- Name
- eþel (œþel)
- Meaning
- ancestral land, home, inherited estate
- Transliteration
- œ
- Sound
- /ø/, /øː/ (later unrounded to /e/)
- Unicode
U+16DFrunic letter othalan ethel o
Line of descent
History
In the elder row this rune, *ōþala, stood for o. In English the name went through i-mutation, from *ōþil to œþel and then West Saxon eþel. The rune followed the name and came to write the rounded front vowel œ. That is why it is transliterated œ in the futhorc. Dickins cited limwœrignæ "limb-weary" on the Ruthwell Cross as an example. The Harford brooch from Norfolk (c. 650) uses it in gibœtæ "mended", and the left side of the Franks Casket has it in twœgen "two" and afœddæ "fed".
The name means a family's land or homeland. The rune poem praises the home as "very dear to every man" if he may prosper there. In manuscripts the rune served as an abbreviation for the word itself. Dickins listed examples in Beowulf (lines 520, 913 and 1702) and Waldere.
The order of this rune and dæg varies. The rune poem puts eþel before dæg, while on the Seax of Beagnoth d comes well before œ, which is 24th and cut as a "lantern" bind-rune. The elder row varies the same way: the Kylver stone ends d o and the Vadstena bracteate o d.
In the rune poems
gif he mot ðær rihtes and gerysena on
brucan on bolde bleadum oftast.
if there he may enjoy what is right and fitting
in his own house, in prosperity, most often.
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 24 (lantern-shaped form)
- Harford brooch, Norfolk (c. 650): gibœtæ
- Franks Casket, left side: twœgen, afœddæ
- Beowulf manuscript: rune used for the word eþel
On inscriptions described on this site
Sources
- Dickins (1915), pp. 20–21 and note to v. 71.
- Wikipedia, 'Anglo-Saxon runes', 'Franks Casket' and 'Seax of Beagnoth', checked 2026-10.