View source for Kaunan

{{short description|Rune}}
{{infobox rune
| lang1 = pg | lang2 = oe | lang3 = on
| name1 = '''*Kauną'''<sup>?</sup>
| name2 = '''Cén'''
| name3 = '''Kaun'''
| meaning1 = ?
| meaning2 = "torch"
| meaning3 = "ulcer"
| shape1 = [[File:Runic letter kauna.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| shape2 =[[File:Runic letter cen.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| shape3 =[[File:Long-branch_Kaun.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| unicode hex1 =16B2
| unicode hex2 =16B3
| unicode hex3 =16B4
| transliteration1 ='''k'''
| transliteration2 ='''c'''
| transliteration3 ='''k'''
| transcription1 =''k''
| transcription2 =''c''
| transcription3 =''k'', ''g''
| IPA1 = {{IPA|[k]}}
| IPA2 = {{IPA|[k], [c], [tʃ]}}
| IPA3 = {{IPA|[k], [g]}}
| position13 = 6
}}
{{Contains special characters|Runic|width=30em}}
[[Image:K-runes.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The evolution of the rune in the elder futhark during the centuries]] 
The ''k''-[[rune]] {{runic|ᚲ}} (Younger Futhark {{runic|ᚴ}}, Anglo-Saxon futhorc {{runic|ᚳ}}) is called '''Kaun''' in both the [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] [[rune poem]]s, meaning "[[ulcer]]". The reconstructed [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] name is '''*Kauną'''. It is also  known as '''Kenaz''' ("torch"), based on its Anglo-Saxon name.

The Elder Futhark shape is likely directly based on [[Old Italic alphabet|Old Italic]] ''c'' ([[Image:EtruscanC-01.png|14px|C]], 𐌂) and on Latin [[C]]. The Younger Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc shapes have parallels in Old Italic shapes of ''k'' ([[Image:EtruscanK-01.png|14px|K]], 𐌊) and Latin [[K]] (compare the [[Negau helmet]] inscription). The corresponding [[Gothic alphabet|Gothic letter]] is 𐌺 ''k'', called ''kusma''.

The shape of the Younger Futhark ''kaun'' rune ({{runic|ᚴ}}) is identical to that of the "bookhand" [[s rune]] in the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]].
The {{runic|ᚴ}} rune also occurs in some [[continental runic inscriptions]]. It has been suggested that in these instances, it represents the ''ch'' /χ/ sound resulting from the [[Old High German sound shift]]  (e.g. {{Runic|ᛖᛚᚴ}} ''elch'' in [[Nordendorf II]]).<ref>
Tineke Looijenga, ''Texts & contexts of the oldest Runic inscriptions'', BRILL, 2003, {{ISBN|978-90-04-12396-0}}, p. 129.
</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
| '''[[Rune Poems|Rune Poem]]:'''<ref>Original poems and translation from the [https://web.archive.org/web/19990501094729/http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html Rune Poem Page].</ref>
| '''English Translation:'''
|-
| 
'''[[Old Norwegian]]'''
<br />{{runic|ᚴ}} Kaun er barna bǫlvan;
<br />bǫl gørver nán fǫlvan.
|
<br />Ulcer is fatal to children;
<br />death makes a corpse pale.
|- 
| 
'''[[Old Icelandic]]'''
<br />{{runic|ᚴ}} Kaun er barna böl
<br />ok bardaga [för]
<br />ok holdfúa hús.
<br />''flagella'' konungr.
| 
<br />Disease fatal to children
<br />and painful spot
<br />and abode of mortification.
|-
|
'''[[Old English]]'''
<br />{{runic|ᚳ}} Cen bẏþ cƿicera gehƿam, cuþ on fẏre
<br />blac ond beorhtlic, bẏrneþ oftust
<br />ðær hi æþelingas inne restaþ.
| 
<br />The torch is known to every living man
<br />by its pale, bright flame; it always burns
<br />where princes sit within.
|-
|colspan=2 |'''Notes:'''
* The Icelandic poem is glossed with Latin ''flagella'' "whip".
* The Anglo-Saxon poem gives the name ''cen'' "torch". <!-- (Which was perhaps an expansion upon the "burning" of the ulcers or chancres described in the Scandinavian poems, or possibly because the original meaning had become lost.) -->
|}

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Runes}}

[[Category:Runes]]


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