Sowilō (rune)

Template:Sowilo infobox

*Sôwilô or *Saewelô is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the s-rune, meaning "sun". The name is attested for the same rune in all three rune poems, Norwegian and Icelandic Sól and Anglo-Saxon Sigel, as well as for the corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet 𐍃 s, called sauil.

Etymology

The Germanic words for "Sun" have the peculiarity of alternating between -l- and -n- stems, Proto-Germanic *sunnon (Old English sunne, Old Norse, Old Saxon and Old High German sunna) vs. *sôwilô or *saewelô (Old English siȝel (/ˈsɪ jel/), Old Norse sol, Gothic sauil).

This continues a Proto-Indo-European alternation *suwen- vs. *sewol- (Avestan xweng vs. Latin sol, Greek helios, Sanskrit surya, Welsh haul, Breton heol, Old Irish suil "eye"), a remnant of an archaic, so-called "heteroclitic", declension pattern that remained productive only in the Anatolian languages.

Elder Futhark

File:S-runes.jpg

The evolution of the rune in the elder futhark during the centuries.

The Elder Futhark s rune (reconstructed name *Sowilo) is attested in two variants, a Σ shape (four strokes), more prevalent in earlier (3rd to 5th century) inscriptions (e.g. Kylver stone), and an S shape (three strokes), more prevalent in later (5th to 7th century) inscriptions (e.g. Golden horns of Gallehus, Seeland-II-C).

Coincidentially, the Proto-Canaanite letter šin from which the Old Italic s letter ancestral to the rune was derived was itself named after the Sun, shamash, based on the Egyptian uraeus hieroglyph.

Younger Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

The Younger Futhark Sol and the Anglo-Saxon futhorc Sigel runes are identical in shape, a rotated version of the later Elder Futhark rune, with the middle stroke slanting upwards, and the initial and final strokes vertical. Anglo-Saxon sigel (siȝel) is phonologically sījel /si:jel/ (from *sæwel), the yogh being only orthographical.

Rune Poems

Rune Poem:^[1]	English Translation:
Old Norwegian ᛋ Sól er landa ljóme; lúti ek helgum dóme.	Sun is the light of the world; I bow to the divine decree.
Old Icelandic ᛋ Sól er skýja skjöldr ok skínandi röðull ok ísa aldrtregi. rota siklingr.	Sun is the shield of the clouds and shining ray and destroyer of ice.
Anglo-Saxon ᛋ Sigel semannum symble biþ on hihte, ðonne hi hine feriaþ ofer fisces beþ, oþ hi brimhengest bringeþ to lande.	The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers when they journey away over the fishes' bath, until the courser of the deep bears them to land.

Elder Futhark Sowilo rune, earlier ("Σ") variant.
Elder Futhark Sowilo rune, later ("S") variant.
Anglo-Saxon Sigel / Younger Futhark Sol rune
oblique Sig Rune as used in Nazi mysticism

Modern usage

Armanen Runes

The Sig rune in Guido von List's Armanen Futharkh were very loosely based on the Younger Futhark Sigel, thus changing the concept associated with it from "Sun" to "victory" (German Sieg), arriving at a sequence "Sig", "Týr" in his row, yielding Sigtýr, a name of Ódin.

Nazi usage

List's runes were later adopted and modified by Karl Maria Wiligut who was a proponent of their occult use by the NSDAP that were subsequently used widely on insignia and literature during the Third Reich most strikingly as the insignia of the Schutzstaffel (SS), responsible for the adoption of which was the graphic designer Walter Heck.^[2]

Germanic neopaganism

The Sowilo rune is commonly used by Germanic Neopagans, often without political implications.

References

^ Original poems and translation from the Rune Poem Page.
^ SS Himmler's Black Order 1923-45 pg. 146 ¶ 2 § C. ISBN 0-7509-1396-7

[1] Original poems and translation from the Rune Poem Page.

[2] SS Himmler's Black Order 1923-45 pg. 146 ¶ 2 § C. ISBN 0-7509-1396-7

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