Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
From Freepedia
The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc are a runic alphabet, extended from the Elder Futhark, consisting of 29, and later even 33 characters. It was used probably from the 5th century onward. There are competing theories as to the origins of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. One theory proposes that it was developed in Frisia and later spread to England. Another holds that runes were introduced by Scandinavians to England where the futhorc was modified and exported to Frisia. Both theories have their inherent weaknesses and a definitive answer likely awaits more archaeological evidence. Futhorc inscriptions are found for example on the Thames scramasax, in the Vienna Codex, in Cotton MS Otho B (†) and on the Ruthwell Cross.
The Anglo-Saxon rune poem has: ᚠ feoh, ᚢ ur, ᚦ thorn, ᚩ os, ᚱ rad, ᚳ cen, ᚷ gyfu, ᚹ wynn, ᚻ haegl, ᚾ nyd, ᛁ is, ᛄ ger, ᛇ eoh, ᛈ peordh, ᛉ eolh, ᛋ sigel, ᛏ tir, ᛒ beorc, ᛖ eh, ᛗ mann, ᛚ lagu, ᛝ ing, ᛟ ethel, ᛞ daeg, ᚪ ac, ᚫ aesc, ᚣ yr, ᛡ ior, ᛠ ear.
The expanded alphabet has the additional letters ᛢ cweorth, ᛣ calc, ᛤ cealc and ᛥ stan. It should be mentioned that these additional letters have only been found in manuscripts.
Feoh, þorn, and sigel stood for [f], [þ], and [s] in most environments, but voiced to [v], [ð], and [z] between vowels or voiced consonants. Wynn was also introduced into the Latin English alphabet to represent [w], but was replaced with w in Middle English.
Much like Futhark, Futhorc thrived as a writing system, but was killed off by the spread of the Latin alphabet. In England Futhorc started to be replaced by the Latin alphabet around the 9th century and, by the Norman Conquest of 1066, was increasingly rare. It did not survive much longer. Futhark continued to be used in Scandinavia for centuries after this but, by 1600, both had become little more than curiosities among scholars.
See also
- Runic alphabet
- Elder Futhark
- Rune poem
- Solomon and Saturn
- Ogham, the early Irish monumental alphabet
References
- R.I. Page. An Introduction to English Runes. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999. ISBN 0851157688.
- Orrin W. Robinson. Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages Stanford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0804714541
| Runic alphabet | Rune poems |
|---|
| Elder Fuþark: ᚠ f | ᚢ u | ᚦ þ | ᚨ a | ᚱ r | ᚲ k | ᚷ g | ᚹ w | ᚺ h | ᚾ n | ᛁ i | ᛃ j |ᛇ ï | ᛈ p | ᛉ z | ᛊ s |ᛏ t | ᛒ b | ᛖ e | ᛗ m | ᛚ l | ᛜ ng | ᛞ d | ᛟ o |
Categories: Runology | Alphabetic writing systems | History of the Germanic peoples | Anglo-Saxon England | Viking Age
