Mannaz

*Mannaz is the conventional name of the m-rune ᛗ of the Elder Futhark. It is derived from the reconstructed Common Germanic word for "man", *mannaz.

For the Germanic etymology, see Man (word). For the mythological ancestor recorded by Tacitus, see Mannus.

Name	Proto-Germanic	Old English	Old Norse
	*Mannaz	Mann	Maðr
	"man, human"
Shape	Elder Futhark	Futhorc	Younger Futhark
Unicode	ᛗ U+16D7		ᛘ U+16D8	ᛙ U+16D9
Transliteration	m
Transcription	m
IPA	[m]
Position in rune-row	20		14

Two early forms of the m-rune of the Younger Futhark.

Younger Futhark ᛘ is maðr ("man"). It took up the shape of the algiz rune ᛉ, replacing Elder Futhark ᛗ.

As its sound value and form in the Elder Futhark indicate, it is derived from the letter M (𐌌) in the Old Italic alphabets, ultimately from the Greek letter Mu (Μ).

Rune poems

The rune is recorded in all three Rune Poems, in the Norwegian and Icelandic poems as maðr, and in the Anglo-Saxon poem as man.

Rune Poem:[1]	English Translation:
Norwegian ᛉ Maðr er moldar auki; mikil er græip á hauki.	Man is an augmentation of the dust; great is the claw of the hawk.
Icelandic ᛉ Maðr er manns gaman ok moldar auki ok skipa skreytir.	Man is delight of man and augmentation of the earth and adorner of ships.
Anglo-Saxon ᛗ Man byþ on myrgþe his magan leof: sceal þeah anra gehƿylc oðrum sƿican, forðum drihten ƿyle dome sine þæt earme flæsc eorþan betæcan.	The joyous man is dear to his kinsmen; yet every man is doomed to fail his fellow, since the Lord by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the earth.

Modern usage

For the "man" rune of the Armanen Futharkh as "life rune" in Germanic mysticism, see Lebensrune.

References

1. Original poems and translation from the Rune Poem Page Archived 1999-05-01 at the Wayback Machine ("Ragnar's Ragweed Forge").

See also