- Kragehul I
, Denmark.
Inscription
The
Elder Futhark inscription reads::ek e=rila=z asugisalas m=uh=a h=aite g=ag=ag=a ginu g=ah=e ... lija ... hagala wiju big- ...According to Rundata 2.0.]The first part is read as :"ek erilaz asugisalas muha haite, gagaga"Interpreted as "I, the
Erilaz of Asugisalaz am called Muha" followed by some sort of battle cry or chant. Asugisalaz contains "ansu-" "god" and "gisala-" "sprout, offspring". "Muha" may either be a personal name, or a word meaning "retainer" or similar. The runes of "gagaga" are displayed as a row of threebindrune s based on the X-shape of the "g" rune with sidetwigs attached to its extremities for the "a". A similar sequence "gægogæ" is found on theUndley bracteate .Interpretations
The "gagaga" and the remaining part of the inscriptions have prompted varying and partly fanciful interpretations.
chneider
Schneider (1969) opts for
bull sacrifice , reading "g-a" as "gift, god!" and the remaining as :"Ginugahelija Hagala wiju bi g [aia] . ":"the mighty roarer [the sacrificial bull] , the Hagal, I dedicate to the spear".Düwel
Düwel (1983) reads the thrice repeated "g-a" as " g [ibu] a [uja] " "I give good fortune". For the second part of the inscription, he has:" ginu-ga he [lmat] lija ... hag?l(a) wi [g] ju bi g [aia] .":"magical-"ga", the helmet-destroying hail I dedicate to the spear"
Pieper
Pieper (1999) reads "g-a" as "g [ebu] a [nsu] " "gift to the god [Odin] ", with following:"ginu-ga hellija hag?la wiju bi g [ebu] ." :"magical-god-gift, hellish hail I dedicate upon this gift"
MacLeod and Mees
MacLeod and Mees (2006) read "gagaga" as an onomatopeia related to forms like the
Undley bracteate 's "gægogæ", and read the expression as a metrical charm:"gagaga ginu gahellija, hagala wiju bi g [aize] ." :"gagaga" I yell resoundingly, hail I dedicate in the s [pear] "Notes
References
*Düwel, Klaus, "Runenkunde" 2nd ed., Stuttgart 1983.
*MacLeod, Mindy, and Bernard Mees, "Runic Amulets and Magic Objects", Woodbridge 2006.
*Pieper, Peter, "Fluchweihe" oder "Weihefluch": Imitative Kampfesmagie bei den Germanen nach dem Zeugnis von Runeninschriften" in: Studien zur Sachsenforschung, 13, 1999, 303-324.
*Rundata 2.0 for Windows.
*Schneider, Karl, "Runische Inschriftenzeugnisse zum Stieropferkult der Angelsachsen" in: Festschrift für Edgar Mertner, (hg.) Fabian, Bernhard, Suerbaum, Ulrich. München 1969, 9-54.External links
* [http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/abfragen/standard/deutung2.asp?findno=25&ort=Kragehul&objekt=Speer%2D%2FLanzenschaft runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de entry]
ee also
*
Runic alphabet
*Elder Futhark
*Æsir
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