Who is Berkana?
Berkanan is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the b rune ᛒ, meaning "birch". In the Younger Futhark it is called Bjarkan in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem it is called beorc ("birch" or "poplar"). The corresponding Gothic letter is 𐌱 b, named bairkan. The letter shape is likely directly based on Old Italic 𐌁, whence comes also the Latin letter B. The rune is recorded in all three rune poems:
