Seeland-II-C

Seeland-II-C (Sjælland bracteate 2) is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark, that has been dated to the Migration period (around 500 AD). The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as:

ᚺᚨᚱᛁᚢᚺᚨ

hariuha

ᚺᚨᛁᛏᛁᚲᚨ

haitika

᛬

:

ᚠᚨᚱᚨᚢᛁᛋᚨ

farauisa

᛬

:

ᚷᛁᛒᚢ

gibu

ᚨᚢᛅᚨ

auja

᛬

:

ᛏᛏᛏ

ttt

ᚺᚨᚱᛁᚢᚺᚨ ᚺᚨᛁᛏᛁᚲᚨ ᛬ ᚠᚨᚱᚨᚢᛁᛋᚨ ᛬ ᚷᛁᛒᚢ ᚨᚢᛅᚨ ᛬ ᛏᛏᛏ

hariuha haitika : farauisa : gibu auja : ttt

Modern copy

The final ttt is a triple-stacked Tiwaz rune. This use of the rune is often interpreted as three invocations of the Norse pagan god Tyr.^[1]

The central image shows a male's head above a quadruped. This is the defining characteristic of C-bracteates (of which some 400 specimens survive), and is often interpreted as a depiction of the god Odin, healing his horse.

Wolfgang Krause translates the inscription as: "Hariuha I am called: the dangerous knowledgeable one: I give chance."^[2] farauisa is interpreted as fara-uisa, either "danger-wise" or "travel-wise". Erik Moltke translates this word as "one who is wise about dangers".^[3] The giving of "chance" or "luck" in the inscription is evidence of the use of bracteates as amulets.^[4]

The inscription *hariuha is suggested to contain the Germanic noun *harja, meaning "army, troop" - a common occurrence in Germanic compound names.^[5]

See also

• Merseburg Incantations
• Vadstena bracteate