Aurochs

Wild and untameable, the aurochs were the giant oxen of northern Europe and the British Isles.

Uruz is the name of this rune, the second letter in the Elder Futhark writing system. It represents the sound of “oo” as in the English word ‘book’. It is associated with aurochs, the enormous cattle that dominated the moors and lowlands and were extinct by the 17th century. They were described by Julius Caesar in his De Bello Gallico as a bit smaller than an elephant, with gigantic horns, fast, fierce, and hard to kill. Herding them into a pit trap must have been a community effort and is said to be the only way to capture them, presenting an adventure for the courageous and cause for celebration. The coveted horns were carved, decorated with precious metals, and made into festive drinking horns. Here is a pair of 7th c. Anglo-Saxon drinking horns made from the auroch, that were found in the late 1930s at the Sutton Hoo ship burial excavation.