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Haglaz
Encyclopedia
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Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
" (the precipitation).
In the Anglo-Saxon futhorc
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
Futhorc , a runic alphabet used by the Anglo-Saxons, was descended from the Elder Futhark of 24 runes and contained between 26 and 33 characters. It was used probably from the fifth century onward, for recording Old English and Old Frisian....
, it is continued as haegl and in the Younger Futhark as hagall The corresponding Gothic letter
Gothic alphabet
The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet for writing the Gothic language, created in the 4th century by Ulfilas for the purpose of translating the Christian Bible....
is
![](http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/g/go/gothic_h.png)
The Elder Futhark letter has two variants, single-barred and double-barred . The double-barred variant is found in continental inscriptions while Scandinavian inscriptions have exclusively the single-barred variant.
The Anglo-Frisian futhorc in early inscriptions has the Scandinavian single-barred variant. From the 7th century, it is replaced by the continental double-barred variant, the first known instances being found on a Harlingen
Harlingen, Netherlands
Harlingen is a municipality and a city in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland at the Wadden Sea. Harlingen is an old town with a long history of fishing and shipping....
solidus (ca,. 575–625), and in the Christogram
Christogram
A Christogram is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbol. Different types of Christograms are associated with the various traditions of Christianity, e.g...
on St. Cuthbert's coffin
St. Cuthbert's coffin
St. Cuthbert's coffin is an oak coffin in Durham Cathedral which between AD 698 and 1827 contained the remains of Saint Cuthbert, who died in 687. The coffin also contained the Stonyhurst Gospel and the best surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon embroidery or opus Anglicanum, a stole and maniple...
.
Haglaz is recorded in all three rune poems:
Rune Poem: | English Translation: |
Kristr skóp hæimenn forna.
|
Hail is the coldest of grain;
Christ created the world of old.
|-
|
Old Icelandic
Hagall er kaldakorn
ok krapadrífa
ok snáka sótt.
|
Hail is cold grain
and shower of sleet
and sickness of serpents.
|-
|
Anglo-Saxon
Hægl byþ hwitust corna;
hwyrft hit of heofones lyfte,
wealcaþ hit windes scura;
weorþeþ hit to wætere syððan.
|
Hail is the whitest of grain;
it is whirled from the vault of heaven
and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.
|}