ELDER FUTHARK · FREYR'S AETT · RUNE 3 OF 24
Thurisaz ᚦ
“Thorn / giant” · the sound th
IN A READING
Defence, conflict, a sharp catalyst.
REVERSED
Danger, malice, rash action, betrayal.
IN MAGIC
Protection and warding; breaking resistance.
In the rune poems
Three medieval poems give a short verse to each rune's name, the oldest record of what the names meant. What they stress for Thurisaz: a thorn is painful to grasp; giants bring torment.
THE OLD ENGLISH RUNE POEM · ᚦ THORN
Ðorn byþ ðearle scearp;ðegna gehwylcumanfeng ys yfyl,ungemetum reþemanna gehwelcum,ðe him mid resteð.
Known only from George Hickes's printing of 1705; the manuscript burned in the Cotton library fire of 1731.
THE OLD ICELANDIC RUNE POEM · ᚦ ÞURS
Þurs er kvenna kvölok kletta búiok varðrúnar verr.
For the sixteen runes of the Younger Futhark, in manuscripts from about 1500.
The verses are given in their own languages, Old English from Bruce Dickins's edition (1915) as transcribed on Wikisource, Old Icelandic as normalised in Wikipedia's article on the rune poems. Square brackets mark words the editors restored.
In the later rows
Anglo-Saxon futhorc
ᚦThorn
Younger Futhark
ᚦÞurs
Freyr's aett
The futhark falls into three rows of eight, the aettir. Thurisaz is number 3 of Freyr's aett:
Learn more in the lessons
- The Elder Futhark Runes · 15 min
- Runes in Magic · 15 min
- The Younger Futhark and the Runestones · 18 min