Wyrdseidr

ᛉ eolhx (eolh-secg in the rune poem)

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc · position 15 · uncertain; the poem describes 'elk-sedge', some sharp-edged rush

Name
eolhx (eolh-secg in the rune poem)
Meaning
uncertain; the poem describes 'elk-sedge', some sharp-edged rush
Transliteration
x
Sound
no Old English sound of its own; used for Latin x in manuscripts
Unicode
U+16C9 runic letter algiz eolhx

Line of descent

ᛉ*algiz (or *alhiz; uncertain)Elder Futhark→ ᛉeolhx (eolh-secg in the rune poem)Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

History

In the elder row this rune wrote a z sound that never began a word (algiz). That sound disappeared from English, so the rune had nothing to write. Dickins called it "a fossil found only in runic alphabets". It kept its place in the row, and English scribes later gave it a job as the equivalent of Latin x, which is why it is transliterated x.

Its name is a puzzle that bears on the elder name too. Hickes printed eolhx seccard, which editors read as eolh-secg eard "the elk-sedge has its home". The stanza describes a plant of the fen that "wounds grimly" and stains with blood anyone who grabs it, presumably a sharp-edged sedge or rush. Old English glossaries gloss Latin papyrus with ilugsegg and eolxsecg, and Codex Vindobonensis 795 names the rune ilcs. Dickins pointed out that these forms cannot simply be linked to the word for "elk". The reconstructed elder name *algiz "elk" is therefore a guess built partly on a word whose meaning is unclear.

The English rune points upward, with its branches toward the sky. In Scandinavia the same rune was usually turned upside down and became the Younger Futhark's ᛦ (see yr).

In the rune poems

The Old English Rune Poem, stanza 15
Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne
wexeð on wature, wundaþ grimme,
blode breneð beorna gehwylcne
ðe him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.
Elk-sedge most often has its home in the fen,
it grows in water, it wounds grimly,
it burns with blood every man
who makes any grab at it.
Hickes printed eolhx seccard. The rune's name elsewhere is eolhx, and the stanza seems to describe a sharp-edged sedge or reed; the link between the two is not understood.

Original text from the public-domain editions named on each poem's page; translations are our own.

Where it is found

  • Seax of Beagnoth, position 15
  • Manuscript rune lists (Codex Vindobonensis 795, as ilcs)
  • Epinal-Erfurt and other glossaries: ilugsegg, eolxsecg glossing papyrus (the word, not the rune)

On inscriptions described on this site

Seax of Beagnoth

Sources

  • Dickins (1915), pp. 16–17 and notes to vv. 41–43.
  • Wikipedia, 'Anglo-Saxon runes', checked 2026-10.
← ᛈpeorðsigelᛋ →