Runes and Germanic Linguistics (Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [Tilsm])

Description

The older runic inscriptions (ca. AD 150 - 450) represent the earliest attestation of any Germanic language. The close relationship of these inscriptions to the archaic Mediterranean writing traditions is demonstrated through the linguistic and orthographic analysis presented here. The extraordinary importance of these inscriptions for a proper understanding of the prehistory and early history of the present-day Germanic languages, including English, becomes abundantly clear once the accu-mulation of unfounded claims of older mythological and cultic studies is cleared away. Preface Figures Tables Chapter 1 What is runology? 1.1 The role of paleography 1.2 Proper focus 1.3 Runology and mythology Chapter 2 The oldest recorded Germanic 2.1 Linguistic reconstruction 2.2 Linguistic inventories vs. linguistic structures 2.3 Proto-Germanic vowels 2.4 Late Proto-Germanic 2.5 Defining Proto-Germanic 2.6 The end of Proto-Germanic 2.7 What's in a name? 2.8 Northwest Germanic: Language and inscriptions 2.9 The end of Northwest Germanic 2.10 Conclusion Chapter 3 The earliest Germanic writing system 3.1 The nature of runes 3.2 The older, or Germanic fuþark Chapter 4 The graphemic system of the older runes 4.1 Uncertain runes 4.2 Distinctive features 4.3 Variant runes Chapter 5 The fifteenth rune 5.1 Earlier attempts at deciphering 5.2 The rise of comparative linguistics 5.3 The conflict over Schleswig-Holstein 5.4 Peter Andreas Munch 5.5 Ludvig Wimmer 5.6 Present-day scholars 5.7 Reinterpretation 5.8 Chronology 5.9 Northwest Germanic /r/ and /z/ 5.10 Conclusion Chapter 6 Age and origin of the fuþark 6.1 Earlier views on the age and origin 6.2 Erik Moltke and the Danish theory 6.3 A structural approach to the question of origins 6.4 The Latin theory 6.5 “Primitive alphabets” 6.6 Inscriptions on metal 6.7 Writing traditions 6.8 Conclusion Chapter 7 Reading runic inscriptions 7.1 Directionality and arrangement 7.2 The Järsberg stone 7.3 Other runestones of more than one line 7.4 The Tune stone 7.5 A question of alignment: The Opedal stone 7.6 Hidden boustrophedon 7.7 Transposed runes 7.8 Conclusion Chapter 8 Dating runic inscriptions 8.1 Linguistic and runological evidence 8.2 Pseudo-evidence for dating 8.3 No help from archeologists: The Strøm whetstone 8.4 Different materials, different shapes? 8.5 Relative dating from linguistic evidence 8.6 Chronological stalemate in the older period Chapter 9 Sacral or secular? 9.1 Magical “solutions” and their consequences 9.2 “Imaginative” and “skeptical” runologists 9.3 Not intended for human eyes 9.4 The assumed magical power of the runes 9.5 The runemaster, erilaz, as “runemagician” 9.6 The runemaster and the cult of Odin 9.7 “Runic tradition” through the millenia Chapter 10 Runic typology 10.1 The role of typology 10.2 The nature of the corpus 10.3 Inscriptions with isolated words 10.4 Names in isolation 10.5 Single runes 10.6 Isolated names on loose objects 10.7 Isolated names on stones 10.8 Commemorative inscriptions 10.9 Inscriptions without verbs 10.10 Symbols of office Chapter 11 Phonological rules and paradigms 11.1 Laws of final syllables 11.2 The phonological rules 11.3 Root-consonant and i-stems 11.4 Repatterning of the paradigms 11.5 Confirming evidence 11.6 The genitive plural and trimoric vowels 11.7 Proto-Indo-European vowel sequences Chapter 12 Some controversial grammatical forms 12.1 Proper names in -o 12.2 Proper names without endings 12.3 Nouns with nominative -s 12.4 The verb */faihijanan/ 12.5 The ghost-form *irilaz Chapter 13 Runic syntax 13.1 Linguists’ use of runic inscriptions 13.2 Descriptive adjectives 13.3 Attributive genitive 13.4 Pronominal modifiers 13.5 Position of the verb 13.6 Conclusion Chapter 14 “Archaicizing” inscriptions 14.1 Vernacular vs. elevated style 14.2 The Setre comb 14.3 The Ellestad stone 14.4 The Strøm whetstone 14.5 The Björketorp and Stentoften stones 14.6 The Jelling stones 1 and 2 Chapter 15 The Weser runebones 15.1 Pieper’s rehabilitation of the Weser inscriptions 15.2 Pieper’s “imaginative” runological interpretation 15.3 Critique of Pieper’s interpretation 15.4 A “skeptical runological” interpretation Chapter 16 Old English digraphic spellings 16.1 Diphthongs or monophthongs? 16.2 The rise of syllabic variants 16.3 Pre-Anglian developments 16.4 West Saxon developments 16.5 The role of the runes References Index of inscriptions Index of runic words Index of names Index of subjects