Charnay Fibula

Charnay Fibula
The Charnay Fibula.

The Charnay Fibula is a mid 6th century fibula or brooch which was discovered in Burgundy in 1857. It has a runic inscription consisting of a horizontal partial listing of the first twenty of the twenty-four rune sequence of the elder futhark[1] and two undeciphered vertical lines. The full listing of the elder futhark is known from the inscription on the Kylver Stone. The shape of the "z" rune algiz and the "p" rune peorð differ somewhat from that of other known elder futhark inscriptions.[1]

The inscription apparently is in the Burgundian language, and its transliteration into Latin letters reads:

fuþarkhnijïzstpbem
Unþfinþai Iddan Liano
Kr(istus?)
Ïian(ö?)[2]

One translation into English is that the inscription means, "May Liano discover (be led to) Iddan. Christ. Iaô."[2] The inscription would then appear to be a charm to obtain a lover, with the last words an abbreviation for Christ and a Gnostic word for God the Father.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Elliott, Ralph Warren Victor (1959). Runes: an Introduction. Manchester University Press. pp. 14–18. ISBN 0-7190-0787-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=SDS8AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
  2. ^ a b c MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. pp. 41–44. ISBN 1-84383-205-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=hx7UigqsTKoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 

Other sources

See also

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