# Rune poems

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1915 translation

## The Norwegian Rune Poem

ᚠ Fé vældr frænda róge; føðesk ulfr í skóge.
ᚢ Úr er af illu jarne; opt løypr ræinn á hjarne.
ᚦ Þurs vældr kvinna kvillu; kátr værðr fár af illu.
ᚬ Óss er flæstra færða fǫr; en skalpr er sværða.
ᚱ Ræið kveða rossom væsta; Reginn sló sværðet bæzta.
ᚴ Kaun er barna bǫlvan; bǫl gørver nán fǫlvan.
ᚼ Hagall er kaldastr korna; Kristr skóp hæimenn forna.
ᚾ Nauðr gerer næppa koste; nøktan kælr í froste.
ᛁ Ís kǫllum brú bræiða; blindan þarf at læiða.
ᛅ Ár er gumna góðe; get ek at ǫrr var Fróðe.
ᛋ Sól er landa ljóme; lúti ek helgum dóme.
ᛏ Týr er æinendr ása; opt værðr smiðr blása.
ᛒ Bjarkan er laufgrønstr líma; Loki bar flærða tíma.
ᛘ Maðr er moldar auki; mikil er græip á hauki.
ᛚ Lǫgr er, fællr ór fjalle foss; en gull ero nosser.
ᛦ Ýr er vetrgrønstr viða; vænt er, er brennr, at sviða.

### Translation of Norwegian Rune Poem

ᚠ Fe Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen; the wolf lives in the forest.
ᚢ Ur Dross comes from bad iron; the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.
ᚦ Thurs Giant causes anguish to women; misfortune makes few men cheerful.
ᚬ As Estuary is the way of most journeys; but a scabbard is of swords.
ᚱ Reidh Riding is said to be the worst thing for horses; Reginn forged the finest sword.
ᚴ Kaun Ulcer is fatal to children; death makes a corpse pale.
ᚼ Hagall Hail is the coldest of grain; Christ created the world of old.
ᚾ Naudhr Constraint gives scant choice; a naked man is chilled by the frost.
ᛁ Isa Ice we call the broad bridge; the blind man must be led.
ᛅ Ar Plenty is a boon to men; I say that Frodi was generous.
ᛋ Sol Sun is the light of the world; I bow to the divine decree.
ᛏ Tyr Tyr is a one-handed god; often has the smith to blow.
ᛒ Bjarkan Birch has the greenest leaves of any shrub; Loki was fortunate in his deceit.
ᛘ Madhr Man is an augmentation of the dust; great is the claw of the hawk.
ᛚ Logr A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side; but ornaments are of gold.
ᛦ Yr Yew is the greenest of trees in winter; it is wont to crackle when it burns.

## The Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
### Translation (Dickins 1915)

From Runic and heroic poems of the old Teutonic peoples (1915)
Feoh Wealth is a comfort to all men; yet must every man bestow it freely, if he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
Ur The aurochs is proud and has great horns; it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns; a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.
Thorn The thorn is exceedingly sharp, an evil thing for any knight to touch, uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.
Os The mouth is the source of all language, a pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men, a blessing and a joy to every knight.
Rad Riding seems easy to every warrior while he is indoors and very courageous to him who traverses the high-roads on the back of a stout horse.
Cen The torch is known to every living man by its pale, bright flame; it always burns where princes sit within.
Gyfu 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.
Wynn Bliss he enjoys who knows not suffering, sorrow nor anxiety, and has prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
Haegl Hail is the whitest of grain; it is whirled from the vault of heaven and is tossed about by gusts of wind and then it melts into water.
Nyd Trouble is oppressive to the heart; yet often it proves a source of help and salvation to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes.
Is Ice is very cold and immeasurably slippery; it glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems; it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
Ger Summer is a joy to men, when God, the holy King of Heaven, suffers the earth to bring forth shining fruits for rich and poor alike.
Eoh The yew is a tree with rough bark, hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots, a guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
Peordh Peorth is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
Eolh 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.
Sigel The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers when they journey away over the fishes' bath, until the courser of the deep bears them to land.
Tir Tiw is a guiding star; well does it keep faith with princes; it is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails.
Beorc The poplar bears no fruit; yet without seed it brings forth suckers, for it is generated from its leaves. Splendid are its branches and gloriously adorned its lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
Eh The horse is a joy to princes in the presence of warriors. A steed in the pride of its hoofs, when rich men on horseback bandy words about it; and it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
Mann The joyous man is dear to his kinsmen; yet every man is doomed to fail his fellow, since the Lord by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the earth.
Lagu The ocean seems interminable to men, if they venture on the rolling bark and the waves of the sea terrify them and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
Ing Ing was first seen by men among the East-Danes, till, followed by his chariot, he departed eastwards over the waves. So the Heardingas named the hero.
Ethel An estate is very dear to every man, if he can enjoy there in his house whatever is right and proper in constant prosperity.
Dæg Day, the glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the Lord; it is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor, and of service to all.
Ac The oak fattens the flesh of pigs for the children of men. Often it traverses the gannet's bath, and the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith in honourable fashion.
Æsc The ash is exceedingly high and precious to men. With its sturdy trunk it offers a stubborn resistance, though attacked by many a man.
Yr Yr is a source of joy and honour to every prince and knight; it looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey.
Ior Iar is a river fish and yet it always feeds on land; it has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness.
Ear The grave is horrible to every knight, when the corpse quickly begins to cool and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth. Prosperity declines, happiness passes away and covenants are broken.

## The Abecedarium Nordmannicum

(There are various readings of this difficult manuscript. The following is the reading given by Dickins, Runic and heroic poems of the old Teutonic peoples, published 1915 and thus free of copyright. Cursive letters are emendations by Dickins.)
    Feu forman
    Ur after
    Thuris thritten stabu,
    Os is himo oboro,
    Rat endost ritan
    Chaon thanne cliuôt.
    Hagal, Naut hab&
    Is, Ar endi Sol
    Tiu, Brica endi Man midi
    Lagu the leohto,
    Yr al bihabet.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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