Þorn
The third futhorc rune, transliterated þ. Old English named it "thorn", and borrowed it into the Latin alphabet as the letter þ, still used in Icelandic today.
At a glance
- Rune
- ᚦU+16A6
- Unicode name
- RUNIC LETTER THURISAZ THURS THORN
- Alphabet
- Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
- In use
- c. AD 400 – 1100 (Early medieval England and Frisia)
- Position
- 3, ætt 1
- Transliteration
- þ
- Sound value
- /θ/ , /ð/
- Name
- þorn: thornAttested
Names
How the rune is called in each tradition, and how securely each name is recorded.
| Form | Language | Meaning | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| þorn | Old English | thorn | Attested |
An asterisk marks a reconstructed form: a word linguists have worked backwards to, not one that appears in any surviving source.
Etymology
The English tradition names a thorn and describes a sharp one; the Norse traditions name a giant. Which reading is older is unresolved: the English one may preserve something the Norse tradition replaced, or the reverse.
Sound value
Both "th" sounds. This rune was borrowed straight out of the runic alphabet into Latin-script Old English as the letter thorn (þ), and stayed in English spelling until the late Middle Ages.
Historical use
One of only two runes to make the jump into the Latin alphabet. Scribes writing Old English in Latin letters had no character for the "th" sound and simply took the rune. Its eventual replacement by "th" is why some shop signs still print "Ye Olde", an early modern misreading of þ as y.
Rune-poem evidence
The medieval verse that records this rune's name. Original text plus our own translation.
Ðorn byþ ðearle scearp; ðegna gehwylcum anfeng ys yfyl, ungemetum reþe manna gehwelcum, ðe him mid resteð.The thorn is extremely sharp; for every warrior it is an evil thing to grasp, immeasurably cruel to anyone who rests among them.(our translation)
The Old English poem understands this rune as "thorn". The Norwegian and Icelandic poems understand the same rune as þurs, "giant". Both traditions are old, and neither is a corruption of the other.
Þurs vældr kvinna kvillu; kátr værðr fár af illu.The giant causes the sickness of women; few are made cheerful by misfortune.(our translation)
Attested in
Objects and monuments where this rune can actually be seen.
- Ruthwell CrossDumfriesshire, Scotland · 8th century
A tall stone cross carrying verses in runes that correspond to the Old English poem The Dream of the Rood. Decisive evidence that runes and Christianity coexisted.
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 Þorn 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.
Common misconceptions
Claims about this rune that circulate widely and do not hold up.
The same rune in other alphabets
Runes descended from the same original character, so you can follow it through time.
The rest of ætt 1
Sources for this entry
Full references are on the sources page. If you think something here is wrong, our corrections policy explains how to say so.