Algiz

Algiz or sometimes '''Elhaz''' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name for the ᛉ Rune , representing Proto-Germanic final ''z''.

BACKGROUND

The rune is a special case because, like the Ing -rune, it could not be named acrophonically, since the sound it represents does not occur word-initially. Proto-Germanic ''z'' (continuing Proto-Indo-European final ''s'') also soon became obsolete, and the rune is usually transcribed as Proto-Norse ''R''. The sound became regular word-final ''r'' in Old Norse , and the existence of the algiz rune is the only indication that there was still a phonemic difference between the two in Proto-Norse times (roughly in the 8th Century ).

The name ''Algiz'' means " Elk ", but the reconstruction is rather uncertain. In the Rune Poem s of the Young Futhark, the rune is already lost, but in the Gothic Alphabet the letter ''z'' is called ''ezec'', which could be cognate to "elk".

The rune survives in its original shape in the Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet, as ᛉ ''Eolh'', representing a ''χ''-sound. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is glossed as

''Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne / wexeð on wature, wundaþ grimme / blode breneð beorna gehwylcne / ðe him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.''

"The Eolh-sedge is mostly to be found in a marsh; it grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound, covering with blood every warrior who touches it."

''Eolh-secg'' "elk- Sedge " was probably pronounced with a {Link without Title} in Sandhi . The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name ''algiz'' "elk", based on the names of the Anglo-Saxon (of the same shape, but with a different sound) rune and the Gothic Letter ''ezec'' (with a different shape but the same sound) is rather tenous, since almost any masculine noun could have been picked in Proto-Germanic to represent the word-final ''z''-sound.

In the Young Futhark there is ''Yr'' ᛦ ""), replacing Old Futhark ᛗ '' Mannaz ''.

MODERN USE

Neopaganism

In some Neo-Pagan systems of Runic Divination based on the runes, ''Algiz'' is commonly seen as an auspicious rune symbolizing life or protection, and consequently the upturned ''Yr'' rune is sometimes called a "death rune" (note that there is no evidence that reversed symbols were historically used to represent inverse concepts; see also Sauwastika ).

Fascist Use

The ''Algiz'' rune plays a certain role in Fascist Symbolism , e.g. in the '' Allgermanische Heidnische Front ''. {Link without Title}

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