A Consideration of the Vindelev Bracteate
What follows are my initial thoughts on the Vindelev Bracteate. These were written between 11 and 12 March 2023. ********* The Vindelev Bracteate (discovered in Vindelev, Denmark in 2020) has been all over the news recently since it was announced that the previously undeciphered runes on the fifth century golden disc were, at least partly, determined.[1] Reports from around the world took special notice of the discovery of the sensational phrase, "He (is) Odin's man," perhaps the earliest reference to the chief god of Norse and Germanic mythology. In English letters, this phrase is rendered as iR Wod[I]nas weraR . For those attempting to match the English to the runes visible on photographs of the bracteate, the key phrase appears around Odin's head near the bottom of his hair on the right side and is read from right to left. It is important to note that there are other runes on this piece. It is not fully clear in images that I have seen, but the runes may go around