Mann
The twentieth futhorc rune, transliterated m. Old English mann means a human being of either sex; the narrowing to "male" came later.
At a glance
- Rune
- ᛗU+16D7
- Unicode name
- RUNIC LETTER MANNAZ MAN M
- Alphabet
- Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
- In use
- c. AD 400 – 1100 (Early medieval England and Frisia)
- Position
- 20, ætt 3
- Transliteration
- m
- Sound value
- /m/
- Name
- mann: human being, personAttested
Names
How the rune is called in each tradition, and how securely each name is recorded.
| Form | Language | Meaning | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| mann | Old English | human being, person | Attested |
An asterisk marks a reconstructed form: a word linguists have worked backwards to, not one that appears in any surviving source.
Etymology
Continues *mannaz. Old English mann means a human being of either sex; the narrowing to "adult male" is a later English development, and reading it back into the rune name is an anachronism.
Sound value
A plain /m/, keeping the Elder Futhark shape rather than the reshaped Younger Futhark one.
Historical use
Common. The stanza is a memento mori: a person in happiness is dear to their kin, yet each must fail the other, because the Lord will commit that wretched flesh to the earth.
Rune-poem evidence
The medieval verse that records this rune's name. Original text plus our own translation.
Man byþ on myrgþe his magan leof: sceal þeah anra gehwylc oðrum swican, forðum drihten wyle dome sine þæt earme flæsc eorþan betæcan.A person in happiness is dear to their kin; yet each of them must fail the other, because by his decree the Lord will commit that wretched flesh to the earth.(our translation)
Attested in
Objects and monuments where this rune can actually be seen.
- Franks CasketNorthumbria · early 8th century
Appears in the captions.
Signatures follow the Scandinavian Runic-text Database so you can look each inscription up directly. Each name links to the object's own entry.
Modern meaning
Why this entry has none.
None is given here. Modern rune divination is built almost entirely on the Elder Futhark, and no established modern tradition reads the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc separately. Inventing a reading for Mann to fill the space would be exactly the kind of fabrication this site exists to flag, so the field is left empty rather than filled. Its Elder Futhark ancestor is linked further down and does carry a modern reading, labelled as modern. How modern rune meanings were arrived at is a separate discussion.
The same rune in other alphabets
Runes descended from the same original character, so you can follow it through time.
The rest of ætt 3
Sources for this entry
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