We know that the 33 rune-row derives from a Frisian and Northumbrian origin, and it has been seen in the past as an 'extended' rune-row based upon the Elder Futhark or Common Germanic Futhark. The Frisians derive their name from Frya/Freya, although the name 'Frisian' could also relate to Ingui-Frey. But where does the name 'Northumbrian' and 'Northumbria' come from?
Obviously the name stems from
‘North-Umbrians’, but who were the ‘Umbrians’. Here we have to go to Italy
where we find tribal groupings called the ‘Umbrians’, but looking at this brought new light on our historical past. Here in
England we have ‘C-umbria’, ‘Humber’, ‘Northumbria’ etc. and some scholars seem
to think that ‘Cumbria’ was where the ‘Cymru’ (Welsh) dwelt, although there are
no Welsh names there as far as I can see. Some see the ‘Umbrians’ as the
Cymru, but without any evidence whatever.
The key to the ‘Umbrians’ may lie
in their being part of the ten divisions of the Inguvines, a name so
similar to Tacitus’ Ingvaeones (a name which should be Ingwines meaning ‘Friends
of Ing’) that this cannot be a coincidence. It is thus possible, and this is
again conjecture, that the ‘Northumbrians’ occupied this area before the
‘Anglo-Saxon invasions’. If so, then how far back does this go, and did they
use this rune-row in more ancient times? It is thus possible that this extended
row was not taken from the Elder Futhark but was used here in England well back
into ancient times. Remember, the Germanic Tribes in pre-Christian times wrote
nothing down and passed their knowledge through word of mouth. If runes at that
time were written upon wood, and that alone, then they would not have survived
the ages.
It does not appear that the
Cimbri were the same as the Cymru, and ‘Cumberland’ would thus have more likely
been the ‘Land of the Cimbri’ rather than ‘Cymru’, the former being allied with
the Teutons, an obvious Germanic Tribe. The Cimbri also came down from the area
of Southern Scandinavia where the English Tribes dwelt. It is thus possible
that a remnant stayed in the area and came here with the Anglo-Saxons, giving
their name to ‘Cumberland’ which later became ‘Cumbria’. 'Cumber' suggests that there could have been an alternative 'Humber' which we shall look at in due time.
There is also yet another tribe
sometimes described as ‘Celtic’ and other times as ‘Germanic’ – the Ambrones.
Here we cannot but see the resemblance between ‘Umbrians’ and ‘Ambrones’, so
these may have been of the same origins. The Ambrones seem to have been kin to
the Ligurians. The Ambrones allied with the Cimbri and Teutons to attack Italy.
There they fought against the Ligurians who recognised them as kindred.
Here it is interesting to trace
the Ambrones, since they originated in the area of Jutland, around the islands
of Fehmann (old name Imbria) and Amrun, and were most likely the ‘Ymbers’ of Widsith. The stumbling-block, as I have stated, lies in academics, and here we
see a typical example, for they assume that one of the kings Boiorix (‘King of the Boii’) has a
‘Celtic’ name, and thus can be lumped into the ‘Celtic’ mould of nations such
as the Welsh, Scots and Irish. The suffix –rix
is from Gaul, and I have shown how not all tribes from this area are
‘Celts’, some were Germanic. The term –rix
is obviously the same as rik or rig which are Germanic titles meaning
‘ruler’. The Celts and Germans were the same people, some developed languages
from Southern Europe as they moved southwards.
As I have said, since the Ymbers were here in England, possibly
with the Anglo-Saxon ‘invasions’ or just as possibly earlier, as part of the
Anglo-Germanic peoples already here. Whatever the case, that these peoples held
on to this particular runic system is important, especially since it contains
more Tree-Runes (a feature of the
‘Druids’), the Four Hallows, and the Graal Runes. The Old English title
‘Ymbers’ would seem to bring together the names ‘Umbrians’ and ‘Ambrones’.
We have the River Humber, of
course, but also ‘Humberstone’ in Leicester, which I have featured on the Inglinga Blog. If this is connected to
the Ymbers then this tribe lived further afield than Northumbria. As the
Umbrians are Inguvines then they are
part of the great Germanic Tribal Federation of the Friends of Ingui that later made up the English Folk-Nation.
When these Germanic Tribes moved
southwards they picked up the traits of the peoples of Southern Europe, and
committed their works to writing, a thing unknown in the harsh Northlands.
Thus, the Umbrians set down the Inguvine
Tablets, seven bronze tablets outlining the liturgy of a brotherhood of
priests known as the Fratres Atriedii.
There are also two other things
that seem to confirm that the Umbrians/Ambrones
were of the Ingvaeones. They seem to be related to a people who spoke an
Oscan Language, to the tribe who were sister to
Umbrian and Volscian, and who occupied the area of Campanica and Latium
in Italy. One of the spellings of their name was Osci which is clearly similar to Oski (a name of Odin) and to the Oiscingas from whom Hengest and Horsa descend. In Widsith, the Old English poem, we find ‘Sceafthere (ruled) the Ymber, Sceafa the
Langobards’ whence Sceafthere
would be Sceaf, the Divine Ancestor of the English Folk. This clearly indicates that the
Umbrians/Ambrones claimed descent from
Sceaf-Ingui, just as did the Langobards.
According to Plutarch the Ligurians called themselves Ambrones; the Ligurians were also called Ligures, Ligus or Ligur. One of the tribes of the Ligurians was called by the name Ingauni. Now, it would seem obvious that the Ambrones were a confederation of tribes, like an early nation made up of different tribes, though these would have been of the same kin-stock.
This is the Humber Stone found in the village of Humberstone in Leicester, which is no doubt now very much a part of the City of Leicester. The name 'Humber' reduced to 'Umber' is that of the 'Ymber' mentioned in Widsith. Whether a section of this tribe lived in the area of Leicester we cannot tell; however we cannot rule out the name 'Leicester' being derived from 'Ligur-cester' since this would not be the first place-name to be distorted with time.
The connection between the 33 rune-row and Northumbria may thus be a very important one, since this seems to be directly associated with Ingui/Ingwe and with the English Folk, as well as a possible link to At-al-land in the far distant past. Jutland and Frisia are the main areas where these tribes originated, and we find the 24-rune Futhark together with the rune-stances of the Ear-Cweorth Rune on the Horns of Gallehus from the same area.
