# Erilaz
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{{Short description|Proto-Norse word, translated as magician or rune master}}
[[Image:Järsberg Vr1.jpg|thumb|right|The [Järsberg Runestone](/source/J%C3%A4rsberg_Runestone) is from the 6th century and contains the statement: ''ek erilaz''.]]'''''Erilaz''''' or '''''Erilaʀ''''' is a [Migration period](/source/Migration_period) [Proto-Norse](/source/Proto-Norse_language) word attested on various [Elder Futhark](/source/Elder_Futhark) inscriptions, which has often been interpreted to mean "[magician](/source/Magic_(supernatural))" or "rune master",[*{{cite book |title=Variation in the Syntax of theOlder Runic Inscriptions|last=Eythórsson |first=Thórhallur |publisher=[Kulturhistorisk museum (KHM)](/source/Museum_of_Cultural_History%2C_Oslo) |page=34 |accessdate=5 August 2017 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1798262}}] i.e., one who is capable of writing [runes](/source/runic_alphabet) to [magical effect](/source/runic_magic). However, as Mees[{{cite journal |last1=Mees |first1=B. |title=Runic 'erilaR' |journal=North-Western European Language Evolution (NOWELE)' |date=2003 |volume=42 |pages=41-68}}] has shown, the word is an [ablaut](/source/ablaut) variant of [earl](/source/earl), and is also thought to be linguistically related to the name of the tribe of the [Heruli](/source/Heruli), so it is probably merely an old Germanic military title (see etymology below).
==Etymology==
This word is likeliest the [Proto-Germanic](/source/Proto-Germanic) ancestor of [Anglo-Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxon) ''eorl'' (Modern English ''earl'') and its relatives, meaning "man, warrior, noble". The word ''erilaz'' is likely a derivative of {{wikt-lang|gem-x-proto|*erǭ}} sb.f. "fight, battle", thus the interpretation "one who fights, warrior", though it has also been connected to {{wikt-lang|gem-x-proto|*arô}} sb.m. "eagle".[ Cf. Orel (2003:85).]
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|Lindholm amulet}}
The Lindholm "amulet" ([DR 261 $U](/source/Rundata)) is a bone piece found in [Skåne](/source/Sk%C3%A5ne), dated to the 2nd to 4th centuries. The inscription contains the word ''Erilaz''.
===Funen shaft===
{{Main|Kragehul I}}
The '''Kragehul I''' (DR 196 U) spear-shaft found in [Funen](/source/Funen)[{{Cite web |url=http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/abfragen/standard/deutung2.asp?findno=25&ort=Kragehul&objekt=Speer%2D%2FLanzenschaft |title=Kiel Rune Project |access-date=2007-02-05 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929093033/http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/abfragen/standard/deutung2.asp?findno=25&ort=Kragehul&objekt=Speer-%2FLanzenschaft |url-status=dead }}] that bears the inscription:
{{poem quote|text={{lang|non|
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-](/source/Aesir)'', "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 [bindrune](/source/bindrune)s 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](/source/Undley_bracteate).
===Other items===
200px|thumb|'''rila͡z''' (read from right to left).
*[Strängnäs stone](/source/Str%C3%A4ngn%C3%A4s_stone): '''…rila͡z'''
*[Bracteate](/source/Bracteate)s 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](/source/J%C3%A4rsberg_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'''[{{cite journal |last1=Axboe |first1=Martin |last2=Källström |first2=Magnus |title=Guldbrakteater fra Trollhättan – 1844 og 2009 |journal=Fornvännen |date=2013 |pages=153-171 |url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1227077/FULLTEXT01.pdf |access-date=5 October 2025}}]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
* Orel, Vladimir (2003). ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden: Brill. pg. 205. {{ISBN|90-04-12875-1}}.
* Plowright, S. (2006). ''The Rune Primer'', Lulu Press. {{ISBN|1-84728-246-6}}; [https://web.archive.org/web/20111001173102/http://www.runewebvitki.com/The%20Rune%20Primer.html book review]
==External links==
*[http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/abfragen/standard/wortmaterial3.asp?wklasse=NAM&wordno=409 Wortmaterial der Runeninschriften nach Wortklassen]
Category:Historical runic magic
Category:Elder Futhark inscriptions
Category:Proto-Norse language
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Erilaz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erilaz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erilaz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.