Codex Sangallensis 878
Encyclopedia
Codex Sangallensis 878 is a manuscript kept in the library of the Abbey of St. Gall
. It dates to the 9th century and probably originates in Fulda monastery
. It contains mainly excerpts of grammatical
texts, including the Ars minor and Ars maior of Aelius Donatus
, the grammar of Priscian
, the Etymologiae
of Isidore of Sevilla and the grammar of Alcuin
. Furthermore, it contains a presentation of the Greek alphabet
, the Hebrew alphabet
, the Anglo-Saxon runes and the Scandinavia
n Younger Futhark
, the latter in the form of a short rune poem
known as the Abecedarium Nordmannicum.
Bischoff (1980) considers the manuscript a personal collection or brevarium of Walahfrid Strabo's, who from 827 was in Fulda as a student of Hrabanus Maurus, and from 838 was abbot of the Reichenau Abbey. Hrabanus himself is known to have been interested in runes, and he is credited with the treatise Hrabani Mauri abbatis fuldensis, de inventione linguarum ab Hebraea usque ad Theodiscam ("on the invention of languages, from Hebrew to German"), identifying the Hebrew and Germanic ("Theodish") languages with their respective alphabets.
. Under a heading ABECEDARIUM NORD it presents the Younger Futhark in three lines, read by Derolez (1965) as:
feu forman | ur after | thuris thriten | os ist imo | rat end
stabu | oboro | os uuritan
chaon thanne hagal naut habet | is ar endi sol
diuet/cliuot
[tiu] brica endi man | lagu the leohto | yr al bihabet
midi
Linguistically, the text is a mixture of Old Norse
, Old Saxon
and Old High German
. It is probably based on a Danish original, maybe imported from Haithabu to Lower Germany, and adapted to the idiom of its recipients. The background of the Carolingian notation of Norse runes is that of intensified contacts between the Frankish Empire
and Denmark
which necessitated interpreters for economic and political exchanges.
The content of the poem are the names of the runes, connected by a few additional alliterating words as mnemonical aids. Differences in rune names are feu for fe, rat for reidh (as Anglo-Saxon rad), chaon for kaun, uncertain tiu for tyr (as Anglo-Saxon tiw), man for madr (as Anglo-Saxon), lagu for logr (as Anglo-Saxon).
Abbey of St. Gall
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was...
. It dates to the 9th century and probably originates in Fulda monastery
Fulda monastery
The monastery of Fulda was a Benedictine abbey in Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. It was founded in 12 March, 744 by Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, and became an eminent center of learning with a renowned scriptorium, and the predecessor of the Fulda...
. It contains mainly excerpts of grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
texts, including the Ars minor and Ars maior of Aelius Donatus
Aelius Donatus
Aelius Donatus was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. The only fact known regarding his life is that he was the tutor of St...
, the grammar of Priscian
Priscian
Priscianus Caesariensis , commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian. He wrote the Institutiones grammaticae on the subject...
, the Etymologiae
Etymologiae
Etymologiae is an encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville towards the end of his life. It forms a bridge between a condensed epitome of classical learning at the close of Late Antiquity and the inheritance received, in large part through Isidore's work, by the early Middle Ages...
of Isidore of Sevilla and the grammar of Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
. Furthermore, it contains a presentation of the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
, the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
, the Anglo-Saxon runes and the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n Younger Futhark
Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
, the latter in the form of a short rune poem
Rune poem
The Rune Poems are three poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem.The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16...
known as the Abecedarium Nordmannicum.
Bischoff (1980) considers the manuscript a personal collection or brevarium of Walahfrid Strabo's, who from 827 was in Fulda as a student of Hrabanus Maurus, and from 838 was abbot of the Reichenau Abbey. Hrabanus himself is known to have been interested in runes, and he is credited with the treatise Hrabani Mauri abbatis fuldensis, de inventione linguarum ab Hebraea usque ad Theodiscam ("on the invention of languages, from Hebrew to German"), identifying the Hebrew and Germanic ("Theodish") languages with their respective alphabets.
The Abecedarium Nordmannicum
The text of the rune poem was unfortunately destroyed in the 19th century by chemicals intended for its preservation. It survives in a 1828 drawing by Wilhelm GrimmWilhelm Grimm
Wilhelm Carl Grimm was a German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm.-Life and work:...
. Under a heading ABECEDARIUM NORD it presents the Younger Futhark in three lines, read by Derolez (1965) as:
feu forman | ur after | thuris thriten | os ist imo | rat end
stabu | oboro | os uuritan
chaon thanne hagal naut habet | is ar endi sol
diuet/cliuot
[tiu] brica endi man | lagu the leohto | yr al bihabet
midi
Linguistically, the text is a mixture of Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
and Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
. It is probably based on a Danish original, maybe imported from Haithabu to Lower Germany, and adapted to the idiom of its recipients. The background of the Carolingian notation of Norse runes is that of intensified contacts between the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
which necessitated interpreters for economic and political exchanges.
The content of the poem are the names of the runes, connected by a few additional alliterating words as mnemonical aids. Differences in rune names are feu for fe, rat for reidh (as Anglo-Saxon rad), chaon for kaun, uncertain tiu for tyr (as Anglo-Saxon tiw), man for madr (as Anglo-Saxon), lagu for logr (as Anglo-Saxon).
External links
- Codex Sangallensis at the Stiffsbibliothek St. Gallen