Thanks, Grimmund! I could remember the letter 'thorn' (which I can't seem to import from my symbols list - it's actually the one that ends up looking like a 'y', but started off more like a 'p'), but not the name for 'eth'/'ash'.
Finally got around to checking out the old characters, and was amused to see that the medieval scribes got completely confused themselves about whether they wanted to use thorns, ashes, 'y's or wynns (something that also used to look like a 'p', but was a 'w' sound). Eventually they chucked them all, and just used 'th' for all the 'th' sounds.
Anyway, thanks for the clarification. Ash and thorn - should be able to remember them. In fact, can't seem to get "Oak and ash and thorn" out of my head, now! http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiOAKASHTH.html
Alison
That little funny looking d character -> ð is an eth, pronounced /th/.
The related Old English character is an ash, looks something like a crooked y, the source of all those "ye old shoppe" signs, which were originally an ash, and mistaken by moderns as a y. Both are sometimes voiced and sometimes voiceless, and seem to be used interchangeable, at least in Old English.
> > 'fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess'
> gythja
> > (Like goði is both god and priest)
> gothi
Grimmund
'fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess' (Like goði is both god and priest)
If I understand Icelandic grammar, the pl. of 'gydja' should be 'gydju' or 'gydjur'.
My reference is 'An Iceland-English Dictionary' http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html
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