Seeland-II-C (Sjælland bracteate 2) is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark, that has been dated to the Migration period (around 500 AD). The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as:
- ᚺᚨᚱᛁᚢᚺᚨᚺᚨᛁᛏᛁᚲᚨ ᛬ ᚠᚨᚱᚨᚢᛁᛋᚨ ᛬ ᚷᛁᛒᚢᚨᚢᛅᚨ ᛬ ᛏᛏᛏ
- hariuha haitika : farauisa : gibu auja : ttt
The final ttt is a triple-stacked Tiwaz rune. This use of the rune is often interpreted as three invocations of the Norse pagan god Tyr.[1]
The central image shows a male's head above a quadruped. This is the defining characteristic of C-bracteates (of which some 400 specimens survive), and is often interpreted as a depiction of the god Odin, healing his horse.
Wolfgang Krause translates the inscription as: "Hariuha I am called: the dangerous knowledgeable one: I give chance."[2] farauisa is interpreted as fara-uisa, either "danger-wise" or "travel-wise". Erik Moltke translates this word as "one who is wise about dangers".[3] The giving of "chance" or "luck" in the inscription is evidence of the use of bracteates as amulets.[4]
The inscription *hariuha is suggested to contain the Germanic noun *harja, meaning "army, troop" - a common occurrence in Germanic compound names.[5]