postulated Armanen, whom von List saw as ancient Aryan priest-kings. The Armanen runes continue in use today in esotericism and in Germanic neopaganism.
Anglo-Saxon runes or Anglo-Frisian runes are runes used by the Anglo-Saxons and Medieval Frisians as an alphabet in their native writing system, recording both Old English and Old Frisian. Today, the characters are known collectively as the futhorc from the sound values of the first six runes. The futhorc was a development from the older co-Germanic 24-character runic alphabet, known today as Elder Futhark, expanding to 28-characters in its older form and up to 34-characters in its younger form. In contemporary Scandinavia, the Older Futhark developed into a shorter 16-character alphabet, today simply called Younger Futhark.
The rune ᚦ is called Thurs in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem it is called thorn, whence the name of the letter þ derived. It is transliterated as þ, and has the sound value of a voiceless dental fricative.
The 20th-century German Nazi Party made extensive use of graphic symbols, especially the swastika, notably in the form of the swastika flag, which became the co-national flag of Nazi Germany in 1933, and the sole national flag in 1935. A very similar flag had represented the Party beginning in 1920.
A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of Elder Futhark, Anglo-Frisian Futhorc and Younger Futhark.
Seeland-II-C is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark, that has been dated to the Migration period. The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as:
Ansuz is the conventional name given to the a-rune of the Elder Futhark, ᚨ. The name is based on Proto-Germanic *ansuz, denoting a deity belonging to the principal pantheon in Germanic paganism.
The t-rune ᛏ is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz. Tiwaz rune was an ideographic symbol for a spear.
The sequence alu is found in numerous Elder Futhark runic inscriptions of Germanic Iron Age Scandinavia between the 3rd and the 8th century. The word usually appears either alone or as part of an apparent formula. The symbols represent the runes Ansuz, Laguz, and Uruz. The origin and meaning of the word are matters of dispute, though a general agreement exists among scholars that the word represents an instance of historical runic magic or is a metaphor for it. It is the most common of the early runic charm words.
Very few Elder Futhark inscriptions in the Gothic language have been found in the territory historically settled by the Goths. Due to the early Christianization of the Goths, the Gothic alphabet replaced runes by the mid-4th century.
Sowilo (*sōwilō), meaning "sun", is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic language name of the s-rune.
The swastika design is known from artefacts of various cultures since the Neolithic, and it recurs with some frequency on artefacts dated to the Germanic Iron Age, i.e. the Migration period to Viking Age period in Scandinavia, including the Vendel era in Sweden, attested from as early as the 3rd century in Elder Futhark inscriptions and as late as the 9th century on Viking Age image stones.
Runic is a Unicode block containing runic characters. It was introduced in Unicode 3.0 (1999), with eight additional characters introduced in Unicode 7.0 (2014). The original encoding of runes in UCS was based on the recommendations of the "ISO Runes Project" submitted in 1997.
Runic alphabets have seen numerous uses since the 18th-century Viking revival, in Scandinavian Romantic nationalism (Gothicismus) and Germanic occultism in the 19th century, and in the context of the Fantasy genre and of Germanic Neopaganism in the 20th century.
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