The Riddle - Alison Croggon [206]
Maerad’s lyre had half of the twenty runes of the Treesong: those with the phonetic values A, O, U, I, E, F, S, H, D, and T. In an unpublished monograph,16 Professor Patrick Insole of the Department of Ancient Languages at the University of Leeds has made a thorough study of the extant sources on the Treesong, and on the symbolism of the runes. I have drawn extensively on his monograph for this book, and Professor Insole, generally regarded as the foremost authority on the scripts of Edil-Amarandh, has kindly permitted me to quote extensively from his monograph for these notes.
The Treesong Runes
The letterforms, though having nominal letter and phonetic values, were almost certainly never used for everyday writing. This is evident from the relative complexity of the individual symbols and the diversity of the alphabet as a whole, compared to other ancient writing systems. It can be seen that the forms themselves are of a composite nature, which is to say that they have been “assembled” from two or more simpler forms, and were intended to embody and express particular themes, many of which will undoubtedly have been lost. The only purpose we know the alphabet served was the expression of the Treesong itself, each letter signifying a particular stanza. However, it is reasonable to assume that the alphabet could have been used for other ritualistic/magic purposes and possibly, given its seasonal/lunar structure, it may have served in the recording or measurement of time.
The difficulty in interpreting the signs comes from the very fact that their use is so rare, even in contemporary sources. However, an interpretation of their component signs, if not their underlying significance, can be attempted.
The alphabet is divided into five groupings, which can be identified as Vowels (or Moon signs) and Consonants (or Seasonal signs), that is, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Each group, vowels excepted, is indicated by a strong central symbol, coupled with one or more other symbols that refer to individual trees and/or its stanza. It should be noted that these interpretations are conjectural at best, and in many instances the sign has become so encoded and simplified that its origin remains unclear.
The runes on Maerad of Pellinor’s lyre, and the stanzas and values pertaining to them:
A I am the dew on every hill
O I am the leap in every womb
U I am the fruit of every bough
I I am the edge of every knife
E I am the hinge of every question
F I am the falling tears of the sun
S I am the eagle rising to a cliff
H I am all directions over the face of the waters
D I am the flowering oak that transforms the earth
T I am the bright arrow of vengeance
Vowels/Moon signs
A Arda New Moon Silver Fir
O Onn Waxing Moon Furze
U Ura Full Moon Apple
I Iadh Waning Moon Poplar
E Eadha Dark Moon Yew
Consonants/Seasonal signs
F Forn Middle Spring Alder
S Sal Late Spring Willow
H Hrar Early Summer Whitethorn
D Dir Midsummer’s Day Oak
T Tren Middle Summer Holly
Some conjectural interpretations of the rune designs:
SPRING is indicated by a rising-sun motif, perhaps representing growth or the coming of light.
F shows a rising arrow shape, which may, in a stylized fashion, represent rays of light.
S appears as an eagle rising.
SUMMER is indicated by a circle, representing the sun.
H shows, essentially, a compass rose, indicating “all directions.”
D represents midsummer, indicated by the circle within a circle. The curving line is less clear, but could refer to an oak leaf or, more abstractly, could imply growth and transformation.
T represents both the pointed holly leaf, and the “arrow of vengeance.”
VOWELS are represented by signs that refer to phases of the moon.
A represents the new moon by virtue of a dot on a vertical