Because the 6th of the Rök Runes has changed quite a bit from the Elder Futhark version, I chose to change my interpretation to the same degree. I chose to go by the interpretations from the rune poems, instead of modern tradition.
In Old Norse, the word ‘kaun’ means boil. I’ve also seen it translated to ulcer or sore. In modern Icelandic, it translates to carbuncle as well as boil. The Norse and Icelandic rune poems use the word in the meaning of a boil. Only the Anglo-Saxon uses the word torch for this rune.
The Rune Poems
| Icelandic | Norse | Anglo-Saxon |
| Kaun er barna böl ok bardaga [för] ok holdfúa hús. flagella konungr. | Kaun er barna bölvan; böl gorver nan fölvan. | Cen byþ cwicera gehwam, cuþ on fyre blac ond beorhtlic, byrneþ oftust ðær hi æþelingas inne restaþ. |
| Translated: | Translated: | Translated: |
| Boil is the bale of children and a battle and a house of rotten flesh ??? the king | Boil is the harm of children; Death gives no colour | The torch is known to every living man by its pale, bright flame;it always burns where princes sit within. |
The word ‘flagella’ in the Icelandic poem escapes me. Some have suggested it comes from Latin and means whip. That would make this line “whip the king”. Somehow that doesn’t really sound right.
My interpretation of this Rök Stone rune is (after being corrected by a friend of mine), disease, infection, inflammation, infected or poisonous relationships, self-harm. Back in those days when the runes were created, I imagine a boil was a more serious problem than it is today.
Back then, they probably only had red-hot needles, salt and fire. So the cure must have been just as painful as the boil itself. I don’t have any reliable sources that those were the (only) methods used to get rid of a boil. That’s just what I picked out of my own head. Today a boil might be lanced or cut open, rinsed with disinfectant and kept open to heal from the inside.
Even in modern times, boils are nasty. But dying from one is far less likely today. When in opposition, or Merkstave, Kaun would be the cure of the same disease. The red-hot needle which pierces the boil. Or maybe getting out of a bad relationship.
What’s your take on this rune? Leave me a comment below.
I came across you in Google+ and thought I would add some thoughts here (for what they’re worth). The two words “Flagella” and “Konungr” were added to the end of the poem as mnemonic devices and aren’t part of the original poem so can be safely ignored for interpretation purposes.
For the Old Norwegian poem, I had translated it as this: “Scab is a bending child; misfortune makes pale humans”. Literal, to be sure, but implies bending from pain and does indeed imply that death can come from misfortune.
The puzzle with this one is the similarity between Icelandic and Old Norwegian, but the vast difference in the Anglo-Saxon version. A well-lit cabin is very different than infection and pain caused by a wound.
This is where I start to ask myself contextual questions. Wounds when survived are talking points, triggers for stories around a fire. As with most runes, I think there’s a story — instead of simple meaning — with this one. It’s about adversity.
A child’s scrape from playing is a mark of their passing through life, a battle wound is a mark of passing through adult life, and then you can sit around the fire and tell the stories. KAUN (KENAZ) then is the adversity or pain itself and the surviving of that pain and a reminder that we should remember what we’ve been through to get where we are.
This is also in keeping with the progression of the Elder Futhark from FEHU to OTHALA.
Anyhow, I’m glad there are others out there working these through. It’s going to take all of us to reclaim the information the runes represent. Thanks for allowing the space for commentary.
I’m also glad to see there are others working on these. Thanks for your detailed comment, and for linking to my post. 🙂