Sowilo (*''sōwilō''), meaning "sun", is the reconstructed

Proto-Germanic language Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...

name of the ''s''-

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see '' futhark'' vs ''runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were primarily used to represent a sound value (a ...

(ᛊ, ᛋ). The letter is a direct adoption of Old Italic (Etruscan or Latin) ''s'' (𐌔), ultimately from Greek

sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...

(Σ). It is present in the earliest inscriptions of the 2nd to 3rd century (

Vimose The Vimose inscriptions (), found on the island of Funen, Denmark, include some of the oldest datable Elder Futhark runic inscriptions in early Proto-Norse or late Proto-Germanic from the 2nd to 3rd century in the Scandinavian Iron Age and were ...

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

). The name is attested for the same rune in all three

Rune Poems Rune poems are poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Four different poems from before the mid-20th century have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune ...

. It appears as

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

and

Old Icelandic Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their ...

Sól and as

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

Sigel.

Name

The Germanic words for "

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

" have the peculiarity of alternating between ''-l-'' and ''-n-'' stems,

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

''*sunnon'' (Old English ''sunne'', Old Norse, Old Saxon and Old High German ''sunna'') vs. *''sōwilō'' or *''sōwulō'' (Old Norse ''sól'', Gothic ''sauil'', also Old High German forms such as ''suhil''). This continues a

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

alternation ''*suwen-'' vs. '' *sewol-'' (

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

''xᵛə̄ṇg'' vs.

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'' sōl'', Greek ''helios'', Sanskrit ''

surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

'', Welsh ''haul'', Breton ''heol'', Old Irish ''suil'' "eye"), a remnant of an archaic

heteroclitic Proto-Indo-European nominals include nouns, adjectives, and pronouns. Their grammatical forms and meanings have been reconstructed by modern linguists, based on similarities found across all Indo-European languages. This article discusses nouns ...

declension pattern that remained productive only in the

Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...

. The Old English name of the rune, written ''sigel'' (pronounced ) is most often explained as a remnant of an otherwise extinct ''l-''stem variant of the word for "Sun" (meaning that the spelling with ''g'' is unetymological), but alternative suggestions have been put forward, such as deriving it from Latin ''sigillum'' (assuming that the ''y'' is the unetymological element instead).

Development and variants

The

Elder Futhark The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark, ), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Per ...

''s'' rune is attested in main two variants, a " Σ shape" (four strokes), more prevalent in earlier (3rd to 5th century) inscriptions (e.g. Kylver stone), and an " S shape" (three strokes), more prevalent in later (5th to 7th century) inscriptions (e.g. Golden horns of Gallehus,

Seeland-II-C Seeland-II-C (Sjælland bracteate 2) is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark, that has been dated to the Migration period (around 500 AD). The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as: The final ttt is a triple- stac ...

). The Younger Futhark ''Sol'' and the

Anglo-Saxon futhorc Anglo-Saxon runes or Anglo-Frisian runes are runes that were used by the Anglo-Saxons and Medieval Frisians (collectively called Anglo-Frisians) as an alphabet in their native writing system, recording both Old English and Old Frisian (, ᚱ� ...

''Sigel'' runes are identical in shape, a rotated version of the later

rune, with the middle stroke slanting upwards, and the initial and final strokes vertical. The Anglo-Saxon runes developed a variant shape (), called the "bookhand" ''s'' rune because it is probably inspired by the

long s The long s, , also known as the medial ''s'' or initial ''s'', is an Archaism, archaic form of the lowercase letter , found mostly in works from the late 8th to early 19th centuries. It replaced one or both of the letters ''s'' in a double-''s ...

(ſ) in

Insular script Insular script is a Middle Ages, medieval script (styles of handwriting), script system originating in Ireland that spread to England and continental Europe under the influence of Hiberno-Scottish mission, Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries ...

. This variant form is used in the ''futhorc'' given on the Seax of Beagnoth.

Rune poems

Image:Runic letter sowilo.svg,

''Sowilo'' rune, earlier ("Σ") variant. Image:Runic letter sowilo variant.svg, Elder Futhark ''Sowilo'' rune, later ("S") variant. Image:Long-branch Sol.svg, Anglo-Saxon ''Sigel'' / Younger Futhark ''Sol'' rune Image:Long-branch Kaun.svg, Anglo-Saxon "bookhand ''s''"

Relationship with Armanen runes

Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), better known as Guido von List, was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed w ...

used Sowilō as the basis for the Armanen ''sig'' rune, also known as the "Siegrune". Unlike the rune used historically by the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

, the name of which translates to "sun", he associated his new rune with "victory" (German ') based on similarity in sound with the name of the Anglo-Frisian rune ''sigel''. The Armanen sig rune was adapted into the emblem of the SS in 1933 by Walter Heck. Heck's design consisted of two ''sig'' runes drawn side by side like lightning bolts and was adopted by all branches of the SS.

Name

Development and variants

Rune poems

Relationship with Armanen runes

See also

References

Sources

Further reading