In Ep 194, I talked at length about Heilung’s song “Fylgija Ear/Futhorck” and the how the lyrics come from the Old English Rune Poem. I have long been fascinated by runes and etymology. I first “deciphered” Anglo-Saxon runes from Ozzy Osbourne’s album Speak of the Devil in the early 80’s when my friend and I noticed a few runes looked like it spelled “Ozzy Osbourne.” We figured out other runes from there and deciphered the messages on the front, middle and back of the album.
Heilung’s use of runes and ancient texts has re-invigorated my fascination for runes, language, & history. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) is the earliest historical form of the English language. It looks and sounds different than modern English and closely resembles modern German. Just a note on some of the Old English letters: thorn (þ) is a voiceless “th” sound like in teeth or thin, while Eth (Ð or ð) is a voiced “th” sound like in the or mother.
A few years ago, I received a book about runes and noticed the Old English Rune Poem and how the translation matched the lyrics from Heilung’s song Futhorck. I thought I would post the stanzas for the first 6 runes (ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚩ ᚱ ᚳ) which give the name of the runic alphabet, Futhorck (also referred to as Futhark ). I also included the last stanza for “Ear” ᛠ the EA rune. I will be talking about the other half of the song Fylgija Ear and the lyrics in Ep 195. In the image at the bottom, Maria is posed in the form of the Ear rune ᛠ.
Old English
1. ᚠ Feoh byþ frofur fira gehwylcum;
sceal ðeah manna gehwylc miclun hyt dælan
gif he wile for drihtne domes hleotan.
2. ᚢ Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned,
felafrecne deor, feohteþ mid hornum
mære morstapa; þæt is modig wuht.
3. ᚦ Ðorn byþ ðearle scearp; ðegna gehwylcum
anfeng ys yfyl, ungemetum reþe
manna gehwelcum, ðe him mid resteð.
4. ᚩ Os byþ ordfruma ælere spræce,
wisdomes wraþu ond witena frofur
and eorla gehwam eadnys ond tohiht.
5. ᚱ Rad byþ on recyde rinca gehwylcum
sefte ond swiþhwæt, ðamðe sitteþ on ufan
meare mægenheardum ofer milpaþas.
6. ᚳ Cen byþ cwicera gehwam, cuþ on fyre
blac ond beorhtlic, byrneþ oftust
ðær hi æþelingas inne restaþ.
29. ᛠ Ear byþ egle eorla gehwylcun,
ðonn[e] fæstlice flæsc onginneþ,
hraw colian, hrusan ceosan
blac to gebeddan; bleda gedreosaþ,
wynna gewitaþ, wera geswicaþ.
Modern English
1. Cattle/Wealth is comfort to everyone;
Shall every man deal it out freely
if he will gain the praise of his lord.
2. Aurochs is steadfast and greatly-horned,
a very fierce beast, it fights with its horns
the splendid moor-walker; that is a noble wight.
3. Thorn is painfully sharp;
evil to any thegn that it touches,
extremely cruel to whomsoever might rest among such.
4. The Mouth/God is the chieftain of all speech,
the sustenance of wisdom and comfort to the wise
and every noble’s pleasure and hope.
5. Riding is in the hall to warriors everywhere
simple and yet very strenuous, to the one that sits upright
on a powerful steed over miles of road.
6. The torch is by living beings everywhere known by its flame
clear and bright, it burns oftenest
where the nobles rest within.
29. The Grave is loathsome to every noble,
when soon the flesh begins,
the corpse to cool, to choose the earth
pale for its bed; the fruits fall,
joys pass away, men fail.
