Runes and words: runic lexicography in context

Jesch, Judith

Abstract

The paper begins by noting the lack of a comprehensive dictionary of Scandi­navian runic inscriptions, as well as the absence of the runic evidence from most dictionaries of the early Scandinavian languages, and considers possible reasons for this. Runic inscriptions may need a different kind of dictionary, because they require a different kind of reading that takes extra-linguistic as well as linguistic contexts into account (a process that has been called “inter­disciplinary semantics”). Using the examples of the words bóndi and þegn in Viking Age inscriptions, the paper shows how the variety of available contexts enables a richer definition of these and other words, which might facilitate a different type of dictionary, based on discursive definitions.

Citation

Jesch, J. (2013). Runes and words: runic lexicography in context. Futhark: International Journal of Runic Studies, 4,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Nov 6, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 6, 2014
• Journal: Futhark: International Journal of Runic Studies
• Electronic ISSN: 1892-0950
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Keywords: Viking Age, runestones, lexicography, semantics, bóndi, þegn
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1004614
• Publisher URL: http://futhark-journal.com/
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