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Old English eth and thorn
1. Old English eth and thorn
ð Ð þ Þ
Middle and Old English had two sounds for "th", the "eth" as "ð" and the "thorn" as "þ". The distinct "thorn" and "eth" sounds eventually merged. The thorn as "the" looked like and was the source of "ye" for "the".
French monks (after the Norman conquest of Britain from France) substituted the Latin diphthong "th" for the sound.
2. Eth
ð Ð
The "ð" or "Ð" is called "eth" and has a "th" sound.
3. Thorn
þ Þ
The "þ" or "Þ" is called "thorn" and has a "th" sound.
The thorn character could be confused with the "p" character (as in "pig").
The thorn character still exists in Icelandic though it is usually written as the "eth" (above).
4. Table
| Character |
Decimal |
Hex |
| ð |
#240 |
xF0 |
| Ð |
#208 |
xD0 |
| Þ |
#222 |
xDE |
| þ |
#254 |
xFE |
5. Ye old inn
The phrase "Ye Old Inn" is actually "The Old Inn" or "Thee Old Inn" where the abbreviation for "þe" (thee) looked like a "ye".
6. End of page