Johannes Beers
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Runes in Frisia

In may 2011 I visited London. Any student of Frisian Language and Cultureknows that the British Museum there holds an important Frisian treasure: a sixth century coin with a name on it, that is regarded to be the oldest recorded word in the Frisian language: skanomodu.

​The fact that the name was coined in runes was new to me and it sparked a new interest in runes in general. I was surprised that not only a number of runic inscriptions been found in Friesland, but these finds make up a specific corpus of runic inscriptions. My surprise at the time has become the main question for this essay: what makes an object with a runic legend ‘Frisian’?  

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Runes in Frisia

The shortest possible introduction into history, use and etymology of runes in general
runes
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​Frisian aspects of runic inscriptions

Look at the aspects that make an runic object ‘Frisian’
aspects
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the corpus of Frisian runic inscriptions

The corpus in as far as it is agreed upon, with a quick look at the criticism of that Frisian corpus. 
corpus

In Fryske pilgrimaazje

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Sa gie it: wy hiene al trije jier net mear yn Londen west, dat in plan foar in midwike yn in hotel wie gau makke. 

Wy hiene allegear ús winsken: de bern woene nei it Londen Akwarium en Dippy, it Diplodokus-skelet fan it Natural History Museum wer ris sjen. Myn freondinne woe sjoppe en nei Tate Modern. Ik hie mar ien winsk: nei it British Museum (ôfb. 1). Fierder gean ik oeral mei hinne, mar ik wol yn alle gefallen nei it British Museum.

Dat sit sa: sûnt dy lêste kear dat wy yn Londen west hiene, haw ik myn stúdzje Frysk oppakt en bin lid wurden fan ‘e studinteferiening Frysk, dy’t de namme Skanomodu hat. Myn betingst dat wy nei it British Museum gean soene, hie mei it Frysk en de studinteferiening te krijen. 

It âldste oerlevere Fryske wurd is nammentlik ‘skanomodu’. It stiet yn runeskrift op in munt út ‘e 5e ieu en betsjut nei alle  gedachten sokssawat as ‘skjinne moed’. Ik fielde my ferplichte om dat wurd, dêr’t de Fryske taal - om it sa mar te sizzen - mei begûn is, in lytse besite te bringen op it plak dêr’t it bewarre wurdt: it British Museum yn Londen. Us lytse fakânsje krige sa wol wat fan in pilgrimaazje.

Om’t wy wolris earder yn it British Museum west hiene en ik wist hoe  grut it is, haw ik yn in mail oan it museum stjoerd, dêr’t ik yn frege  wêr’t ik dizze ferneamde munt fine koe.

“Dear Mr Beers,
The skanomodu coin is in the Enlightenment Gallery, just off the Great Court in the middle of the museum on the Ground Floor. The coin is in case 17, which deals with Ancient Scripts. There is a plan of the  layout of the gallery just inside the door from the Great Court, so  you should  be able to find it fairly easily from there.
Best wishes,
Gareth W.
Curator of Early Mediëval Coins”


Sa koe it net mear mis gean en freed 6 maaie 2011 wie it dan safier.   Nei in reis fan mear as seishûndert kilometer mei de bus, de trein, de boat en nochris mei de trein, siet ik mei de hiele húshâlding yn ‘e underground. Central Line nei Holborn en fan dêr rinne nei Great Russell Street. Foar it fatsoen earst even mei de bern nei de Egyptyske mummys en de Sutton Hoo Helmet, mar doe wie it dan ek  echt tiid foar heit  syn  hichtepunt fan ‘e fakânsje. 

Sa stie ik dan by eintsjebeslút foar  case 17  fan de  Enlightenment Gallery:
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Update

​Tongersdei 1 maaie 2014 wie ik dan wer yn it British Museum, it fototastel ree foar aksje, freondinne en bern fuortsjoerd nei ien of oare vikinge-útstalling en ik gean nei 'case 17' yn de 'Enlightenment Gallery'. 

De âldst bekende Fryske taalutering! Oh, de spanning! Wêrom rinne al dy Japanners my foar de fuotten? Wie 'case 17' no rjochts- of loftsôf? It sil der no, trije jier letter dochs wol lizze? JA! De Skanomodu munt leit der!!!
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Library

Literature used in my paper on Runes in Frisia

Bammesberger, A., Skanomodu, linguistic issues, in Bammesberger, A. and Wollmann, A., Britain 400-600: language and history (Heidelberg, 1990) 

Buma, W.J., Frieslands runeninscripties, Groningen-Djakarta, 1957 

Dűwel, K. and Tempel, W.D., Knochenkämme mit Runeninschriften aus Friesland, in Paleohistoria 14 (1968) 

Gilliberto, C., The criteria for the formation of a Frisian runic corpus revisited, in Bremmer jr, R.H., Johnston, T.S.B. and Vries, O., Approaches to Old Frisian Philology, Amsterdam/Atlanta, 1998 

Larrington, C. (transl.), The Poetic Edda, New York, 1996 

Looijenga, T., Checklist Frisian runic inscriptions, in Quak, A, Looijenga, T., Frisian runes and neighbouring traditions (Amsterdam-Atlanta, 1996); 

Looijenga, T., Runes around the North Sea and on the continent AD 150-700 (proefschrift) (Groningen, 1997) 

Nielsen, H.F. Foar-Aldfrysk: in oersjoch, in Dykstra, A. and Bremmer jr, R.H., In skiednis fan ‘e Fryske taalkunde, Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, 1999 

Nielsen, H.F., Developments in Frisian runology: a discussion of Dűwel & Tempel’s runic corpus from 1970, in Quak, A, Looijenga, T., Frisian runes and neighbouring traditions (Amsterdam-Atlanta, 1996) 

Page, R.I., Runes, reading the past, London, 2005 

Quak, A. Runica Frisica, in Bremmer jr, R.H. et al, Aspects of Old Frisian Philology, Amsterdam-Groningen [Estrik nr. 69]

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  • Blog
  • Frysk
    • ferhalen
    • essees
    • boekbesprekken
    • kollums
  • History
    • Frescoes >
      • Frisian frescoes
      • Danish frescoes
      • Swedish frescoes
      • Other countries
    • Runes >
      • Runes in Frisia >
        • Frisian runic inscriptions
        • Aspects of Frisian runes
        • The corpus of Frisian runic inscriptions
      • Runes in Denmark
      • Runes in Sweden
    • Viking trading places >
      • Ribe
      • Hedeby
      • Birka
      • Kaupang
      • Dorestad
    • Carel Roorda
    • The Georgian uprising on Texel
    • 1952: Swedish DC-3 shot down by Russia
  • Genealogie
    • beersgeschiedenis
    • Beerskwartierstaat >
      • beersrinzepiet
      • beersjitze
      • beersrinze
      • beerspieter
      • beersrinsegerlofs
      • beersgerlofklazes
      • beersclaasmartens
      • beersmaartenijans
    • palgeschiedenis
    • PalKwartierstaat >
      • palauke
      • paljogchum >
        • devries
      • paljelkewiebes
      • palwiebeoenes
      • paloenejelkes
      • paljelkejohannes
      • paljohannesgerrits
      • palgerritjohannes
  • Foto's
    • Geschiedenis
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    • Stad en Dorp
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  • Zorg
    • Sietze Kijlstra
    • Johan Mackenbach
    • Evelien Finnema
  • Contact