Erilaz

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title: "Erilaz" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["historical-runic-magic", "elder-futhark-inscriptions", "proto-norse-language"] description: "Proto-Norse word, translated as magician or rune master" topic_path: "general/historical-runic-magic" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erilaz" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Proto-Norse word, translated as magician or rune master ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Järsberg_Vr1.jpg" caption="pages=41-68}} has shown, the word is an [[ablaut]] variant of [[earl]], and is also thought to be linguistically related to the name of the tribe of the [[Heruli]], so it is probably merely an old Germanic military title (see etymology below)."] ::

Etymology

This word is likeliest the Proto-Germanic ancestor of Anglo-Saxon eorl (Modern English earl) and its relatives, meaning "man, warrior, noble". The word erilaz is likely a derivative of sb.f. "fight, battle", thus the interpretation "one who fights, warrior", though it has also been connected to sb.m. "eagle".

Historical instances:

• Latin: Heruli (dating from around 250 AD onwards)
• Greek: Eruloi (dating from around 250 AD onwards)
• Runic: Erilaz (dating from around 200 AD - 400 AD)

Inscriptions

Lindholm "amulet"

Main article: Lindholm amulet

The Lindholm "amulet" (DR 261 $U) is a bone piece found in Skåne, dated to the 2nd to 4th centuries. The inscription contains the word Erilaz.

Funen shaft

Main article: Kragehul I

The Kragehul I (DR 196 U) spear-shaft found in Funen that bears the inscription: ekerilazasugisalasmuhahaitegagaga […] ek erilaz asugisalas muha haite, gagaga […]}} Which is interpreted as "I, the earl of Āsugīsal, am called Muha," followed by some sort of battle cry or chant ("gagaga"). Āsugīsalaz contains ansu-, "god", and gīsalaz, "pledge". Muha may either be a personal name, or a word meaning "retainer" or similar. The runes of gagaga are displayed as a row of three bindrunes based on the X-shape of the g rune with side-twigs attached to its extremities for the a. A similar sequence gægogæ is found on the Undley bracteate.

Other items

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Runic_Inscription_Sö_Fv2011;307.jpg" caption="'''rila͡z''' (read from right to left)."] ::

• Strängnäs stone: …rila͡z
• Bracteates Eskatorp-F and Väsby-F have e[k]erilaz = "I [am] a Herulian"
• Bratsberg clasp: ekerilaz
• Veblungsnes:ekirilazwiwila
• Rosseland (N KJ69 U): ekwagigazirilaz
• Järsberg Runestone (Vr 1): ekerilaz
• By (N KJ71 U): ekirilaz
• The Etelheim clasp has mkmrlawrta read as ek erla wrta "I, Erla, wrote this"; Runic e and m are similar to each other.
• Trollhättan bracteate (found in 2009): ekerilaʀ • mariþeubaʀhaite • wraitalaþo

Notes

References

• Orel, Vladimir (2003). A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Leiden: Brill. pg. 205. .
• Plowright, S. (2006). The Rune Primer, Lulu Press. ; book review

References

1. Eythórsson, Thórhallur. "Variation in the Syntax of theOlder Runic Inscriptions". [[Museum of Cultural History, Oslo.
2. (2003). "Runic 'erilaR'". North-Western European Language Evolution (NOWELE)'.
3. Cf. Orel (2003:85).
4. [http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/abfragen/standard/deutung2.asp?findno=25&ort=Kragehul&objekt=Speer%2D%2FLanzenschaft Kiel Rune Project]
5. (2013). "Guldbrakteater fra Trollhättan – 1844 og 2009". Fornvännen.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::