Gothic Letter Eis

It is the Gothic alphabet’s i letter, for /i/ and /iː/.

The recognizable form belongs to the alphabet attributed to Wulfila in the fourth century. It gave Gothic a written form for Christian scripture, especially the Bible translation. The surviving documentary trail is later: documents from the fifth century and early sixth century, including the Codex Argenteus, a luxury Gospel book from Northern Italy.

Across those settings, the job stays alphabetic while the context changes: scripture, a luxury Gospel book, then a learned alphabet list. A ninth century list records iiz, reconstructed eis “ice.” That gloss names the letter; it does not make a lone 𐍹 a message about frozen water.

Is 𐍹 a rune?

No; it is a Gothic letter with a related runic name.

Most of the Gothic system follows Greek order and correspondences, so 𐍹 aligns with Greek iota. Its name is linked to the Germanic isaz tradition represented by ᛁ. Scholars disagree about how much Latin or runic material shaped the Gothic alphabet overall; for this letter, the safe conclusion is a naming relationship and Greek alphabetic correspondence, not visual identity.

Use 𐍹 when you are representing Gothic writing or showing its script. Use ᛁ for runic text. In ordinary English, use Latin I.