Ur (rune)


The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the Elder Futhark u rune is *Ūruz meaning "wild ox" or *Ūrą "water". It may have been derived from the Raetic alphabet character u as it is similar in both shape and sound value. The name of the corresponding letter in the Gothic alphabet is urus.

Name

The Icelandic word for "rain" and the Old English for "aurochs" go back to two different Proto-Germanic words, *ūruz and *ūrą. The Norwegian meaning "dross, slag" is more obscure, but may be an Iron Age technical term derived from the word for water.
Because of this, it is difficult to reconstruct a Proto-Germanic name for the Elder Futhark rune. It may have been *ūruz "aurochs", or *ūrą "water". The aurochs is preferred by authors of modern runic divination systems, but both seem possible, compared to the names of the other runes: "water" would be comparable to "hail" and "lake", and "aurochs" to "horse" or "elk". The Gothic alphabet seems to support "aurochs", though: as the name of the letter ? u is urus.

Rune poems

It is recorded in all three rune poems, and it is called Ur in all, however with different meanings:
Rune Poem:English Translation:

Old Norwegian

Úr er af illu jarne;

opt løypr ræinn á hjarne.

Dross comes from bad iron;

the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.

Old Icelandic

Úr er skýja grátr

ok skára þverrir

ok hirðis hatr.

umbre vísi

Rain is lamentation of the clouds

and ruin of the hay-harvest

and abomination of the shepherd.

Old English

Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned,

felafrecne deor, feohteþ mid hornum

mære morstapa; þæt is modig ƿuht.

The aurochs is proud and has great horns;

it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;

a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.