Runic box from Auzon

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Auzon's runic box

The rune box by Auzon (also Frank's Casket ) is a box made of whale bones decorated with images and runes , which was made in the early 8th century in the Anglo-Saxon Northumbria , probably in the monastic environment.

The box is named after the place where it was found in Auzon ( Haute-Loire , France) or after its buyer and donor, the curator of the British Museum Sir Augustus W. Franks . It is now in the British Museum in London. The box is 22.9 cm long, 19 cm deep and 10.9 cm high.

With its images from Christian and pagan tradition as well as its runic inscriptions, the early medieval work of art is an impressive product of a syncretistic era.

Secular-heroic interpretation

On closer inspection, one can see a carefully thought-out programmatic intention in the use of images, verses and runes. No picture is merely ornamental, no text is used for explanation. From the adoration of Christ by the magicians (they became “kings” later in popular belief) to a mythical scene on the lid of the box, the carver describes the life cycle of a warrior from birth to death and entrance into the afterlife, here as Valhalla is seen. Since it is very likely a treasure chest, it should have belonged to a king who used it to honor and reward his warriors with feoh poison (rings, etc.). Here one could think of Edwin, king of Northumbria (r. 616–632; baptized 627) or the pagan king Penda of Mercia († 655).

Runic box by Auzon (late 7th century) with old English stick rhymes in runes, front panel: scene from the Wieland saga

The magical practice of the rune master can be read from the example of the front of the box . The staff rhymes of the whale, which frame the pictures, seem to have nothing to do with the representations. However, if you take a closer look at the two rod-carrying runes (f and g), you can see the relationship: The f-rune ( feoh , cattle) stands for movable property such as gold and jewelery; the g-rune ( gifu , gift) denotes the gift.

Wieland , shown in the picture on the left, creates the feoh (the "property of value"), while the three magicians, the Three Wise Men , on the picture on the right, bring gifu (the "gift"). And feohgifu , the “honorable gift of gold”, is exactly what the royal box contains.

The magical picture not only stands for rich gifts, but also for the noble birth. Noteworthy here is the water bird instead of an angel, presumably the Fylgja (spiritual companion, Valkyrie ) in her animal form (see swan maiden ). The help of such a Fylgja is shown in the Wieland picture, where she brings a bottle of beer with which the Albian blacksmith stuns the king's daughter in order to impregnate her. Through this vengeance (killing of the sons and rape of the daughter of his tormentor) he gains his freedom and can escape (in bird form).

The inscription is made up of 72 characters, which is understood as a magic number (3 × 24) anyway, but beyond that it has - if you assign the value of its position in the rune row to each rune, the rune value 720. The runs according to this pattern Carver also with the other inscriptions and representations.

The left side shows Romulus and Remus with (Wotans?) Two wolves. The name forms Rom wal us and Reum wal us are related to the Old Norse word valr ("the corpses lying on the battlefield"), as used in Walküre and Valhalla. The r-rune refers to the "ride into battle".

The reverse shows the later Roman emperor Titus during his victory and judgment over Jerusalem. Exactly that, "Victory and Justice", means the t-rune after the ags. Rune song.

The right side conjures up death on the battlefield in secret writing (replacement of the vowel runes) and promises the resurrection of the fallen with the help of his Valkyrie and Wotan / Odin's Sleipnir . The motif also shows Gotland picture stones and the Gosforth Cross , whereby Odins valknut is conspicuous. The calamity describes the h-rune , for the salvation from the realm of shadows stands the s-rune , with the meaning "sun, light, life".

The lid depicts Ragnarök , the battle of the gods and giants for the sun, as a result of which the whole world goes down. The archer Egil (here Ægili ) defends the palace of the gods (according to the Nordic mythology Valaskjalf ) against the frost giants , according to another reading, fire giants . The Æ-rune , with which his name starts, expresses after the ags. Rune song "defensive resistance against numerous attackers". It is about the annual cycle in the sense of death and resurrection of the sun at the winter solstice (cf. Sol Invictus ). The Sagittarius name could be a Germanized form of the Greek Achilles . The ancient hero learned archery from the centaur Cheiron , who often stands for the zodiac sign Sagittarius . 12 point marks represent the 12 months of the solar year, at the same time they show the constellations typical for the season. This is how the year begins with the three stars of the Orion Belt . The summer months are marked by 5 (clearly visible) of the 7 Pleiades stars, while 2 more stars at the lower shield bearer stand for the autumn constellation Aries . The winter constellation Gemini , (lat. Gemini), with the mythical Dioscuri Castor and Pollux corresponds to the cycle of death and resurrection . While the old year dies with Castor, the new begins with Pollux. With the two giants on the left, the brothers and their constellation are depicted. Them is right with the summer constellation of Sagittarius (lat. Sagittarius) opposite. The solstices are fixed with these opponents. The two shield bearers above and below mark the constellation shield (lat. Scutum), which marks the equinox ( equinox ) in spring and autumn. The depiction of the starry sky here is reminiscent of the Nebra sky disc , while the depiction in the relief of Mithras (Heidelberg-Neuenheim, 2nd century) has an equivalent.

According to Caesar ( De bello Gallico ) the Germanic tribes worship Sol , Luna and Vulcanus or sun, moon and fire. This triad can be found on the obverse with Jesus ( Sol Invictus ), Maria (Luna) and Wieland the blacksmith , who corresponds to Vulcanus via fire and to Saturn via wealth ( feoh or pecus / pecunia ) . After Tacitus (Germania), Hercules (Þunor / Thor ), Mars (Tiw / Tyr ) and Mercury (Woden Wotan ) are also venerated.This triad is behind the other sides of the box, while the cover image of the sun god Freyr (or the mother of the Asen , Frigg ) can be assigned. This results in the sequence of days of the week (front) Saturday, Sunday, Monday, (back) Tuesday, (right) Wednesday, (left) Thursday, (top) Friday.

The number of runes (288 = 24 × 12 or 12 × 300 = 3600) stand for 10 solar years, the runic value of all inscriptions is 3568, which can be equated with 10 lunar years (3540 days) + 1 month (28 days). The excess month ensures the passage of time. The Latin fragment of text (in language and writing) on ​​the back represents a perfect Meton cycle (with all leap years in runes), which compares the solar and lunar calendars .

In Frank's Casket , which also uses motifs and techniques that Christianity first conveyed, every element is functional. In its intent, it is reminiscent of the old English “charms”, while the Christian representations on reliquaries have a more apotropaic function in that they sought heavenly assistance through images and text, and through a relic the protection and intercession of the saint venerated here.

Christian-mystical interpretation

In contrast to the worldly-heroic interpretation, the Christian- mystical interpretation presented by Marijane Osborn relates the individual images to one another. Wieland, who is being held prisoner by King Nidhad far from his homeland, kills a boy in revenge - instead of enduring his suffering - whose bones are lying on the floor in the picture. From the skull of the victim he hands the king's daughter a love potion to make her sexually compliant. Although he succeeded in building wings with the help of the feathers of the killed geese and escaping to freedom, the geese, which embody the souls of child murderers and women molesters, are dead. He would have better responded to the call of his soul, just like the three kings of the goose followed to pay homage to the true Redeemer and Deliverer, the Savior .

The depiction of Romulus and Remus also takes up the theme again. Rhea Silvia , a vestal virgin and thus a virgin, becomes pregnant through Mars , a god. The parallel to the Virgin Mary is obvious. But in contrast to the biblical story, the mother is drowned in the Tiber after her birth and the sons are abandoned, far from home, as the text expressly mentions. The rest of the story is told in the picture of the conquest of Jerusalem. The Romans, descendants of Romulus, conquer Jerusalem (and the world) and drive women and children into exile or drag them away as prisoners. But secular Rome is no more eternal than secular Jerusalem . At the time of the box, the Roman Empire was already history.

The Celtic picture thematizes the myth of the Rhiannon , a Cymrian horse goddess. The night after her childbirth, her son is stolen and a servant smears Rhiannon with blood. Then she slandered her mistress with the king and accused her of child murder. As a punishment, Rhiannon has to sit on a stone in front of the royal castle for seven years and report her (alleged) crime to everyone who passes by. Then she has to carry the stranger on her back to the castle.

Thus, the maker of the box demonstrates the moral superiority of Christianity over the three cultures - Celts , Romans and Germanic peoples - that formed the basis of Anglo-Saxon culture. But the box also shows the discerning observer the transience and uncertainty of worldly existence, which is beautifully expressed in the verse about the stranded whale, which was then made into a box. Finally the cover picture: The archer Egil is threatened by warriors and entrenched himself. The Psalm 72 requires that all nations may serve God; and in the table of people of Genesis 72 peoples are named, which symbolize humanity.

literature

  • Alfred Becker: Frank's Casket. To the pictures and inscriptions of the rune box by Auzon. (= Language and literature. Regensburg works on English and American studies. Volume 5). Carl, Regensburg 1973, ISBN 3-418-00205-6 .
  • Alfred Becker: Frank's Casket Revisited. In: Asterisk. A Quarterly Journal of Historical English Studies. 12/2, 2003, pp. 83-128.
  • Alfred Becker: The Virgin and the Vamp. In: Asterisk, A Quarterly Journal of Historical English Studies. 12/4, 2003, pp. 201-209.
  • Alfred Becker: A Magic Spell "powered by" a Lunisolar Calendar. In: Asterisk. A Quarterly Journal of Historical English Studies. 15, 2006, pp. 55-73.
  • Alfred Becker: Frank's Casket; A magic of fate and the lunisolar calendar In: Andreas Zautner, The bound lunar calendar of the Germanic peoples, bookra , Leipzig 2013, pp. 176–187
  • Wolfgang Krause : Erta, an English god. In: The language. 5. Festschrift Wilhelm Havers, 1959, pp. 46–54.
  • Th. Müller-Braband: Studies on the rune box from Auzon and the ship's grave from Sutton Hoo. In: Göppingen work on German studies. 728. Kümmerle, Göppingen 2005.
  • Alfred Bammesberger (Ed.): Old English Runes and their Continental Background. Heidelberg 1991, ISBN 3-533-04463-7 .
    with two articles on the subject by Marijane Osborn (pp. 249–268) and Heiner Eichner (pp. 603–628) and a commentary by Alfred Bammesberger (pp. 629–632).

Web links

Commons : Rune box by Auzon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The first significant publication by George Stephens, Old-Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England (1866-1901) I-II: 470-76, 921-23, III: 200-04, IV: 40-44, located the box in Northumbria and dated it to the 8th century. Although AS Napier (1901) agrees with a dating to the 8th century, an origin from the 7th century Mercien has also been suggested. [ by whom? ] On its website, the British Museum represents an origin from Northumbria in the first half of the 8th century ("first half of the 8th century AD"). Webster (2012a: 92) also advocates this: "early part of the eighth century".
  2. ↑ Marijane Osborn: The Lid as Conclusion of the Syncretic Theme of the Franks Casket , in A. Bammesberger (ed.): Old English Runes and their Continental Background , Heidelberg 1991, pp. 603-628