The rune that means 'bicycle' in German
Published: Fri, 06/14/13
Rei today, and I am back in the right order in case you were
checking. The Germanic name for the rune is Rad which means wheel.
When in Germany I have been amused to see adverts for Rad Tours of
the city or simply radtouring which literally means a wheel tour
and specifically means bicycles. In the modern world that fits
quite well with the meaning of the rune. The first line of the
rune poem says that. "Riding it is said is worst for
horses." It means travel which requires effort and
determination. In a car or on a train the miles just disappear
while you settle down into a comfortable seat. But on a bicycle
you need to maintain a constant effort to keep moving and if you
come to a steep hill it will require a lot more effort and
determination to get to the top.
Perhaps the key story relating to the Rei rune is Hermod's ride
into the underworld to request the release of Baldur back to the
land of the living. It was a journey into the darkness which took
nine nights. When he arrived at he gates of Hel he made his horse
leap over and found Baldur and his wife Nanna. He confronted Hel,
the queen of the dead who was in some sense half alive and half
dead, and passed on Odin's request that Baldur should be
allowed to return to the land of the living. But he failed thanks
to Loki and that story fits in very nicely with Monday's
posting.
If you would like to find out more about the Rune Poem's I
would check out David's book at
http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/lit.html or if you want the ebook
version follow the link http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/elit.html
regards
Graham
PS . Stav course tomorrow in Salisbury, details for that at
http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/train.html