Runes were generally replaced by the Latin alphabet as the cultures that had used runes underwent Christianisation, by approximately AD 700 in central Europe and 1100 in northern Europe. However, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes beyond this period. Up until the early 20th century, runes were still used in rural Sweden for decorative purposes in Dalarna and on runic calendars. 700 CE, in Scandinavia, Elder Futhark was adapted into the Younger Futhark (or Younger Fuþark) script used for writing Old Norse, the language of the Viking Age. Eight of the original 24 characters were ditched how to buy shinja and many others were simplified or changed shape, as well as more variety cropping up in general.
- This could mean spiritually or it could mean more literally if in regards to a project, plan, or relationship.
- There also are some inscriptions suggesting a medieval belief in the magical significance of runes, such as the Franks Casket (AD 700) panel.
- Anglo-Saxons and Frisians agreed to disagree on some finer points of usage, though, and earlier and later Anglo-Saxon runic use also varied.
- It’s more like the power of the waterfall or the ocean versus the gentle stream.
- A general opinion is that the difference between them was functional (viz., the long-branch runes were used for documentation on stone, whereas the short-twig runes were in everyday use for private or official messages on wood).
How Runes Are Read
They are initially found on wood – which of course does a poor job at standing the test of time – and metal in the form of names. Popular surfaces were military equipment, coins, and jewellery such as bracteates, brooches or combs, and the typically Scandinavian runestones, some of which were in Elder Futhark as opposed to the much more frequently represented later Younger Futhark. Although Scandinavia, northern Germany and eastern Europe were the earliest homes to such items, after c. 400 CE England, the Netherlands, and southern Germany joined the club. Because they focus mostly on ownership and show no visible connection to society at any greater level, runic writing in societies up to c.
The Younger Futhark developed further into the how to get insurance broker license medieval runes (1100–1500), and the Dalecarlian runes (c. 1500–1800). The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian Futhark, is a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters. The reduction correlates with phonetic changes when Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse.
The second set of eight runes are ruled by Mordgud and Heimdall (also known as Hagalaz or Hagal). These runes represent change, the underworld, and the unconscious mind. It takes us through the time that Odin died on the tree for the runes and his rebirth.
They are found in Scandinavia and Viking Age settlements abroad, probably in use from the 9th century onward. They are divided into long-branch (Danish) and short-twig (Swedish and Norwegian) runes. The difference between the two versions is a matter of controversy. A general opinion is that the difference between them was functional (viz., the long-branch runes were used for documentation on stone, whereas the short-twig runes were in everyday use for private or official messages on wood).
Dalecarlian runes (16th to 19th centuries)
The lack of extensive knowledge on historical use of the runes has not stopped modern authors from extrapolating entire systems of divination from what few specifics exist, usually loosely based on the reconstructed names of the runes and additional outside influence. Some see it intense like wrath, while others feel it represents being tested and that it could be symbolic of the dark night of the soul. Depending on where you are in your spiritual journey, this could indicate it’s a time for shadow work. Or, that it is a good time to pause and contemplate things from another viewpoint before continuing. It represents the first rune of the next series and the descent into the underworld. Though, in the Old Norse rune poem, it’s literally translated to mean estuary, which is where a body of water meets the ocean.
The character inventory was used mainly for transcribing Swedish in areas where Elfdalian was predominant. Extra runes attested to outside of the rune poem include ᛢ cweorð, ᛣ calc, ᚸ gar, and ᛥ stan. Some of these additional letters have only been found in manuscripts. Feoh, þorn, and sigel stood for f, θ, and s in most environments, but voiced to v, ð, and z between vowels or voiced consonants.
The Three Aetts of the Elder Futhark
In Younger Futhark, runes had more than one possible sound attached to them, specifically no longer making clear in writing the distinction between voiced and unvoiced consonants such as k and g, which were both written with the rune ᚴ. Vowels, too, learned to share, their value having to be gleaned from the context they were found in. This makes this runic script quite difficult to read (for us, today, at least). The three best-known runic alphabets are the Elder Futhark (c. AD 150–800), the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400–1100), and the Younger Futhark (800–1100).
Younger Futhark (9th to 11th centuries)
At the time, all of these scripts had the same 93 used volkswagen eos cars for sale at motors co.uk angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, which would become characteristic of the runes and related scripts in the region. 1200 CE, Younger Futhark was gradually adapted into the Medieval Futhork (or Medieval Fuþork), which by the 13th century CE had taken on a fairly consistent form. Mainly sticking to the 16 Younger Futhark runes, some extra bits and bobs were added to the runes themselves – in particular in the shape of dots that set apart a specific sound value from the other sounds the undotted rune could represent. A dotted rune was not counted as a new rune but as a part of their undotted partners-in-crime.
The Scandinavian variants are also known as fuþark, or futhark; this name is derived from the first six letters of the script, ⟨ᚠ⟩, ⟨ᚢ⟩, ⟨ᚦ⟩, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚬ⟩, ⟨ᚱ⟩, and ⟨ᚲ⟩/⟨ᚴ⟩, corresponding to the Latin letters ⟨f⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨þ⟩/⟨th⟩, ⟨a⟩, ⟨r⟩, and ⟨k⟩. The Anglo-Saxon variant is known as futhorc, or fuþorc, due to changes in Old English of the sounds represented by the fourth letter, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚩ⟩. Rune, Any of the characters within an early Germanic writing system. The runic alphabet, also called futhark, is attested in northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to the 16th or 17th century ad. The Goths may have developed it from the Etruscan alphabet of northern Italy. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manuscripts are extant.
