Othala#Modern use

{{Infobox rune

| lang1 = pg

| lang2 = oe

| name1 = *Ōþala-

| name2 = Ēðel

| meaning12 = "heritage, estate"

| shape12 = File:Runic letter othalan.svg

| unicode hex12 = 16DF

| transliteration1 = o

| transliteration2 = œ

| transcription1 = o, ō

| transcription2 = œ, oe, ōe

| IPA1 = {{IPA|[o(ː)]}}

| IPA2 = {{IPA|[eː], [ø(ː)]}}

| position12 = 23 or 24

}}

Othala ({{script|Runr|ᛟ}}), also known as ēðel and odal, is a rune that represents the o and œ phonemes in the Elder Futhark and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc writing systems respectively. Its name is derived from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *ōþala- "heritage; inheritance, inherited estate". As it does not occur in Younger 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 word {{lang|ang|ēðel}} ("homeland"), similarly to how other runes were sometimes used at the time.

As with other symbols used historically in Europe such as the swastika and Celtic cross, othala has been appropriated by far-right groups such as the Nazi party and neo-Nazis, who have used it to represent ideas like Aryan 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 in Heathenry and in wider popular culture such as the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and video games.

Name and etymology

The sole attested name of the rune is {{langx|ang|ēþel}}, meaning "homeland". Based on this, and cognates in other Germanic languages such as {{langx|non|óðal}} and {{langx|ofs|ēthel}}, the {{langx|gem-x-proto|*ōþalą}} can be reconstructed, meaning "ancestral land", "the land owned by one's kin", and by extension "property" or "inheritance". {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ōþalą}} is in turn derived from {{langx|gem-x-proto|*aþalą}}, meaning "nobility" and "disposition".{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Terms derived from {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ōþalą}} are formative elements in some Germanic names, notably Ulrich.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The term "odal" ({{langx|non|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.{{sfn|Price|2022|p=185}} Some of these laws remain in effect today in Norway as the Odelsrett (allodial right). The tradition of Udal law found in Shetland, Orkney, and the Isle of Man, is from the same origin.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Elder Futhark ''o''-rune

File:Thorsberg Ortband.png

The o-rune is attested early, in inscriptions from the 3rd century, such as the Thorsberg chape ([https://skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/db.php?id=18836&if=runic&table=mss DR7]) and the Vimose planer (Vimose-Høvelen, [https://skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/db.php?if=runic&table=mss&id=19030 DR 206]).

{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} The corresponding Gothic letter is {{script|Goth|𐍉}} (derived from Greek Ω), which had the name oþal.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} The othala rune is found in some transitional inscriptions of the 6th or 7th century, such as the Gummarp, Björketorp and Stentoften runestones, but it disappears from the Scandinavian record by the 8th century. The Old Norse o phoneme at this time becomes written in Younger Futhark in the same way as the u phoneme, with the Ur rune.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

It has been suggested that the othala rune on the Ring of Pietroassa is used to represent the word "*oþal", referencing the ring as hereditary treasure.{{sfn|Silva|2006|p=396}} Similarly, Wolfgang Krause speculated that the o rune is used as an ideograph denoting possession in the Thorsberg chape inscription, reading the inscription owlþuþewaz as O[þila] - W[u]lþu-þewaz "inherited property - the servant of Wulþuz".Krause, Wolfgang, 'Die Runendenkmäler und ihre Sprache' In: Von der Bronzezeit bis zur Völkerwanderungszeit, (ed.) Klose, Olaf. Neumünster 1964 [reprint 1979], 311-325.Krause, Wolfgang, Herbert Jankuhn. Die Runeninschriften im älteren Futhark, Göttingen, 1966.The interpretation by Krause follows an earlier suggestion by Helmut Arntz, Handbuch der Runenkunde, 2nd ed., Halle/Saale 1944.{{sfn|Spurkland|2005|pp=47-48}}

Anglo-Saxon ''œ''-rune

File:Franks Casket left panel.jpg

=Usage and shape=

The Anglo-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 to Anglo-Frisian sound changes. The othala rune is such a case: the o sound in the Anglo-Saxon system is now expressed by ōs ᚩ, a derivation of the old Ansuz rune; the othala rune is known in Old English as ēðel (with umlaut due to the form ōþila-) and is used to express an œ sound, but is attested only rarely in epigraphy (outside of simply appearing in a futhark row).{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} In some runic inscriptions, such as on the Seax 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.{{sfn|Page|2003|p=40}}

The rune is also used as a shorthand for the word {{lang|ang|ēþel}} or {{lang|ang|œþel}} ("ancestral property or land") in texts such as Beowulf, Waldere and the Old English translation of Orosius' Historiae adversus paganos.{{sfn|Silva|2006|p=393}}{{sfn|Barnes|2022|pp=153-154}} This is similar to wider practices of the time, in which runes such as {{runic|ᛞ}}, {{runic|ᚹ}} and {{runic|ᛗ}} were also used as shorthands to write the name of the rune.{{sfn|Barnes|2022|pp=153-154}}

=Notable attestations=

Epigraphical attestations include:

the Frisian Westeremden yew-stick, possibly as part of a given name Ƿimod (Ƿimœd)
the Harford (Norfolk) brooch, dated c. 650, in a finite verb form: luda:gibœtæsigilæ "Luda repaired the brooch"
the left panel of the Franks Casket, twice: tƿœgen gibroþær afœddæ hiæ ƿylif "two brothers (scil. Romulus and Remus), a she-wolf nourished them".

=Rune poem=

The Anglo-Saxon rune poem preserves the meaning "an inherited estate" for the rune name:

style="padding-left:20pt;" |

{{runic|ᛟ}} {{lang|ang|bẏþ oferleof æghƿẏlcum men,

gif he mot ðær rihtes and gerẏsena on

brucan on bolde bleadum oftast.}}

| style="padding-left:20pt;" |

[An estate] is very dear to every man,

if he can enjoy there in his house

whatever is right and proper in constant prosperity.

Modern use

= Far-right iconography =

{{multiple image

| total_width = 200

| footer = Othala rune (left). The "Winged Othala" symbol used by far-right groups (right)

| image2 = Odal-2.svg

| image3 = Nazi Odal rune.svg

}}

The othala rune, like some other runes, was adopted as an occult symbol by German Nazi occultists and thereof in the 1930s, later being adopted by the German Schutzstaffel (SS) as an SS-rune to symbolise kinship, family and blood ties within the Aryan race. The SS modified the symbol with serifs, 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 the SS Race and Settlement Main Office, which was responsible for maintaining the racial purity of the SS.{{cite book |last=Lumsden |first=Robin |date=1995 |title=SS Regalia |location=Edison, NJ |publisher=Book Sales, Inc. |page=35 |isbn= 9780785802280}}

After World War II, this symbol has seen continued by Neo-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.{{sfn|Barnes|2022|pp=194-196}}

=Popular culture=

File:Balin sp2.PNG, written in English using Tolkien's Angerthas Erebor script, in which the rune based on othala represents a "u" sound. It reads left-to-right: "Balin sʌn ov Fu[nd]in lord ov Moria"]]

Othala is widely used in popular culture, including by J.R.R. Tolkien along with other historical runes in The Hobbit, as seen on Thror's map of Erebor. These further form the base for the dwarvish Cirth writing systems used in The Lord of the Rings and described in Tolkien's Legendarium.{{sfn|Tolkien|1937}}{{sfn|Tolkien|1955}} The rune is also used as the symbol for the "Lore" resource in Northgard, released in 2018,{{sfn|Northgard}} and in Stargate SG-1, Othala is a world in the Ida Galaxy where the Asgard had lived.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} The Anti-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.{{sfn|ADL, Othala}}

= Heathenry =

Othala, along with other runes more widely, often feature prominently in the practices of Heathens,{{sfn|Blain|2005|pp=181-208}}{{sfn|Harvey|1997|p=61}}{{sfn|Calico|2018|p=118}} and are commonly used to decorate items and in tattoos.{{sfn|Calico|2018|pp=391-392}} The use of runes such as othala by far-right groups has been strongly condemned by some Heathen groups, including Asatru 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".{{sfn|AUK statement}}

References

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{{cite web |first=Nur Nasreen |last=Ibrahim |date=2021-03-03 |title=Was the CPAC Stage Intentionally Shaped Like a Nazi Symbol? |website=snopes.com |access-date=2023-04-13 |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cpac-stage-nazi-symbol/ |trans-quote=Verdict: "Mixture". The resemblance was clear, the intention undetermined by documentation but denied.}}
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