| Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English |
|---|---|---|
| *Ōþala- | Ēðel | |
| "heritage, estate" | ||
| Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc |
 | ||
| Unicode | ᛟ U+16DF | |
| Transliteration | o | œ |
| Transcription | o,ō | œ,oe,ōe |
| IPA | [o(ː)] | [eː],[ø(ː)] |
| Position in rune-row | 23 or 24 | |
Othala (ᛟ), also known asēðel andodal, is arune that represents theo andœ phonemes in theElder Futhark and theAnglo-Saxon Futhorc writing systems respectively. Its name is derived from the reconstructedProto-Germanic *ōþala- "heritage; inheritance, inherited estate". As it does not occur inYounger Futhark, it disappears from the Scandinavian record around the 8th century, but its usage continued in England into the 11th century, where it was sometimes further used in manuscripts as a shorthand for the wordēðel ("homeland"), similarly to how other runes were sometimes used at the time.
As with other symbols used historically in Europe such as theswastika andCeltic cross, othala has been appropriated byfar-right groups such as theNazi party andneo-Nazis, who have used it to represent ideas likeAryan heritage, a usage that is wholly modern and not attested in any ancient or medieval source. The rune also continues to be used in non-racist contexts, both inHeathenry and in wider popular culture such as the works ofJ.R.R. Tolkien and video games.
The sole attested name of the rune isOld English:ēþel, meaning "homeland". Based on this, and cognates in otherGermanic languages such asOld Norse:óðal andOld Frisian:ēthel, theProto-Germanic: *ōþalą can be reconstructed, meaning "ancestral land", "the land owned by one's kin", and by extension "property" or "inheritance".*ōþalą is in turn derived fromProto-Germanic: *aþalą, meaning "nobility" and "disposition".[citation needed]
Terms derived from*ōþalą are formative elements in someGermanic names, notablyUlrich.[citation needed]
The term "odal" (Old Norse:óðal) refers to Scandinavian laws of inheritance which established land rights for families that had owned that parcel of land over a number of generations, restricting its sale to others. Among other aspects, this protected the inheritance rights of daughters against males from outside the immediate family.[1] Some of these laws remain in effect today in Norway as theOdelsrett (allodial right). The tradition ofUdal law found inShetland,Orkney, and theIsle of Man, is from the same origin.[citation needed]
Theo-rune is attested early, in inscriptions from the 3rd century, such as theThorsberg chape (DR7) and theVimose planer (Vimose-Høvelen,DR 206).[citation needed] The correspondingGothic letter is𐍉 (derived from GreekΩ), which had the nameoþal.[citation needed] The othala rune is found in some transitional inscriptions of the 6th or 7th century, such as theGummarp,Björketorp andStentoften runestones, but it disappears from the Scandinavian record by the 8th century. TheOld Norseo phoneme at this time becomes written inYounger Futhark in the same way as theu phoneme, with theUr rune.[citation needed]
It has been suggested that the othala rune on theRing of Pietroassa is used to represent the word "*oþal", referencing the ring as hereditary treasure.[2] Similarly, Wolfgang Krause speculated that theo rune is used as an ideograph denoting possession in theThorsberg chape inscription, reading the inscriptionowlþuþewaz asO[þila] - W[u]lþu-þewaz "inherited property - the servant ofWulþuz".[3][4][5][6]
TheAnglo-Saxon runes preserve the full set of 24 Elder Futhark runes (as well as introducing innovations), but in some cases these runes are given new sound values due toAnglo-Frisian sound changes. The othala rune is such a case: theo sound in the Anglo-Saxon system is now expressed byōs ᚩ, a derivation of the oldAnsuz rune; the othala rune is known inOld English asēðel (withumlaut due to the formōþila-) and is used to express anœ sound, but is attested only rarely in epigraphy (outside of simply appearing in a futhark row).[citation needed] In some runic inscriptions, such as on theSeax of Beagnoth, and more commonly in manuscripts, othala is written with a single vertical line instead of the two diagonal legs, perhaps due to its simpler form.[7]
The rune is also used as a shorthand for the wordēþel orœþel ("ancestral property or land") in texts such asBeowulf,Waldere and theOld English translation ofOrosius'Historiae adversus paganos.[8][9] This is similar to wider practices of the time, in which runes such asᛞ,ᚹ andᛗ were also used as shorthands to write the name of the rune.[9]
Epigraphical attestations include:
TheAnglo-Saxon rune poem preserves the meaning "an inherited estate" for the rune name:
ᛟbẏþ oferleof æghƿẏlcum men, | [An estate] is very dear to every man, |
The othala rune, like some other runes, was adopted as an occult symbol by GermanNazi occultists and thereof in the 1930s, later being adopted by the GermanSchutzstaffel (SS) as anSS-rune to symbolise kinship, family and blood ties within theAryan race. The SS modified the symbol withserifs, also called "feet" or "wings", subsequently being nicknamed "Winged Othala" and thereof in modern times. It was subsequently used by various military divisions within the German Army during World War II and also became the badge of theSS Race and Settlement Main Office, which was responsible for maintaining the racial purity of the SS.[10]
After World War II, this symbol has seen continued byNeo-Nazis and similar far-right collectives.White supremacists who use the rune often claim it symbolises the heritage or land of "white" or "Aryan" people which should be free from foreigners. Usages such as these are not attested in any source from before the modern period, being invented by members of these groups.[11]
Othala is widely used in popular culture, including byJ.R.R. Tolkien along with other historical runes inThe Hobbit, as seen onThror's map ofErebor. These further form the base for thedwarvishCirth writing systems used inThe Lord of the Rings and described inTolkien's Legendarium.[12][13] The rune is also used as the symbol for the "Lore" resource inNorthgard, released in 2018,[14] and inStargate SG-1, Othala is a world in the Ida Galaxy where the Asgard had lived.[citation needed] TheAnti-Defamation League notes that because it is part of the runic alphabet, the othala rune is often used in non-racist manners, such as these, and should be interpreted in conjunction with its context.[15]
Othala, along with other runes more widely, often feature prominently in the practices ofHeathens,[16][17][18] and are commonly used to decorate items and in tattoos.[19] The use of runes such as othala by far-right groups has been strongly condemned by some Heathen groups, includingAsatru UK which released a public statement that "[it] is categorically opposed to fascist movements, or any movements, using the symbols of our faith for hate".[20]
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The dictionary definition ofᛟ at Wiktionary