Template:Infobox rune Template:Contains special characters Gyfu is the name for the g-rune Template:Runic in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:<ref>Original poem and translation from the Rune Poem Page Template:Webarchive.</ref> | English Translation: |
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Template:Runic Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs,
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Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
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The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is 𐌲 g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark, with a suggested Proto-Germanic name *gebô 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates<ref>J.H. Looijenga, Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent Ad 150-700, PhD diss. Groningen 1997, p. 56. Download PDF</ref> that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic g in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic *reihs compared to Latin rex (as opposed to the Etruscan alphabet, where X/𐌗 had a value of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}).
The gyfu rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modern mysticism, particularly amongst those interested in Celtic mythology. It's described, for example, in the book The Runic Tarot as a representation of the giving-receiving balance in friendships.<ref>The Runic Tarot. Gebo has no murkstave. By Caroline Smith, John Astrop. Page 24. Macmillan, Feb 1, 2005. 9780312321925</ref>
Anglo-Saxon gār runeEdit
In addition to gyfu, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc has the gār rune Template:Angbr, named after a species of medieval spear. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in 11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically, gār represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu rune Template:Runic.
Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune names ger, ear, ior: due to palatalization in Old English, the original g rune (i.e., the Gyfu rune Template:Angbr) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see yogh). The ger unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newlyTemplate:When introduced gar rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.
Gār is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in Cotton Domitian A.ix.
See alsoEdit
- Armanen runes § Gibor, 19th-century pseudo-runes of which the 18th character's name is similar to *gebô
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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