View source for Gyfu

{{Short description|Runic character}}

{{Infobox rune
| lang1 = pg| lang2 = oe
| name1 = '''*Gebō'''
| name2a = '''Gyfu'''
| name2b = '''Gār'''
| meaning1 = 'gift'
| meaning2a ='gift'
| meaning2b ="[[Migration period spear|spear]]"
| shape1 = [[File:Runic letter gebo.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| shape2a =[[File:Runic letter gebo.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| shape2b =[[File:Runic letter gar.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]] 
| unicode hex1 =16B7
| unicode hex2a =16B7
| unicode hex2b =16B8
| transliteration1 ='''g'''
| transliteration2a ='''ȝ'''
| transliteration2b ='''g'''
| transcription1 = ''g'' 
| transcription2a = ''ȝ'', ''g''
| transcription2b = ''g'' 
| IPA1 = {{IPA|[ɣ]}}
| IPA2a = {{IPA|[g], [ɣ], [ʎ], [j]}}
| IPA2b = {{IPA|[g]}}
| position1 = 7
| position2a = 7
| position2b = 33
}}
{{Contains special characters|Runic|width=30em}}
'''Gyfu''' is the name for the ''g''-[[rune]] {{runic|ᚷ}} in the [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] [[rune poem]], meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':

{| class="wikitable"
| '''Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:'''<ref>Original poem and translation from the [http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html Rune Poem Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990501094729/http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html |date=1999-05-01 }}.</ref>
| '''English Translation:''' 
|-
| 
{{runic|ᚷ}} Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs,
<br />ƿraþu and ƿẏrþscẏpe and ƿræcna gehƿam
<br />ar and ætƿist, ðe bẏþ oþra leas.
|
Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
<br />it furnishes help and subsistence
<br />to all broken men who are devoid of aught else.
|}

The corresponding letter of the [[Gothic alphabet]] is 𐌲 ''g'', called ''giba''. The same rune also appears in the [[Elder Futhark]], with a suggested [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] name '''*gebô''' 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates<ref>J.H. Looijenga, ''Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent Ad 150-700'', PhD diss. Groningen 1997, p. 56. [http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf Download PDF]</ref> that the rune is directly derived from Latin [[Chi (letter)|Χ]], the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic ''g'' in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic ''*reihs'' compared to Latin ''rex'' (as opposed to the [[Etruscan alphabet]], where [[Image:EtruscanX-01.png|14px|X]]/𐌗 had a value of {{IPA|[s]}}).

The ''gyfu'' rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modern [[mysticism]], particularly amongst those interested in [[Celtic mythology]]. It's described, for example, in the book ''The Runic Tarot'' as a representation of the giving-receiving balance in [[friendship]]s.<ref>The Runic Tarot. Gebo has no murkstave. By Caroline Smith, John Astrop. Page 24. Macmillan, Feb 1, 2005. 9780312321925</ref>

==Anglo-Saxon ''gār'' rune==
In addition to ''gyfu'', the [[futhorc|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] has the ''gār'' rune {{angbr|{{Runic|ᚸ}}}}, named after a species of [[Migration Period spear|medieval spear]]. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in  11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically, ''gār'' represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu rune {{Runic|ᚷ}}.

Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune names ''[[Jēran|ger]], [[Ear (rune)|ear]], ior'': due to palatalization in Old English, the original ''g'' rune (i.e., the ''Gyfu'' rune {{angbr|{{Runic|ᚷ}}}}) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see [[yogh]]). The ''ger'' unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly{{when|date=April 2022}} introduced ''gar'' rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.

''Gār'' is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in [[List of manuscripts in the Cotton library#Domitian|Cotton Domitian]] A.ix.

==See also==
*[[Armanen runes#Gibor rune|Armanen runes § Gibor]], 19th-century [[pseudo-runes]] of which the 18th character's name is similar to '''*gebô'''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110414102628/http://www.ancientscripts.com/futhark.html The Futhark on www.ancientscripts.com]

{{Runes}}
[[Category:Runes]]
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