| Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Gebō | Gyfu | Gār | |
| 'gift' | 'gift' | "spear" | |
| Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | |
 | |  | |
| Unicode | ᚷ U 16B7 | ᚷ U 16B7 | ᚸ U 16B8 |
| Transliteration | g | ȝ | g |
| Transcription | g | ȝ, g | g |
| IPA | [ɣ] | [g], [ɣ], [ʎ], [j] | [g] |
| Position in rune-row | 7 | 7 | 33 |
Gyfu is the name for the g-rune ᚷ in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:[1] | English Translation: |
|
ᚷ Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs,
|
Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
|
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is 𐌲 g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark, with a suggested Proto-Germanic name *gebô 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates[2] that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic g in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic *reihs compared to Latin rex (as opposed to the Etruscan alphabet, where 
/𐌗 had a value of [s]).
The gyfu rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modern mysticism, particularly amongst those interested in Celtic mythology. It's described, for example, in the book The Runic Tarot as a representation of the giving-receiving balance in friendships.[3]
Anglo-Saxon gār rune
editIn addition to gyfu, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc has the gār rune ⟨ᚸ⟩, named after a species of medieval spear. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in 11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically, gār represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu rune ᚷ.
Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune names ger, ear, ior: due to palatalization in Old English, the original g rune (i.e., the Gyfu rune ⟨ᚷ⟩) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see yogh). The ger unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly[when?] introduced gar rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.
Gār is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in Cotton Domitian A.ix.
See also
edit- Armanen runes § Gibor, 19th-century pseudo-runes of which the 18th character's name is similar to *gebô
References
edit- ^ Original poem and translation from the Rune Poem Page Archived 1999-05-01 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ J.H. Looijenga, Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent Ad 150-700, PhD diss. Groningen 1997, p. 56. Download PDF
- ^ The Runic Tarot. Gebo has no murkstave. By Caroline Smith, John Astrop. Page 24. Macmillan, Feb 1, 2005. 9780312321925
External links
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