Pforzen buckle

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The Pforzen buckle is a silver belt buckle found in Pforzen, Ostallgäu. It was found in 1992 in one of the 422 Alemannic graves excavated (in grave no. 239), dating to the 6th century. It was the grave of a warrior, buried with lance, spatha, seax and shield. The buckle itself is probably of Mediterranean workmanship, maybe of a Lombard or Gepid workshop. It bears a runic inscription, incised after its manufacture:

aigil andi aïlrun

ltahu gasokun

Nedoma (2004) reads this as Áigil andi Áilrun / Íltahu gasōkun, an alliterating metrical line, the oldest preserved in any West Germanic language (while the Gallehus horns inscription, roughly one century older, is considered the oldest example of a North Germanic metrical line). The line would translate to "Aigil and Ailrun fought at the Ilz river". Egil as a heroic archer is also shown, together with his wife, on the lid of the Franks Casket, which dates to approximately the same time. Egil the archer in Norse mythology is known as the brother of Weyland.

Compare also Gunnar, the renowned bowman in the Njalssaga who defends his house against a troop of attackers, but whose wife refuses to help him, leading to his death.