h represents the guttural aspirate and the pure spirant. In later English the guttural h is generally represented by gh, e. g. leóht light, heáh high. Under certain circumstances h takes the place of c and g, see those letters. In. some cases it is dropped, e. g. bleó for bleoh; seón, p. seah; nabban = ne habban. In the Northumbrian specimens the use of the initial h, especially in the combinations hl, hn, hr, is uncertain, e. g. eorta = heorta, haald = ald, hlíf = líf, lysta = hlysta, hnett = nett, nesc = hnesc, hræst = ræst, ræfn = hræfn. The name of the Runic letter was hægl hail :-- Hægl byþ hwítust corna, Runic pm. 9; Kmbl. 341, 4; the forms accompanying the poem and given by Kemble are these, RUNE , RUNE , RUNE . h