[gothic-l] Re: Turkish Runes/Etruscan Runes and Skandza-merchants

[konrad_oddsson]

Greetings my fellow students!

>   Another argument against a Turkish origin is the fact that one 
> scholar trys to point out that the ending of the elder futhark 
> (moving backwards) spells out the name of O.d.in(g).  The problem 
> here is the fact that the name Odhinn did not have that form in 
the elder period, his name would have been rendered >Wodanaz, the 
former being from the later "younger" period.

Yes, I agree with you the form Óðinn is not really possible for the 
period when the elder futhark was in use. 

Given the very close phonological relationship between old Gothic 
and its younger Scandinavian descendants, I suspect that the older 
Gothic form of the name Óðinn would be pronounced Wóðins in the 
nominative singular, but written with a "d" in the spelling of the 
silver bible. Compare also old Gothic "Dags" with the parallel 
reconstructed primitive Germanic form "Dagaz". Norse "óðr" is also 
cognate with old Gothic "Wóþs", suggesting a close relationship in 
other forms from the same root. Any comments or suggestions? 


>   Myself, I lean toward an Etruscan / (H)erulian connection to the 
> origin of the runic form, not the concepts the runes represent.
> Froedhisk ulfr i skogi,
> Odhvaknir

I am as yet undecided in these matters. There are certainly parallel 
forms in a number of alphabets. Given that the "viking" age Goths in 
Scandinavia attributed the origin of the runes to Óðinn/Wóðins, I 
think it highly likely that their migrant cousins in the south did 
likewise. Nevertheless, religion and alphabetic history are two 
different things. Given the distribution and period of the extant 
inscriptions in the older form of the futhark, however, it seems 
highly likely that some migrating Scandinavian group/groups had 
something to do with the alphabet´s adoption. The fact that runic 
inscriptions later became a phenomenon almost exclusively peculiar 
to Scandinavia proper also suggests that the older alphabet was 
somehow closely connected to one or more Scandinavian groups abroad.
The alphabet could also have originated in Scandinavia. Such an 
origination would, however, suggest that some group/groups from 
abroad travelled to Scandinavia for trade purposes. Given close ties 
between Scandinavians and their descendants abroad, such traders 
might well have been every bit as Gothic as the relatives back home.
What are your thoughts in these matters, my fellow students?

Regards,
Konrad.




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