- Name
- *īsaz
- Meaning
- ice
- Name known from
- Old English īs, Old Norse íss (all three poems)
- Transliteration
- i
- Sound
- /i/, /iː/
- Unicode
U+16C1runic letter isaz is iss i
Line of descent
History
i is a single vertical stroke, the same as Latin I. It is the simplest rune and never changed shape.
The name *īsaz "ice" is secure. All three poems name the rune īs or íss and describe ice. The Old English poem calls it "a floor wrought by frost, fair to look upon". The Norwegian calls it "a broad bridge", and the Icelandic calls it "river-bark" and "the roof of the wave".
i is frequent in early inscriptions. It appears in hlewagastiz and holtijaz on the Gallehus horn, in raunijaz on the Øvre Stabu spearhead, and in erilaz, a word for a rune-carver or a rank, on the Lindholm bone piece and the Kragehul spear-shaft.
Because it is a single stroke, an i can be hard to tell apart from a word divider or a damaged stave. Readings of worn inscriptions sometimes differ for this reason.
In the Younger Futhark the same rune wrote i, e and j. In medieval runes a dotted form ᛂ was made for e (see medieval runes). In the futhorc it kept the value i.
In the rune poems
glisnaþ glæshluttur gimmum gelicust,
flor forste geworuht, fæger ansyne.
it glitters clear as glass, most like to gems,
a floor wrought by frost, fair to look upon.
blindan þarf at læiða.
the blind must be led.
ok unnar þak
ok feigra manna fár.
and the roof of the wave
and a danger to doomed men.
Original text from the public-domain editions named on each poem's page; translations are our own.
Where it is found
- Gallehus horn (DR 12): hlewagastiz holtijaz
- Øvre Stabu spearhead (N KJ31): raunija(z)
- Lindholm bone piece (DR 261): ek erilaz
On inscriptions described on this site
Sources
- Samnordisk runtextdatabas (Rundata), signa DR 12, N KJ31, DR 261, DR 196
- Dickins (1915), Old English rune poem l. 29 and Norwegian poem st. 9