Gyfu facts for kids
| 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 |
The Gyfu rune is an ancient symbol from the Anglo-Saxon rune alphabet, also known as the futhorc. Its name means 'gift' or 'generosity'. This rune looks like ᚷ. People long ago used runes like Gyfu to write down words, just like we use letters today.
Contents
What the Gyfu Rune Means
The Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem is an old poem that describes each rune. It helps us understand what the runes meant to people back then. The poem tells us that Gyfu is about giving and receiving.
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem: | English Translation: |
|
ᚷ Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs, |
Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; |
History of the Gyfu Rune
The Gyfu rune is similar to the letter 𐌲 g in the Gothic alphabet, which was called giba. It also appears in an even older rune alphabet called the Elder Futhark. Experts believe its original name in Proto-Germanic was *gebô, also meaning 'gift'.
Some historians think this rune might have come from the Latin letter Χ. The sound of this Latin letter might have been similar to the Germanic 'g' sound a long time ago.
Gyfu in Modern Times
Today, the gyfu rune is sometimes used in modern mysticism. This is especially true for people interested in Celtic mythology. For example, in a book called The Runic Tarot, the Gyfu rune stands for the balance of giving and receiving in friendships.
The Anglo-Saxon Gār Rune
Besides gyfu, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc also has another rune called gār. This rune looks like ⟨ᚸ⟩. It is named after a type of medieval spear.
You can see the gār rune carved on the Ruthwell Cross, an old stone monument. It also appears in old manuscripts from the 11th century. The gār rune makes the /g/ sound. It is a changed version of the simpler gyfu rune ᚷ.
The Old English word 'gār' means 'spear'. The gār rune was added to the alphabet to make sure the /g/ sound was always clear. This was because the original gyfu rune could sometimes sound like /j/ in Old English. The gār rune helped avoid confusion.
The Gār rune is the 33rd and last rune in one important list of runes found in an old book called Cotton Domitian A.ix.
See also
- Armanen runes § Gibor, a set of 19th-century pseudo-runes with a name similar to *gebô.
