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Rune poems are poems that list the letters of while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Four different poems from before the mid-20th century have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, the Icelandic Rune Poem and the Swedish Rune Poem.
The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16 Younger Futhark runes, while the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem lists 29 Anglo-Saxon runes. Each poem differs in poetic verse, but they contain numerous parallels between one another. Further, the poems provide references to figures from Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism, the latter included alongside Christianity references. A list of rune names is also recorded in the Abecedarium Nordmannicum, a 9th-century manuscript, but whether this can be called a poem or not is a matter of some debate.
The rune poems have been theorized as having been mnemonic devices that allowed the user to remember the order and names of each letter of the alphabet and may have been a catalog of important cultural information, memorably arranged; comparable with the Old English , Gnomic poetry, and Old Norse poetry of wisdom and learning.Lapidge (2007:25–26).
George Hickes' record of the poem may deviate from the original manuscript. Hickes recorded the poem in prose, divided the prose into 29 stanzas, and placed a copper plate engraved with runic characters on the left-hand margin so that each rune stands immediately in front of the stanza where it belongs. For five of the runes ( wen, hægl, nyd, eoh, and Ingwaz rune) Hickes gives variant forms and two more runes are given at the foot of the column; cweorð and an unnamed rune ( calc) which are not handled in the poem itself. A second copper plate appears across the foot of the page and contains two more runes: stan and gar.
Van Kirk Dobbie states that this apparatus is not likely to have been present in the original text of the Cotton manuscript and states that it's possible that the original Anglo-Saxon rune poem manuscript would have appeared similar in arrangement of runes and texts to that of the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems.
The Icelandic rune poem is shown below with English translation side-by-side from Dickins:Dickins (1915:28–33)
Resolving the kennings the reader gets the following runes:
Norwegian
The Norwegian Rune Poem was preserved in a 17th-century copy of a destroyed 13th-century manuscript.Lapidge (2007:25). The Norwegian Rune Poem is preserved in metre, featuring the first line exhibiting a "(rune name)(copula) X" pattern, followed by a second rhyming line providing information somehow relating to its subject.Acker (1998:52–53).
Icelandic
The Icelandic Rune Poem is recorded in four Arnamagnæan manuscripts, the oldest of the four dating from the late 15th century. The Icelandic Rune Poem has been called the most systemized of the rune poems (including the Abecedarium Nordmannicum) and has been compared to the ljóðaháttr verse form. Nordic Medieval Runes
Fé ok flæðar viti
ok grafseiðs gata
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent.
Úr ok skára þverrir
ok hirðis hatr.
and ruin of the hay-harvest
and abomination of the shepherd.
Þurs ok kletta búi
ok varðrúnar verr.
and cliff-dweller
and husband of a giantess.
Óss ok ásgarðs jöfurr,
ok valhallar vísi.
and prince of Ásgarðr
and lord of [[Valhalla]].
Reið ok snúðig ferð
ok jórs erfiði.
and speedy journey
and toil of the steed.
Kaun ok bardaga [för]
ok holdfúa hús.
and painful spot
and abode of mortification.
Hagall ok krapadrífa
ok snáka sótt.
and shower of sleet
and sickness of serpents.
Nauð ok þungr kostr
ok vássamlig verk.
and state of oppression
and toilsome work.
Íss ok unnar þak
ok feigra manna fár.
and roof of the wave
and destruction of the doomed.
Ár ok gott sumar
algróinn akr.
and good summer
and thriving crops.
Sól ok skínandi röðull
ok ísa aldrtregi.
and shining ray
and destroyer of ice.
Týr ok ulfs leifar
ok hofa hilmir.
and leavings of the wolf
and prince of [[templesHeathen hof]].
Bjarkan ok lítit tré
ok ungsamligr viðr.
and little tree
and fresh young shrub.
Maðr ok moldar auki
ok skipa skreytir.
and augmentation of the earth
and adorner of ships.
Lögr ok viðr ketill
ok glömmungr grund.
and broad geysir
and land of the fish.
Ýr ok brotgjarnt járn
ok fífu fárbauti.
and brittle iron
and giant of the arrow.
Swedish
The Old Swedish rune poem is possibly the youngest of the four, first being recorded in a letter in the year 1600, but not published until 1908. The text may be corrupt and it has received relatively little attention from runologists. The runes are in a different order, and a couple are missing:
The text was originally sent to Bonaventura Vulcanius by a Swedish student, who claimed to have ”learned it from the old rustics” ( a senibus rusticis didici). It was first published in 1908 by Philipp Christiaan Molhuysen, using roughly the above orthography. A modern edition was published in 1987.
Faͤ Faͤ frande ro|Cattle, kinsmen's calm
Ŭr Ŭr vaͤder vaͤrst Shower, worst weather Tors Tors qŭinne qŭāl|Giant, woman's pain
Ōs Ōs i hvario å|River-mouth in every river
Ridher Ridher haͤstespraͤng|Rider, horse's toil
Koͤn Koͤn i koͤte vaͤrst|Ulcer (?), worst in the flesh
Hagaller Hagaller i bo baͤst|Hail, best in home
Noͤdh Noͤdh aͤr enda kŭst|Need is only choice
Īs Īs bro bredast|Ice, broadest bridge
Tȳr Tȳr i vatŭm ledast /
Tȳra vaͤtten ledastTyr a, worst in water (or worst of wights)
År År i bladhe vidast (Good) year, of leaf widest Bioͤrka bioͤrkahult groͤnast|Birch-wood greenest
Sōl sōl i himbla hoͤgast|Sun, in sky highest
Lagh Lagh aͤr Landsens aͤra|Law is land's honour
Abecedarium Nordmannicum
Recorded in the 9th century, the Abecedarium Nordmannicum is the earliest known catalog of Norse rune names, though it does not contain definitions, is partly in Continental Germanic and also contains an amount of distinctive Anglo-Saxon rune types.Page (1999:660). The text is recorded in Codex Sangallensis 878, kept in the St. Gallen abbey, and may originate from Fulda, Germany.
The Rune Poem Puzzle from the Old Bø Church
In the Old Bø Church in Telemark a 12th century runic inscription is preserved which uses kennings for runes very similar to the rune poems.R. Øystein (2014). Telemarks historie før 1814R.I. Page (1999). The Icelandic rune-poemK. Püttsepp (2003). Kjærlighet på pinne - Vertshusinnskrifter fra norske middelalderbyerJ.E. Knirk (2017). Love and Eroticism in Medieval Norwegian Runic Inscriptions Reading the lines from the bottom up and resolving the kennings one gets the name of the woman with whom the rune-carver was in love.
Together they spell out the name Gudrun.
See also
Notes
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