Runes & Runic Languages

[Mr Bleak]

The Right Side of the Franks Casket.
Overview

Professor Napier, discussing the Franks Casket a quarter of a century ago, concluded with these words: I hope that these suggestions may have thrown some light on the mys- terious inscription on the Florence fragment, or at any rate may advance us nearer to its complete elucidation. A thoroughly satisfactory solution of all the problems connected with it is scarcely to be hoped for until we know to what the carving refers, who the actors, and what the scenes were thereon depicted.' That was in 1900, and though many articles have since been written in various attempts to clear up the mystery of this quaint old piece of carved whale-bone, none of them have won general acceptance.......​

Thank you so so much for all the information. I know so little about the time period.....but wondering did Saxon/Norse Heathenism and Christianity co-exist for a century or two? Interesting to have so many different influences referenced (for want of a better word) on one artefact.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Thank you so so much for all the information. I know so little about the time period.....but wondering did Saxon/Norse Heathenism and Christianity co-exist for a century or two? Interesting to have so many different influences referenced (for want of a better word) on one artefact.

I'm going to post a Judeo-Christian interpretation. A very interesting article

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Franks Casket: A Judeo-Christian Interpretation.
Overview:

The most famous of the objects bequeathed by the English antiquary Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826-1897) to the British Museum is a carved bone casket. It is considered to be a Northumbrian work of the 8th century. In view of the many unsolved problems of the Franks Casket, my motto in the study of this artful object of the eigth century has been borrowed from Kenneth Sisam, Studies in the History of Old English Literature, Oxford 1953, 198: The advances which are the real life of a study become smaller, fe wer, and more hardly won. Some will then say that the subject is worked out. It is more cheerful to believe that certain veins, once rich, are no Ion ger yielding enough, and to look for others to supplement them.
​

Source: Peeters, Leopold, "The Franks Casket: A Judeo-Christian Interpretation.", 1996, Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 46: 17–52.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Wayland the Smith and the Massacre of the innocents, Pagan-Christian 'amalgamation' on the Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket
Abstract:

On the front panel of the Anglo-Saxon ivory box ‘Franks Casket’, the cruel revenge of Wayland the smith and the Nativity of Jesus are depicted side by side. This juxtaposition seems to represent a contrast between the cruelty of paganism and the Christian faith. Other researchers, however, have argued that Wayland should be understood as a positive Christian symbol. This discussion will argue that the depiction of Wayland’s child murder together with the Nativity of Christ was inspired by the iconography of the Massacre of the Innocents, depicting Herod and the child murder next to the Magi and the Virgin with Child. If Wayland can be interpreted as an Anglo-Saxon pagan counterpart of King Herod the Great, then the Casket functions as a forum for the examination of pagan and Christian cultural amalgamation during the early Middle Ages.​

Source: Oehrl, Sigmund. (2021) Wayland the Smith and the Massacre of the innocents, Pagan-Christian 'amalgamation' on the Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket in Steinforth DH, (ed.), Rozier CC, (ed.). Britain and its Neighbours: Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Keeping History: Images, Texts, Ciphers, and the Franks Casket
Abstract:
As David Kahn and others have noted, the encrypted texts that have survived from the European Middle Ages do tend to be, as ciphers, simple: vocalic substitution ciphers, for example, or the dot or number ciphers described by both Isidore of Seville and Rabanus Maurus. For all that the basic mechanism of these substitution ciphers is simple, even "simple in the extreme", however, a surprising number of these texts do not resolve cleanly into plaintext. This chapter considers two of these problematic ciphers and their contexts: the cipher on the right hand panel of the Franks Casket, and the interpolated cipher in Exeter Book Riddle #36. The casket's images depict, wildly, episodes from Germanic mythological history, Christian narratives, and Roman mythology and history. The fact of the existence of the cipher alone charges the way we approach the rest of the casket's images and texts.

Source: Susan Kim and Asa Simon Mittman, "Keeping History: Images, Texts, Ciphers, and the Franks Casket," with Susan Kim, in A Material History of Medieval and Early Modern Ciphers, ed. K Ellison and S Kim (New York: Routledge, 2017)​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Picture-poem on the Front of the Franks Casket.
Abstract:

Summary. - On the front of the Franks Casket the runic poem and the pictures seem to be unconnected, while on the right side a connection between poem and is immediately apparent. Yet when the grammar of the latter poem is analysed accompanying pictures are read from right to left, an association emerges which firmer than and quite different from that at first perceived - not surprising when is partially coded. The single coded vowel of the inscription on the front of suggests the possibility of a similarly disguised connection between the picture-the apparently unassociated poem if the pictures are again read right- to-left. At connection is apparent. But then it is seen that on the front panel the association is through iconographie rather than grammatical manipulation, and the transformation meaning is far more radical than that on the right side, a complete reversal rather shif
​

Source:Osborn, Marijane. “The Picture-poem on the Front of the Franks Casket.” Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, vol. 75, no. 1, 1974, pp. 50–65.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Three New Cryptic Runes on the Franks Casket.
Abstract:

The article discusses the cryptic runes carved onto the Anglo-Saxon artifact known as the Franks Casket. According to the author, three of the runes traditionally read by scholars as regular runes should be read as cryptic runes. It is suggested that such a reading would reconcile the visible differences between these characters and other regular runes and would also allow for a better understanding of the text. Topics discussed include British scholar Arthur Napier, Jutish history, and the Old English and Old Saxon languages.​

Source: Bredehoft, Thomas A. "Three New Cryptic Runes on the Franks Casket." Notes & Queries 58.2 (2011).

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Grammar of the Inscription on the Franks Casket, Right Side.”
Abstract:

Recently I showed how the second line of the vowel-coded poem on the right side of the Franks Casket made sense if two of the inscribed letters were granted their Roman values rather than read as code-symbols: À Egli drigip , swa hiri erth-eg is groef.1 In that article I considered only problems immediately relevant to this line and avoided questioning traditional inter- pretations of the first line, even though puzzled by its grammatical diffi- culties and the apparent lack of a simple antecedent for hiri "to her."2 The attractiveness of the usual interpretation, that the first line is about something sitting on a mound, is its correspondence with the pictures framed by the poem. But a close examination of the grammar reveals that this reading, if not precisely a mistake, seriously fails to take sufficient account of the complexity of the relationship between picture​

Source: Osborn, Marijane. “The grammar of the inscription on the Franks Casket, right side.” Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, vol. 73, no. 1/3, 1972, pp. 663–71

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Cup of Dom—the Identity of a Small Figure on the FranksCasket,
Overview:

Since its discovery in 1857, the Franks Casket has become a byword for schol-arly puzzles amongst Anglo-Saxonists. The casket‟s complex interweaving of images from pagan and Christian sources alongside inscriptions in runic and Roman letters poses countless questions to modern viewers. Academic debate over the presence of a programme uniting the casket‟s various elements contin-ues, largely as a result of the apparent incongruity of those elements‟ diverse cultural influences. Hundreds of studies have revealed an intricate web of sym-bols linking panels and the narratives from which they derive.1 However, one important figure on the casket‟s rear panel remains unidentified by scholars: a small human figure whose presence underscores one of the panel‟s primary themes​

Source: Dustin McKinley Frazier, The Cup of Dom—the Identity of a Small Figure on the FranksCasket, in: Marginalia, University of Saint Andrews, 2010, p. 50-63.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Two plates from a late Saxon casket.
Overview:

Two unique pieces of Late Anglo-Saxon silverwork of outstanding interest have recently been purchased by the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities of the British Museum. The pieces are plates from a house-shaped casket, or shrine, of a well-known British type.1 They formed part of the collection of a
Sussex doctor and were purchased from him by the dealer who sold them to the Museum: they are unfortunately unprovenanced, but from external evidence2 it seems likely that they formed part of a Victorian collection. One of the pieces is rectangular and measures i2*6x£-2 cm., the other is rhomboid and measures along its longest side 12-1 cm., they differ also in their ornamentation which is carried out in a shallow carving, or graving, technique.​

Source: Wilson, D. M. (1956). Two plates from a late Saxon casket. The Antiquaries Journal, 36(1-2), 31–39.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Mediterranean Scenes on the Franks Casket: Narrative and Exegesis.
Abstract:
The Frnaks Casket, a whalebone box created c. 700, probably in Northumbria, presents images of episodes from Christian, Roman and Germanic historical traditions across its front, back, sides and lid. Interacting with these images are inscriptions which mix Old English runes and Latin script. The casket's intriguing combinations of traditions have generated much discussion, but their meanings remain ambiguous. This article focuses on the three 'Mediterranean' scenes: the discovery of Romulus and Remus suckling from the she-wolf; the sack of Jerusalem by Titus in AD 70; and the Adoration of the Magi. By investigating the place of these narrtives within early Anglo-Saxon culture, I argue that they were all of primarily Christian significance. The casket seems designed to be read on several levels. On a historical level, the episodes all connect with an early medieval view which privileged the role of Rome in Christian history, as expounded, for example, by Orosius. Moreover, I read the specific representations of these narratives as responses to contemporary developments in the Northumbrian church, thus adding to arguments that the casket was created in a monastic milieu. The panels reflect Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics' relationship with the church of Rome, certain interests in the exegetical significance of the Temple, and the introduction of the cult of the Virgin to England. Specifically, I suggest that the sphere of influence of Wearmouth-Jarrow is a likely context of production.
The significance of the three Germanic scenes on the casket may be reassessed in light of this interpretation. I argue that, rather than juxtaposing two contradictory world views, the casket's designer sought to unite local Anglo-Saxon and imported Christian history into one narrative. Comparison can be made with the extension of the West Saxon royal genealogy in the ninth century, which similarly combines pagan gods and heroes with biblical history.​

Source: Cross, Katherine. “The Mediterranean Scenes on the Franks Casket: Narrative and Exegesis.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 78, 2015, pp. 1–40.​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Franks Casket An Anglo-Saxon Synthesis of Religion, Literature and Art.
Abstract:
The Franks Casket, named for Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, who donated the casket to the British Museum in 1867, is one of the most distinctive pieces of Anglo-Saxon craftsmanship. A product of 8th century Northumbria, it draws upon many sources - artistic, literary and religious - from both the Germanic and the early Medieval European Christian traditions. By analysing these sources it is possible to learn more about the society, as well as the artisan, who produced it. The casket itself is quite small, about 20cm long and 10cm high, and has five carved panels made of whalebone. Each consists of a central picture and a surrounding border of runic inscriptions, except for the lid, which may once have had an inscription, but this is now lost.

Source: Daniel Bray . The Franks Casket An Anglo-Saxon Synthesis of Religion, Literature and Art, Religion, Literature and the Arts Project, Proceedings of the Australian International Conference, 1996​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Anglo-Saxon Literacy and the Roman Letters on the Franks Casket.
Abstract:
The Franks Casket, a carved whalebone box from eighth century Northumbria, has attracted nearly continual interest since coming to light. The Casket presents an endlessly fascinating riddle of words and pictures conjoined. On the one hand, we find a series of images which depict scenes from various narratives deriving from Christian, Hebraic, classical, and Germanic legend and history. On the other hand, we find prominent lettering, largely in the form of runes, surrounding the images, which arguably constitute one of the earliest English literary texts. The relationship between image and text shifts from side to side and within each panel, forcing the audience to keep revising how the two are read together. While we seem no closer to a definitive agreement on ‘‘what it all means’’, the scholarship has increasingly come to the consensus that the creator of the Casket was a canny master of ways of representing and transmitting knowledge: confident, literate, and fluent. Exploring the implied relationship between text and image appears to be one of his main intentions. One of the more curious instances of his manipulation of text and writing occurs on the back panel, which depicts scenes from Titus’ conquest of Jerusalem. On the lefthand side, the runic text reads ‘‘Her fegtaþ Titus end Giuþeasu’’—‘‘Here Titus and the Jews are fighting’’—and this more or less reflects the scene on the upper left quadrant. Then on the top right, the text shifts into Latin and into the Roman alphabet. It reads ‘‘Hic fugiant Hierusalim’’, and then, modulating back into runes down the right-hand side, ‘‘afitatores’’—‘‘Here the inhabitants are fleeing Jerusalem’’, which reflects the scene on the upper right quadrant.​

Source: Klein, T. (2009). Anglo-Saxon Literacy and the Roman Letters on the Franks Casket. Studia Neophilologica, 81(1), 17–23.​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Elis Wadstein .The Clermont Runic Casket (Frank´s Casket), 1900

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Speech Acts and Inscriptions: The Syntax of the Right Side of the Auzon/Franks Casket
Overview:
The Auzon Franks Casket contains a variety of inscriptions in both Latin and Old English, unusual for their length in a text this early. A. S. Napier’s 1901 analysis of the phonology and morphology of the Old English portion came to the conclusion that it reflects a Northumbrian variety of the language no later than the early eighth century, about the time of Cædmon’s Hymn. Subsequent scholarship has confirmed this location and date, or at least has produced nothing to throw either out of possibility. However, nearly everything else about the significance and structure of the inscription, from word division to parts of speech, remains under investigation. Almost forty years ago R. I. Page accurately described the bibliography of interpretations of this runic inscription as ―formidable’ (1973: 175), and no single breakthrough has reduced the plethora of interpretations arising from this text’s many points of obscurity and outright grammatical ambiguity. Toon, while venturing a date in the late seventh century (675) for the language, which would make it the earliest known writing in any variety of English, wrote of dialectical differences that ―silence is the best response to the total absence of information about, say, Early East Anglian‖ (1992: 428). But not to act is itself an action, and in the case of the Auzon Franks Casket there are possibilities that bear consideration and perhaps ultimate rejection

Source: Blockley, Mary Eva. (2011) - Speech Acts and Inscriptions: The Syntax of the Right Side of the Auzon/Franks Casket In: Essays Hans Sauer 1 S. 171-178​