Apart from the earliest inscriptions found on the continent along the North Sea coast (the "North Germanic
Koine", Martin 2004:173), continental inscriptions can be divided in those of the "Alemannic runic province" (Martin 2004), with a few dozen examples dating to the 6th and 7th centuries, and those associated with the
Goths, loosely scattered along the Oder to south-eastern Poland, as far as the
Carpathian Mountains (e.g. the
ring of Pietroassa in Romania), dating to the 4th and 5th centuries. The cessation of both the Gothic and Alemannic runic tradition coincides with the Christianization of the respective peoples. Lüthi (2004:321) identifies a total of about 81 continental inscriptions found south of the "North Germanic Koine". Most of these originate in southern Germany (
Baden-Württemberg and
Bavaria), with a single one found south of the
Rhine (
Bülach fibula, found in
Bülach,
Switzerland), and a handful from Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Ukraine). A silver-plated copper disk, originally part of a sword-belt, found at
Liebenau, Lower Saxony with an early 5th-century runic inscription (mostly illegible, interpreted as possibly reading
rauzwih) is classed as the earliest South Germanic (German) inscription known by the
RGA (vol. 6, p. 576); the location of Liebenau is close to the boundary of the North Sea and South Germanic zones.
Gothic Out of about a dozen candidate inscriptions, only three are widely accepted to be of Gothic origin: the
gold ring of Pietroassa, bearing a votive inscription, part of a larger treasure found in the
Romanian
Carpathians, and two spearheads inscribed with what is probably the weapon's name, one found in the
Ukrainian Carpathians, and the other in eastern Germany, near the
Oder. The inscription on the
spearhead of Kovel, found in Ukraine (now lost) is a special case. Its date is very early (3rd century) and it shows a mixture of runic and
Latin letters, reading or (the
i,
r and
s letters being identical in the Elder Futhark and Latin scripts), and may thus reflect a stage of development before the runes became fixed as a separate script in its own right.
Alemannic The known inscriptions from
Alemannia mostly date to the century between AD 520 and 620. There are some 70 inscriptions in total, about half of them on fibulae. Some are explicitly dedications among lovers, containing
leub "beloved", or in the case of the Bülach fibula "lover". Most were found in Germany, in the
states of
Baden-Württemberg and
Bavaria. A lesser number originates in
Hessen and
Rheinland-Pfalz, and outside of Germany there is a single example from Switzerland, and a small number of what are likely
Burgundian inscriptions from eastern France. The precise number of inscriptions is debatable, as some proposed inscriptions consist of a single sign, or a row of signs that may also be "rune-like", in imitation of writing, or purely ornamental. For example, a ring found in
Bopfingen has been interpreted as being inscribed with a single
g, i.e. a simple X-shape that may also be ornamental. Most interpretable inscriptions contain personal names, and only ten inscriptions contain more than one interpretable word. Of these, four translate to "(PN) wrote the runes". The other six "long" interpretable inscriptions are: •
Pforzen buckle:
aigil andi aïlrun / '''''' ("Aigil and Ailrun fought [at the Ilz River?]") •
Nordendorf I fibula:
logaþorewodanwigiþonar (three theonyms, or "Wodan and Wigi-þonar are magicians/sorcerers") •
Schretzheim case:
arogisd /
alaguþleuba : dedun ("Arogast / Alaguth [and] Leubo (Beloved) made it") • Schretzheim fibula:
siþwagadin leubo ("to the Traveller (Wotan?), [from] Leubo (Beloved)", or perhaps "love to my travel-companion" or similar) •
Bad Ems fibula: '''''' ("Madali, protection") •
Osthofen: '''''' ("God for/before you, devil/Theophilus". The inscription is one of the youngest of the Alemannic sphere, dating to between 660 and 690, and clearly reflects a Christianized background). Other notable inscriptions: •
Bülach fibula:
frifridil du aftm • Wurmlingen spearhead, from an Alemannic grave in
Wurmlingen, inscription read as a personal name '''
(' or '''') • Schretzheim
ring-sword: the sword blade has four runes arranged so that the staves form a cross. Read as
arab by Düwel (1997). Schwab (1998:378) reads
abra, interpreting it as abbreviating the magic word
Abraxas, suggesting influence of the
magic traditions of Late Antiquity, and the Christian practice of arranging monograms on the arms of a cross. •
Kleines Schulerloch inscription, of dubious authenticity and possibly a hoax. Considered an obvious falsification by Looijenga (2003: 223). Reads
birg : leub : . A small number of inscriptions found in eastern
France may be
Burgundian rather than Alemannic: • the
Arguel pebble (considered an obvious falsification by Looijenga):
| wodan | | kim | • the
Charnay Fibula: '''fuþarkgwhnijïpʀstbem | ' uþf[?]þai ' id | dan ' | ïia | [?]r |'''
Frankish Very few inscriptions can be associated with the
Franks, reflecting their early Romanization and Christianization. An important find is the
Bergakker inscription, suggested as recording 5th-century
Old Frankish. The only other inscription definitely classified as Frankish is the Borgharen buckle, reading
bobo (a Frankish personal name). ==See also==