page_title: Alu (runic)
section_title: DR BR42
hierarchical_section_title: Alu (runic) / Inscriptions / Bracteates / DR BR42
caption_attribution_description: English: The Funen bracteate (DR BR42 = DR IK58), found in Funen, Denmark. The runic inscription is read as: houaz laþu aaduaaaliia a-- or alternatively houaz / laþu aa duaaalii(a) / al(u) According to the display at the National Museum of Denmark, houaz is interpreted as "The High One", a name of Odin.
context_page_description: The sequence alu is found in numerous Elder Futhark runic inscriptions of Germanic Iron Age Scandinavia between the 3rd and the 8th century. The word usually appears either alone or as part of an apparent formula. The symbols represent the runes Ansuz, Laguz, and Uruz. The origin and meaning of the word are matters of dispute, though a general agreement exists among scholars that the word represents an instance of historical runic magic or is a metaphor for it. It is the most common of the early runic charm words.
  The word disappears from runic inscriptions shortly after Migration Period, even before the Christianization of Scandinavia.
  It may have lived on beyond this period with an increasing association with ale, appearing in stanzas 7 and 19 of the Old Norse poem Sigrdrífumál, compiled in the 13th century Poetic Edda, where knowledge of invocative "ale runes" is imparted by the Valkyrie Sigrdrífa.
  Theories have been suggested that the unique term ealuscerwen, used to describe grief or terror in the epic poem Beowulf, recorded around the 9th to 11th century, may be directly related.
context_section_description: A bracteate discovered on the island of Funen, Denmark features incomprehensible and meaningful text.  The bracteate is housed with many others at the National Museum of Denmark. The transcription reads:
  houaz laþu aaduaaaliia a--
  ᚺᛟᚢᚨᛉ ᛚᚨᚦᚢ ᚨᚨᛞᚢᚫᚫᚫᛚᛁᛁᚨ ᚨ--
  What is transcribed as a-- above has been tentatively read as alu.
  The word houaz has been interpreted as corresponding to Old Norse hávi "the high one", a name of Odin.
caption: The Funen bracteate (DR BR42).
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