Algiz
[citation needed] It is one of two runes which express a phoneme that does not occur word-initially, and thus could not be named acrophonically, the other being the ŋ-rune Ingwaz ᛜ.
As the terminal *-z phoneme marks the nominative singular suffix of masculine nouns, the rune occurs comparatively frequently in early epigraphy.
Because this specific phoneme was lost at an early time, the Elder Futhark rune underwent changes in the medieval runic alphabets.
[citation needed] The name of the Anglo-Saxon rune ᛉ is variously recorded as eolx, eolhx, ilcs, ilx, iolx, ilix, elux.
Furthermore, the name of the sedge in question is recorded in the older Epinal-Erfurt glossary as ilugsegg (glossing papiluus, probably for papyrus), which cannot be derived from the word for elk.
[6] A suggestion by Warren and Elliott takes the Old English eolh at face value, and reconstructs a Common Germanic form of either *algiz or *alhiz.
Seebold (1991) took this up to suggest that the name of the rune may be connected to the use of elux for helix by Notker to describe the constellation of Ursa Major (as turning around the celestial pole).
[citation needed] It is attested in final position in the earliest inscriptions, e.g. in ansuz (Vimose buckle), þewaz (Thorsberg chape).
[citation needed] The name of the Anglo-Saxon rune ᛉ is variously recorded as eolx, ilcs, ilix, elux, eolhx.
Furthermore, it appears in the inscription on St Cuthbert's coffin (late 7th century) in the abbreviation of the name Christ, where Greek ΧΡΣ is taken as Latin xps and rendered as runic ᛉᛈᛋ.
[citation needed] Unicode has U+0280 ʀ LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL R (IPA’s symbol for the uvular trill).
[citation needed] The Anglo-Saxon k-rune ᛣ (Calc) has the same shape as Younger Futhark yr, but is unrelated in origin, being a modification or "doubling" of the c-rune ᚳ (Cēn).
It has always been clear that this association is an innovation of modern esotericism, without direct precedent in the medieval usage of the Younger Futhark alphabet.
Contemporary examples include use by the American National Alliance (as of 2007),[18] and in reference to the Algiz rune in the logo of the Flemish nationalist Voorpost as levensrune (as of 2016).
[22] The neo-folk group Death in June used the Algiz in their cover of their double LP The Wörld Thät Sümmer, alongside their "Totenkopf 6" logo.
[23] Historically associated with ancient Germanic culture, the Algiz rune was adopted by ecofascists to represent an idealised lifestyle that challenges the principles of modernity,[24] or a return to ‘the medieval’.
[25] In some contexts, the Algiz rune appears to carry an almost religious-like reverence, representing a fascist spiritual infatuation with the natural.
