Dagaz

The d rune (ᛞ) is called dæg "day" in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet 𐌳 d is called dags. This rune is also part of the Elder Futhark, with a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *dagaz.

Name	Proto-Germanic	Old English
	*Dagaz	Dæg
Shape	Elder Futhark	Futhorc
Unicode	ᛞ U+16DE
Transliteration	d
Transcription	d
IPA	[ð]	[d]
Position in rune-row	23 or 24

Its "butterfly" shape is possibly derived from Lepontic san.^[1] The rune may have been an original innovation, or it may have been adapted from the Rhaetic's alphabet's D.^[2]

Rune poems

The name is only recorded in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, since the rune was lost in the Younger Futhark:

Rune Poem:[3]	English Translation:
Anglo-Saxon ᛞ Dæg bẏþ drihtnes sond, deore mannum, mære metodes leoht, mẏrgþ and tohiht eadgum and earmum, eallum brice.	Day, the glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the Lord; it is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor, and of service to all.

Inscriptions

On runic inscription Ög 43 in Ingelstad, one Dagaz rune is translated using the Old Norse word for "day" as the personal name Dagr.^[4]

References

1. David Stifter, "Lepontische Studien: Lexicon Leponticum und die Funktion von san im Lepontischen", in: Akten des 5. Deutschsprachigen Keltologensymposiums, Zürich, 7.–10. September 2009. Hrsgg. Karin Stüber et al. [= Keltische Forschungen, Allgemeine Buchreihe A1], Wien: Praesens Verlag 2010, 359–374
2. Gippert, Jost, The Development of Old Germanic Alphabets, Uni Frankfurt, archived from the original on 2021-02-25, retrieved 2007-03-21.
3. Original poem and translation from the Rune Poem Page Archived 1999-05-01 at the Wayback Machine.
4. Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk - Rundata entry for Ög 43.

See also

• Dagr