Gyfu
Encyclopedia
Gyfu is the name for the g-rune in the Anglo-Saxon
rune poem
, meaning "gift" or "generosity":
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet
is g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark
, with a suggested Proto-Germanic
name *gebô "gift". J. H. Looijenga speculates that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ
, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic gs 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]).
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
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...
, meaning "gift" or "generosity":
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem: | English Translation: |
Gyfu gumena byþ gleng and herenys, wraþu and wyrþscype and wræcna gehwam ar and ætwist, ðe byþ oþra leas. |
Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; it furnishes help and subsistence to all broken men who are devoid of aught else. |
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet
Gothic alphabet
The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet for writing the Gothic language, created in the 4th century by Ulfilas for the purpose of translating the Christian Bible....
is g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark
Elder Futhark
The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Northwest Germanic and Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts such as jewellery, amulets, tools, weapons and runestones...
, with a suggested Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic language
Proto-Germanic , or Common Germanic, as it is sometimes known, is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all the Germanic languages, such as modern English, Frisian, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Luxembourgish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, and Swedish.The Proto-Germanic language is...
name *gebô "gift". J. H. Looijenga speculates that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ
Chi (letter)
Chi is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced as in English.-Greek:-Ancient Greek:Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated velar stop .-Koine Greek:...
, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic gs in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic reihs compared to Latin rex (as opposed to the Etruscan alphabet, where