[gothic-l] Halirunnae in Getica

[B. Gendler]

          Hello Folks,
  Back in message 746 in the archives, Ïusteinus asked about the word
Halirunnae. This word appears in Jordanes The Getica, where he says it is a
Gothic word for "witch." Nobody responded, so I am going to make some
comments and ask some questions. First off, we know that this word probably
has some basis in Gothic. We can assume this because of the component
"Rune," which fits the context. This word should be familiar to us as the
name of the characters of the early Germanic script, but it was also used in
connection with magic, mystery, conspiracy and witchcraft. A few examples
follow...

   Archaic English:
Roun(d) = to Whisper.
   Anglo-Saxon:
Run = Mystery, Secrecy, Secret; Council, Consultation; Runic Character.
Runcræftig = Skilled in Mysteries.
Reonian = to Conspire, Plot.
Reonung = Whispering, Conspiracy, Plot.
Runian = to Whisper, Murmur, Talk Secrets, Conspire.
   Old Saxon:
Runa = Secret Plan.
Runon = to Whisper.
   Faeroese:
Run = Runic Character; Witchcraft
Runa = to Practise Witchcraft.
Runabinda = to Place a Spell Upon.
   Old Norse:
Run(ar) = Secrets, Mysteries, Charms; Runic Character.
Runa = Whisperer.
   Norwegian:
Rune = to Cast Charms and Spells; Engage in Secret Arts; Bewitch, Charm.
Runekall = Sorcerer, Magician.
   New High German:
Raunen = to Whisper.
   Old High German:
Runa = Secret Plan.
Giruni = Secret, Mystery.
Runen = to Whisper Secretly.
   And finally... Gothic:
Runa = Secret; Secret Plan; Secret Planning, Secret Council; Secret Motive,
Hidden Motivation.

     (For a more complete list, check out my etymological studies,
particularly http://www.panikon.com/phurba/r/rune.html The work posted there
is just the beginning of my work and I welcome comments and contributions,
in private e-mail correspondance, of course (gendler at panikon.com). BTW, only
some of the non-commercial parts of the site are up, most of it, including
all of the commercial parts, are not up yet, give us time.)

    Now, for the questions, What is the "haliur" part. I first thought it
connected to the root for "holy," but this doesn't seem to make sense. First
off, a witch can only be "holy" in pagan times, at best, but the root "holy"
seems to have only come into parlance with the meaning "holy" in Christian
times. It could be the same root in the meaning of "heal" or "healthy." This
would be a rather positive outlook on "witches," as people who practiced
"healing magic," but that somehow doesn't flow with the presentation of
Jordanes. Jordanes makes them out to be evil. Then again, Jordanes was a
Christian, wasn't he?
    Now, given all this, would anybody like to take a stab at reconstructing
the original Gothic form of the word or make any comments on its possible
meaning? Any help would be appreciated.
            Thanks in advance, Gendler.





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