Special Old English Letters: Thorn, Eth, Wynn, and Ash

1. From Runes to a Modified Latin Alphabet

In earlier modules you saw how:

• The Roman (Latin) alphabet grew out of Greek and Etruscan writing.
• Early English (Anglo‑Saxon) was first written with runes (futhorc).

When Christian missionaries arrived in England (late 6th–7th centuries), they brought Latin books and the Latin alphabet. But Old English had sounds Latin did not.

So English scribes:

• Borrowed some shapes from runes.
• Adapted Latin letters.
• Created or reused a few special letters.

These extra letters are:

• þ (thorn)
• ð (eth)
• ƿ (wynn)
• æ (ash)
• ȝ (yogh – more common in Middle English but worth mentioning here)

In this module you will:

1. Learn what sound each letter represented.
2. See real Old English examples.
3. Trace how each letter disappeared or was replaced as English moved toward the modern alphabet, especially once printing spread in the 15th–16th centuries.

Keep in mind: today (March 2026), none of these letters are used in standard modern English, but some survive in Icelandic (þ, ð) and in specialist or historical writing.

2. Thorn (þ): The Old English “th” Letter

Thorn is written þ (lowercase) and Þ (uppercase).

Sound

• It represented th‑sounds, like in:
• thin /θ/ (voiceless)
• this /ð/ (voiced)
• In Old English manuscripts, þ and ð often overlap in function; scribes did not always separate them by sound the way modern linguists do.

Origin

• Shape likely comes from the runic letter þ (thorn), adapted to fit Latin handwriting.

Old English examples

• þorn = thorn
• þæt = that
• oþer = other

In modern spelling, all of these now use th instead of þ.

Why þ disappeared

1. Norman scribes (after 1066) were more used to Latin and French spellings.
2. They preferred to write th instead of þ.
3. Later, early printers in England (late 15th century) used type imported from the Continent that did not include þ.
4. It was easier to set type with t + h.

By the 15th–16th centuries, th had almost completely replaced þ in English printing. This choice still shapes how we write today.

3. Spot the Thorn: Then vs. Now

Here is a short Old English sentence using thorn (þ). Read the modern version beneath it.

> Old English:

> Se cyning geseah þone mann.

>

> Modern English (spelling only updated):

> The king geseah thone mann.

>

> Modern English (fully translated):

> The king saw the man.

Look at the change:

• þone → thone (and then eventually the in later English)

Another example:

> Old English: Þæt hus is micel.

>

> Modern spelling: That hus is micel.

>

> Modern English: That house is big.

In both cases, anywhere you see þ in Old English, you can usually imagine th in modern spelling.

Quick check for yourself:

Try mentally replacing þ with th in this word:

> þing →

You should get thing.

4. Eth (ð): Another Way to Write “th”

Eth is written ð (lowercase) and Ð (uppercase).

Sound

• Like thorn, ð was used for th‑sounds.
• In modern linguistic descriptions, we often say:
• þ tends to represent /θ/ (as in thin),
• ð tends to represent /ð/ (as in this).
• But in actual Old English manuscripts, scribes often mixed them, so the contrast was not strict.

Origin

• Looks like a d with a cross‑stroke.
• Developed inside the insular (British/Irish) writing tradition.

Old English examples

• oðer = other
• mið = with
• ġeðencan = to think, consider (think and thank are related).

Thorn vs. Eth in manuscripts

• Many texts use both þ and ð.
• Choice often depends on position in the word, scribal habit, or visual balance, not just sound.

Why ð disappeared

The reasons are similar to thorn:

1. Norman scribes and later printers preferred th.
2. Continental typefaces did not support ð.
3. By the time spelling began to stabilize (late Middle English), th had become the standard way to write these sounds.

Today:

• Modern English uses th, not ð.
• Modern Icelandic still uses both þ and ð, but with a clear sound difference: þ for /θ/, ð for /ð/.

5. Mini Practice: Thorn and Eth to Modern Spelling

Convert these Old English words into modern-style spellings, only updating þ and ð to th. Do not translate the whole word, just change the letters.

Write your answers on paper or in a notes app, then check yourself with the suggested answers below.

1. oðer →
2. mið þam →
3. þæt ðing →
4. seðe ("he who") →

Suggested answers (when you are ready):

1. other (oðer → other)
2. mith tham (mið þam → mith tham)

• In true modern English this would become with that, but for this exercise we only swap letters.

1. that thing (þæt ðing → that thing)
2. sethe (seðe → sethe)

Notice how th stands where þ and ð once did. This is exactly the historical change that shaped modern English spelling.

6. Wynn (ƿ): The Lost Letter for the “w” Sound

Wynn is written ƿ (lowercase) and Ƿ (uppercase).

Sound

• Represented the /w/ sound, like w in win or water.

Why use ƿ instead of “w”?

• The classical Latin alphabet did not have a separate w letter.
• Latin used V (which could represent both /u/ and /w/ in early Latin).
• English needed a clear way to show the /w/ sound.
• Scribes borrowed the runic letter wynn (ᚹ) and adapted its shape as ƿ.

Old English examples

• ƿe = we
• ƿord = word
• ƿater = water

How ƿ became “w”

1. Over time, scribes began writing two v or u shapes together as “uu” to show /w/.
2. This “double u” gradually became our modern letter w.
3. By the 13th–14th centuries, w was replacing ƿ in most manuscripts.
4. Early printers standardized w, because their typefaces supported it and not ƿ.

So wynn (ƿ) disappeared, but its sound is still very common in English. The letter w is literally a “double u” (or historically, double v) that took its place.

7. Wynn to W: Seeing the Change

Let’s look at a short example sentence and update only ƿ → w.

> Old English: ƿe sprecað Englisc.

>

> Step 1 – swap ƿ for w: we sprecað Englisc.

>

> Step 2 – modern spelling & translation: We speak English.

Another word list:

• ƿest → west
• ƿif → wif (later wife)
• ƿudu → wudu (later wood)

You can see how replacing ƿ with w is often enough to make the word look familiar.

Try it yourself:

Convert these by eye:

• ƿord →
• ƿinter →

You should get word and winter.

8. Ash (æ): A Vowel Between A and E

Ash is written æ (lowercase) and Æ (uppercase).

Sound

• In Old English, æ usually represented a front vowel somewhere between modern “a” in cat and “e” in bed.
• It is often transcribed as /æ/ in modern phonetic notation.

Origin

• Comes from a Latin ligature: a combination of a + e written as one letter.
• Old English scribes adopted it as a normal vowel letter, not just a fancy ligature.

Old English examples

• æppel = apple
• dæg = day
• stān vs. stæf (stone vs. staff – showing different vowels)

What happened to æ?

1. During the Middle English period, the vowel system changed (the Great Vowel Shift came later, but changes started earlier).
2. Spelling gradually moved away from æ toward a or e combinations.
3. Printers in the late 15th and 16th centuries preferred plain letters (a, e) instead of æ.

Today:

• Standard modern English rarely uses æ.
• You might still see it:
• In Old English editions and textbooks.
• In some loanwords or names (e.g., Æsir in Norse studies).
• As a stylistic choice in brand names or typography, but not as a separate letter of the English alphabet.

Modern spellings of Old English æ words:

• æppel → apple
• dæg → day
• læran → learn

9. Yogh (ȝ): A Transitional Letter (Mainly Middle English)

Yogh is written ȝ (lowercase) and Ȝ (uppercase).

Although yogh is mainly a Middle English letter, it helps explain how we got some modern spellings, so we include it briefly.

Sound

Depending on position and dialect, ȝ could represent:

• A y‑sound /j/ (as in yes),
• A gh‑sound (a velar or palatal fricative, like the ch in Scottish loch),
• Sometimes a g‑sound /g/.

Examples (mostly Middle English)

• niȝt → night
• ȝe → ye / you

What happened to ȝ?

1. Its shape looked similar to the long s (ſ) and the number 3, which caused confusion.
2. Norman scribes and later printers tended to replace ȝ with:

• g (e.g., ȝe → ye/you),
• y,
• gh (e.g., niȝt → night).

Today, ȝ is gone from standard English, but it explains why we still write gh in words like night and laugh, even though the original sound has disappeared in most modern accents.

10. Quick Check: Matching Letters to Sounds

Choose the best match for each special Old English letter.

11. Thought Exercise: Why Did These Letters Disappear?

Think about the historical forces you have seen so far:

• Norman Conquest (1066) and the influence of French‑speaking scribes.
• The growing use of Latin and French as written languages in England.
• The arrival of printing presses in England in the late 15th century.
• The use of Continental typefaces that lacked special English letters like þ, ð, and ƿ.

Task:

1. In 3–4 bullet points, explain why English spelling moved from:

• þ, ð → th
• ƿ → w
• æ → a or e combinations

1. Then write one sentence predicting how technology today (keyboards, Unicode, spell‑checkers) might affect which letters and spellings survive in the future.

Use these prompts to guide your notes (you do not need to submit them):

• Which people controlled most of the writing and copying of texts?
• What letters did their alphabets and printing fonts already have?
• Why might writers avoid characters that are hard to type or print?

This reflection helps you connect historical spelling changes with modern issues like keyboard layouts and digital fonts.

12. Flashcard Review: Special Old English Letters

Flip through these cards to review the key letters and ideas from this module.