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Runic alphabet
*** Shopping-Tip: Runic alphabet
{{SpecialCharsNote}}
:''See
Rune (disambiguation) for other uses.''
Image:Vaksalastenen.jpg thumb|300px|Younger Futhark inscription on the [[Vaksala Runestone]]
The '''Runic alphabets''' are a set of related
alphabets using letters known as '''runes''', formerly used to write
Germanic languages, mainly in
Scandinavia and the
British Isles, but before
Germanic Christianity Christianization also on the European Continent. The Scandinavian variants are also known as '''Futhark''' (or ''fuþark'', derived from their first six letters: ''F, U,
Thorn (letter) Þ, A, R,'' and ''K''); the Anglo-Saxon variant as '''Futhorc''' (due to sound changes undergone in
Old English by the same six letters).
Overview
The earliest runic inscriptions date from ca.
2nd century 150, and the alphabet was generally replaced by the
Latin alphabet with
Christianisation, by ca.
6th century 700 in central Europe and by ca.
11th century 1400 in Scandinavia. However, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes, mainly in Scandinavia and in rural
Sweden until the early 20th century (used mainly for decoration as runes in
Dalarna and on
Runic calendars).
The three best known runic alphabets are:
*the
Elder Futhark (ca. 150–800)
*the
Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon Futhorc Futhorc (400–1100)
*the
Younger Futhark (800–1910)
The Younger Futhark is further divided into:
*the
Denmark Danish futhark script
*the
Sweden Swedish-
Norway Norwegian runic script (also: Short-twig or Rök Runes)
*the Hälsinge Runes (staveless runes)
*the latinised
Dalecarlian futhark script (ca. 1500–1910)
{{alphabet}}
The most likely candidates for the origins of runic scripts are the
5th century BC 5th to
1st century BC Northern Italic alphabets,
Lepontic,
Rhaetic and
Venetic alphabet Venetic, all closely related to each other and themselves descended from the
Old Italic alphabet. These scripts bear a remarkable resemblance to the Futhark in many regards.
Background
Image:Rökstenen.jpg thumb|Inscription using both [[cipher runes, the elder futhark and the younger futhark, on the
Rök Runestone]]
The runes were introduced to, or invented by, the
Germanic tribes Germanic peoples in the 1st or 2nd century (The oldest known runic inscription dates to ca. the 160s and is found on a comb discovered in the bog of Vimose,
Funen. The inscription reads ''harja''). While at this time the Germanic language was certainly not at the
Proto-Germanic stage any longer, it may still have been a continuum of dialects not yet clearly separated into the three branches of later centuries, viz.
North Germanic,
West Germanic and
East Germanic. Most of the early runes from the
Scandinavian countries are assumed to be in the
Proto-Norse, the common ancestor language of the modern North Germanic languages. No distinction is made in surviving runic inscriptions between long and short vowels, although such a distinction was certainly present phonologically in the spoken languages of the time. Similarly, there are no signs for
labiovelars in the Elder Futhark (such signs were introduced in both the Anglo-Saxon
Futhorc and the
Gothic alphabet as variants of ''p''; see
peorð.)
As Proto-Germanic evolved into its later language groups, the words assigned to the runes and the sounds represented by the runes themselves began to diverge somewhat, and each culture would either create new runes, rename or rearrange its rune names slightly, or even stop using obsolete runes completely, to accommodate these changes. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc has several runes peculiar unto itself to represent
diphthongs unique to (or at least prevalent in) the Anglo-Saxon dialect. However, the fact that the younger Futhark has sixteen runes, while the Elder Futhark has twenty four, is not fully explained by the some six hundred years of sound changes that had occurred in the
North Germanic language group. The development here might seem rather astonishing, since the younger form of the alphabet came to use the same few runes to express an unusually great number of different phonemes that the older version had distinguished clearly. For example, voiced and unvoiced consonants merged in script, and so did many vowels. Later, this disadvantage was partly eliminated in the dotted runes of Dalecarlia (see below).
The name given to the signs, contrasting them with Latin or Greek letters, is attested on a 6th century
alamanni alamannic runestaff as ''runa'', and possibly as ''runo'' on the
Einang stone (ca. 4th century). The name is from a root ''run-'' (Gothic ''runa'') meaning "secret" (c.f. also the chapters of the
Kalevala, called ''runo'', plural ''runot'', a loan from North Germanic).
Origins
In
Norse mythology, the invention of runes is attributed to
Odin: The ''
Hávamál'' (stanzas 138, 139) describes how Odin receives the rune through his self-
sacrifice. The text (in
Old Norse language Old Norse and in English translation) is as follows:
{|
| ''Veit ec at ec hecc vindga meiði a''
|I know that I hung on a windy tree
|-
| ''netr allar nÃo,''
| nights all nine,
|-
| ''geiri vndaþr oc gefinn Oðni,''
| wounded with a spear and given to Odin,
|-
| ''sialfr sialfom mer,''
| myself to myself,
|-
| ''a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn.''
| on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run
|-
|
|-
| ''Við hleifi mic seldo ne viþ hornigi,''
| No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,
|-
| ''nysta ec niþr,''
| downwards I peered,
|-
| ''nam ec vp rvnar,''
| I took up the runes,
|-
| ''opandi nam,''
| screaming I took them,
|-
| ''fell ec aptr þaðan.''
| then I fell back from there
|}
The Icelandic sources do not relate how the runes were transmitted to mortal men, but in 1555, the exiled Swedish archbishop
Olaus Magnus recorded a tradition that a man named
Kettil Runske had stolen three rune staffs from Odin and learned the runes and their magic.
The runes developed comparatively late, centuries after the Central European alphabets from which they are probably descended. There are some similarities to alphabets of
Phoenician origin (Latin, Greek, Italic) that cannot possibly all be due to chance: áš -
F, ᚢ -
V, áš± -
R, áš² -
C, ᚺ -
H, á›? -
I, ᛊ -
S, á›? -
T, á›’ -
B, á›— -
M, ᛚ -
Lambda Λ, ᛞ -
Delta (letter) Δ, ᛟ -
Omega Ω. However, other letters seem to be independent. An
Old Italic alphabet, more particularly the
Raetic alphabet of
Bolzano, is usually quoted as a candidate for the origin of the runes. This hypothesis is supported by the inscription on the
Negau helmet dating to the
2nd century BC. This is in a northern Etruscan alphabet, but features a Germanic name, ''Harigast''. The angular shapes of the runes are shared with most contemporary alphabets of the period used for carving in wood or stone. A peculiarity of the runic alphabet as compared to the Old Italic family is rather the absence of ''horizontal'' strokes. Runes were commonly carved on the edge of narrow pieces of wood. The primary grooves cut spanned the whole piece vertically, against the grain of the wood. This vertical characteristic also shared by other alphabets, such as the early form of the
Latin alphabet used for the
Duenos inscription.
Runes are a popular field for scholars, and many imaginative ideas have been advanced, such as a claim by
Olof Rudbeck Olaus Rudbeck Sr in ''
Atlantica (book) Atlantica'' that ''all'' writing systems originate from proto-runic scripts.
Another theory is that the runes originated directly from the
Middle East, and are related to the
Nabataean alphabet, a variant of the
Phoenician alphabet. The introduction of runes is in this scenario ascribed to the
Roman legion Roman legions, which left
Syria Palaestina during the 2nd century. This theory is based on discovery of early runes on weapons, such as
longbows, and
arrow heads, characteristically belonging to these soldiers. (The historical
Nabataean Nabataean kingdom, spanning
Jordan,
Sinai, and
Israel South Israel, corresponds to early
Arabia.)
The "
West Germanic hypothesis" speculates on an introduction by
West Germanic tribes. This hypothesis is based on claiming that the earliest inscriptions of ca. 200, found in bogs and graves around Jutland, exhibit West Germanic name forms, e.g. ''wagnija'', ''niþijo'', and ''harija'', and that these names refer to hitherto unknown tribes located in the
Rhineland. However,
Scandinavian scholars interprete these inscriptions as
Proto-Norse, but it should be noted that the differences between Proto-Norse and other Germanic dialects were still minute and that the classification is mostly based on location rather than forms. Any claim that the forms refer to unknown tribes must be considered highly speculative.
In the later Middle Ages, runes were mostly used in the
Runic calendar Clog almanacs (sometimes called ''Runic staff'', ''Prim'' or ''Scandinavian calendar'') that became standard equipment within Northern Europe with the introduction of Christianity. The authenticity of some monuments bearing Runic inscriptions found in Northern America is disputed, but most of them date from modern times.
Magic and Divination
Image:Björketorp.jpg thumb|The Björketorp Runestone. It is 4.2 m tall.The earliest runic inscriptions were certainly not coherent texts of any length, but simple markings on artifacts (e.g.
bracteates, combs, etc.), giving the name of either the craftsman or the proprietor, or, sometimes, remaining a linguistic mystery. Because of this, it is possible that the early runes were not so much used as a simple writing system, but rather as
magic (paranormal) magical signs to be used for charms, or for
divination. The name ''rune'' itself, taken to mean "secret, something hidden", seems to indicate that knowledge of the runes was originally considered esoteric, or restricted to an elite. The eerie 6th century
Björketorp Runestone warns in
Proto-Norse using the word ''rune'' in both senses:
:''Haidz runo runu, falh'k hedra ginnarunaz.
ergi Argiu hermalausz, ... weladauþe, saz þat brytz. Uþarba spa.''
:''Here, I have hidden the secret of powerful runes, strong runes. The one who breaks this memorial will be eternally tormented by anger. Treacherous death will hit him. I foresee perdition.''
The same curse and use of the word rune is also found on the
Stentoften Runestone. There are also some inscriptions suggesting a medieval belief in the magical significance of runes, such as the
Franks Casket (AD 700) panel.
However, it has proven difficult to find unambiguous traces of runic "oracles": Although
Old Norse language Norse literature is full of references to runes, it nowhere contains specific instructions on divination or magic. There are at least three sources on divination with rather vague descriptions that may or may not refer to runes, Tacitus' ''Germania'', Snorri Sturluson's ''Ynglinga saga'' and Rimbert's ''Vita Ansgari''.
The first source,
Tacitus Tacitus' ''
Germania (book) Germania'', describes "signs" chosen in groups of three. A second source is the ''
Ynglinga saga'', where
Granmar, the king of
Södermanland, goes to
Uppsala for the
blót. There, the ''chips'' fell in a way that said that he would not live long (''Féll honum þá svo spánn sem hann mundi eigi lengi lifa''). The third source is
Rimbert's ''
Vita Ansgari'', where there are three accounts of what seems to be the use of runes for divination, but Rimbert calls it "drawing lots". One of these accounts is the description of how a renegade Swedish king
Anund Uppsale first brings a Danish fleet to
Birka, but then changes his mind and asks the Danes to "draw lots". According to the story, this "drawing of lots" was quite informative, telling them that attacking Birka would bring bad luck and that they should attack a Slavic town instead.
The lack of knowledge on historical usage of the runes has not stopped modern authors from extrapolating entire systems of divination from what few specifics exist, usually loosely based on the runes' reconstructed names. Perhaps the most popular of these is the system created by
Ralph Blum, whose ''Book of Runes'' comes with a set of runes on
ceramic tiles, that are loosely based on the runes of the Elder Futhark. In his book, Blum writes the meanings of the runes "came to him" (that is, he either made them up, or else received them as a revelation, but did not derive these from scholarly research). Another author is
Edred Thorsson, whose best known books are ''Futhark'', ''Runelore'' and ''Runecaster's Handbook'' (originally published as ''At The Well of Wyrd'').
Common use
Image:Kyrkklocka från Saleby i Västergötland med runinskrift från 1228 (ur Sverige Runinskrifter).png thumb|'''[[Church bell''' from
Saleby,
Västergötland, Sweden, containing an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet]]
Later runic finds are mainly monuments (
rune stones) and often contain solemn inscriptions about people who died or performed great deeds. For a long time it was assumed that this kind of grand inscription was the primary use of runes, and that their use was associated with a certain societal class of rune-carvers.
However, in the middle of the 1950s, about 600 inscriptions known as the
Bryggen inscriptions were found in
Bergen, Norway Bergen. These inscriptions were made on wood and bone, often in the shape of sticks of various sizes, and contained inscriptions of an everyday nature - ranging from name tags, prayers (often in
Latin), personal messages, business letters, expressions of affection, to bawdy phrases of a profane and sometimes even vulgar nature. Following this find, it is nowadays commonly assumed that at least in late use, Runic was a widespread and common writing system.
Gothic runes
Theories of the existence of
Gothic language Gothic runes have been advanced, even identifying them as the original alphabet from which the Futhark were derived, but these have little support in actual findings. If there ever were genuinely Gothic runes, they were soon replaced by the
Gothic alphabet. The letters of the Gothic alphabet, however, as given by the
Alcuin manuscript (9th century), are obviously related to the names of the Futhark. The names are clearly Gothic, but it is impossible to say whether they are as old as, or even older than, the letters themselves.
Elder Fuþark
:''Main article:
Elder Futhark.''
Image:Runes.jpg thumb|300px|Elder Futhark runes being used for [[fortune telling]]
Image:Old Futhark Runic alphabet.png 300px|thumb|the Older Futhark
The Elder Futhark, used for writing
proto-Norse (''urnordisk'', ''urnordiska''), consist of twenty-four runes, often arranged in three rows of eight. The earliest known full sequential listing of the alphabet dates from ca. 400 and is found on the
Kylver Stone in
Gotland.
:
ᚠᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ
:
ᚺ ᚾ � ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛊ
:
� ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛜ ᛞ ᛟ
The letter values, and their common
transliteration are: ᚠ[f], ᚢ [u], ᚦ [þ], ᚨ [a], ᚱ [r], ᚲ [k], ᚷ [g], ᚹ[w], ᚺ [h], ᚾ [n], � [i], ᛃ [j]; ᛇ [ï] ([ei]), ᛈ [p], ᛉ [R], ᛊ [s], � [t], ᛒ [b], ᛖ [e], ᛗ [m], ᛚ [l], ᛜ [ŋ], ᛞ [d], ᛟ [o].
Names
Each rune most probably had a name, chosen to represent the sound of the rune itself. The names are, however, not directly attested for the Elder Futhark themselves. Reconstructed names in
Proto-Germanic have been suggested for them, based on the names given for runes of the later alphabets in the
rune poems and the names of the letters of the
Gothic alphabet.
áš '''f'''ehu "wealth,
cattle",
ᚢ '''û'''ruz "
aurochs" (or '''û'''ram "
water /
slag"?),
ᚦ '''th'''urisaz "
jotun giant",
ᚨ '''a'''nsuz "one of the
Aesir" (or '''a'''hsam "ear (of corn)"?),
ᚱ '''r'''aidô "ride, journey",
áš² '''k'''aunan "
ulcer, illness",
ᚷ '''g'''ebô "gift",
ᚹ '''w'''unjô "
joy",
ᚺ '''h'''aglaz "
hail",
áš¾ '''n'''audiz "
poverty need",
� '''î'''saz "
ice",
ᛃ '''j'''era "
year",
ᛇ '''î'''gwaz / '''ei'''hwaz "
Taxus_baccata yew",
ᛈ '''p'''erþô? "
pear"?,
ᛉ algi'''z''' "
moose elk"?,
ᛊ '''s'''ôwilô "Sun",
� '''t'''îwaz (a god),
á›’ '''b'''erkanan "
birch",
á›– '''e'''hwaz "
horse",
á›— '''m'''annaz "
Human man",
ᛚ '''l'''aukaz "
lake",
ᛜ i'''ng'''waz (a god),
ᛞ '''d'''agaz "
day",
ᛟ '''ô'''þalan "estate,
inheritance"
Frisian and Anglo-Saxon Fuþorc
:''Main article:
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.''
Image:Anglosaxonrunes.JPG thumb|300px|The Fuþorc
The Futhorc are an extended alphabet, consisting of 29, and later even 33 characters. It was used probably from the 5th century onward. There are competing theories as to the origins of the Anglo-Saxon Fuþorc. One theory proposes that it was developed in
Frisia and later spread to
England. Another holds that runes were introduced by Scandinavians to England where the fuþorc was modified and exported to Frisia. Both theories have their inherent weaknesses and a definitive answer likely awaits more archaeological evidence. Futhorc inscriptions are found e.g. on the
Thames scramasax, in the
Vienna Codex, in
Cotton library CottonOtho B.x (
Anglo-Saxon rune poem) and on the
Ruthwell Cross.
The
Anglo-Saxon rune poem has: ᚠfeoh, ᚢ ur, ᚦ thorn, ᚩ os, ᚱ rad, ᚳ cen, ᚷ gyfu, ᚹ wynn, ᚻ haegl, ᚾ nyd, � is, ᛄ ger, ᛇ eoh, ᛈ peordh, ᛉ eolh, ᛋ sigel, � tir, ᛒ beorc, ᛖ eh, ᛗ mann, ᛚ lagu, � ing, ᛟ ethel, ᛞ daeg, ᚪ ac, ᚫ aesc, ᚣ yr, ᛡ ior, ᛠear.
The expanded alphabet has the additional letters ᛢ cweorth, ᛣ calc, ᛤ cealc and ᛥ stan. It should be mentioned that these additional letters have only been found in manuscripts.
Feoh, þorn, and sigel stood for [f], [þ], and [s] in most environments, but voiced to [v], [ð], and [z] between vowels or voiced consonants. Gyfu and wynn stood for the letters
yogh and
wynn which became [g] and [w] in
Middle English.
Younger Fuþark
{{main|Younger Futhark}}
The Younger Fuþark, also called Scandinavian Fuþark, 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 language Old Norse. 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 has been a matter of controversy. A general opinion is that the difference was functional, i.e. the long-branch runes were used for documentation on stone, whereas the short-branch runes were in every day use for private or official messages on wood.
Names
The Icelandic and Norwegian
rune poems have 16 runes,
with the letter names ᚠfe ("wealth"), ᚢ ur ("iron"/"rain"), ᚦ
Thurs, ᚬ
aesir As/Oss, ᚱ reidh ("ride"), ᚴ kaun ("ulcer"), ᚼ hagall ("hail"), ᚾ naudhr/naud ("need"), � is/iss ("ice"), ᛅ ar ("plenty"), ᛋ sol ("sun"), �
Tyr, ᛒ bjarkan/bjarken ("birch"), ᛘ madhr/madr ("man"), ᛚ logr/lög ("water"), ᛦ yr ("yew").
Evolution
Image:Björketorpsstenen runor.jpg right|thumb|200px|Closeup of the runes on the [[Björketorp Runestone]]
In the 7th century appeared an intermediary form of runes between the
Elder Futhark and the Younger Futhark, but there are very few inscriptions. Two of them are the
Stentoften Runestone and the
Björketorp Runestone, where the
haglaz rune
Image:Haglaz.gif 5px has evolved into
Image:H-rune.gif 10px having the same form as the h-rune of the younger futhark, but it is used for an a-phoneme. The k-rune, which looks like a Y is a transition form between
Image:Kaunan.gif 10px and
Image:K-rune.gif 7px in the two futharks.
The two futharks were in parallel use for some time, and one example of this is the
Rök Runestone.
Long-branch runes
Image:Danish Futhork (long-branch runes).png thumb|280px|the Younger Futhark (long-branch runes)
The long-branch runes are the following signs:
:
ᚠᚢ ᚦ ᚬ ᚱ ᚴ ᚼ ᚾ � ᛅ ᛋ � ᛒ ᛘ ᛚ ᛦ
Short-twig runes
Image:Swedish-Norwegian Futhork (short-twig runes).png 280px|thumb|short-twig runes
The short-twig runes (or Rök runes) are a simplified version of the long-branch runes, consisting of the following sixteen signs:
:
ᚠᚢ ᚦ ᚠᚱ ᚴ ᚽ ᚿ � ᛆ ᛌ � ᛓ ᛙ ᛚ ᛧ
Hälsinge Runes (staveless runes)
Image:Haelsinge Runes (staveless runes).png 280px|thumb|staveless runes
Hälsinge runes are found in the
Hälsingland region of
Sweden, used between the
10th century 10th and
12th century 12th centuries. The runes seem to be a simplification of the Swedish–Norwegian runes and lack vertical strokes, hence the name 'staveless.' They cover the same set of letters as the other Younger Futhark alphabets. This variant has no assigned Unicode range (as of Unicode 4.0).
"Marcomannic runes"
Image:Marcomannic.PNG thumb|410px|Marcomannic runes
In a treatise called ''de inventione litterarum'', preserved in 8th and 9th century manuscripts, mainly from the southern part of the
Carolingian Empire (
Alemannia,
Bavaria), ascribed to
Hrabanus Maurus, a runic alphabet consisting of a curious mixture of Elder Futhark with Anglo-Saxon Futhorc is recorded. The alphabet is traditionally called "Marcomannic runes", but it has no connection with the
Marcomanni and is rather an attempt of Carolingian scholars to represent all letters of the Latin alphabets with runic equivalents.
Dalrunes
Image:Middle Age Runes.png 410px|thumb|the Dalrunes
Named after the Swedish province
Dalarna, the Dalrunes use an alphabetic script influenced by both long-branch and short-twig Younger Futhark. The script introduces dotted variants of voiceless signs to denote the corresponding voiced consonants, or vice versa, voiceless variants of voiced consonants. It came into use in the early 16th century and remained in some use up to the 20th century. Its inventory is suitable for transcribing modern
Swedish language Swedish:
ᛆ a, ᛒ b, � c, ᛑ d, ᚦ þ, ᚧ ð, ᛂ e, ᚠf, ᚵ g, ᚼ h, � i, ᚴ k, ᛚ l, ᛘ m, ᚿ n, ᚮ o, ᛔ p, ᚱ r, ᛌ s, � t, ᚢ u, ᚡ v, ᛦ y, ᛎ z, ᛅ ä, ᚯ ö
There are other varieties of the Younger Futhark, in particular the
Edward Larsson Runic Script ''Edward-script'' which can be considered as a variant of the Dalecarlian runes (see
:Image:Edward Larsson 1885 I.jpg Image of Edward-script). In total, about 380 objects dating from 1500–1910 have been found in the provinces of
Dalarna,
Gästrikland and
Härjedalen. The Edward-script was in use until the 1910s in
Älvdalen,
Dalarna, and also appears on the
Kensington Runestone, which to most researchers indicates its status as a hoax.
Modern use
Third Reich
Image:De hfss.gif thumb|180px|From 1933, the Nazi [[SS unit insignia|SS badge displayed two "Sig runes".]]
Runes have been used in
Nazi symbolism by
Nazism Nazis and
neo-Nazi groups that associate themselves with Germanic traditions, mainly the
Sigel,
Eihwaz,
Tiwaz rune Tyr, Odal (see
Odalism) and
Algiz runes.
The fascination that runes seem to have exerted on the Nazis can be traced to the
occult and
völkisch author
Guido von List, one of the important figures in Germanic mysticism and runic revivalism in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1908, List published in ''Das Geheimnis der Runen'' ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of 18 so-called "
Armanen Runes", based on the Younger Futhark, which were allegedly revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after a cataract operation on both eyes in 1902.
In Nazi contexts, the ''s''-rune is referred to as "Sig" (after List, probably from Anglo-Saxon Sigel). The "
Wolfsangel", while not a rune historically, has the shape of List's "Gibor" rune.
Neopaganism
The runes are a major element in
Germanic neopaganism, often used to indicate ancestry, in crafts and for ritual purposes. They are not to be construed with political implications without additional evidence. Also other
Neopagans such as
Wicca Wiccans and some
occult groups may often also sometimes use runes under various conditions, such as divination. A common practice among Wiccans is to consult the runes at
Samhain. Runes are often used aesthetically by
neofolk groups.
Literature
J. R. R. Tolkien popularized runes by his use of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc in ''
The Hobbit'', and he also invented his own fictional runic alphabet, the
Cirth (together with scripts). In Tolkien's wake, runes appear frequently in
Fantasy literature and was subsequently a large influence on ''Dungeons And Dragons''. Runes are also mentioned several times in
J. K. Rowling's ''
Harry Potter'' books.
Runestones
Image:Modernrunes.png 300px|left|A modern rune alphabet.
As some people started making
runestones in modern times they had a problem with that some modern characters were missing from the older rune alphabeths so an updated version using ruffed runes was created.[http://www.runristare.com/runstensskolan/rs-index.html]
Unicode
Runic alphabets are assigned
Unicode range 16A0–16FF. This block is intended to encode all shapes of runic letters. Each letter is encoded only once, regardless of the number of alphabets in which it occurs.
The block contains 81 symbols: 75 runic letters (16A0–16EA), three punctuation marks
(Runic Single Punctuation 16EB ᛫, Runic Multiple Punctuation 16EC ᛬ and Runic Cross Punctuation 16ED á›), and three runic symbols that are used in mediaeval calendar staves ("Golden number Runes", Runic Arlaug Symbol 16EE á›®, Runic Tvimadur Symbol 16EF ᛯ and Runic Belgthor Symbol 16F0 á›°). Characters 16F1–16FF are presently (as of Unicode Version 4.1) unassigned.
Table of runic letters (U+16A0–U+16EA):
{|
| 16A0
|
áš
| fehu feoh fe f
| 16B0
|
áš°
| on
| 16C0
|
ᛀ
| dotted-n
| 16D0
|
á›?
| short-twig-tyr t
| 16E0
|
á›
| ear
|-
| 16A1
|
áš¡
| v
| 16B1
|
áš±
| raido rad reid r
| 16C1
|
á›?
| isaz is iss i
| 16D1
|
ᛑ
| d
| 16E1
|
ᛡ
| ior
|-
| 16A2
|
ᚢ
| uruz ur u
| 16B2
|
áš²
| kauna
| 16C2
|
ᛂ
| e
| 16D2
|
á›’
| berkanan beorc bjarkan b
| 16E2
|
ᛢ
| cweorth
|-
| 16A3
|
ᚣ
| yr
| 16B3
|
áš³
| cen
| 16C3
|
ᛃ
| jeran j
| 16D3
|
ᛓ
| short-twig-bjarkan b
| 16E3
|
ᛣ
| calc
|-
| 16A4
|
ᚤ
| y
| 16B4
|
áš´
| kaun k
| 16C4
|
ᛄ
| ger
| 16D4
|
á›”
| dotted-p
| 16E4
|
ᛤ
| cealc
|-
| 16A5
|
ᚥ
| w
| 16B5
|
ášµ
| g
| 16C5
|
á›…
| long-branch-ar ae
| 16D5
|
ᛕ
| open-p
| 16E5
|
ᛥ
| stan
|-
| 16A6
|
ᚦ
| thurisaz thurs thorn
| 16B6
|
ᚶ
| eng
| 16C6
|
ᛆ
| short-twig-ar a
| 16D6
|
á›–
| ehwaz eh e
| 16E6
|
ᛦ
| long-branch-yr
|-
| 16A7
|
ᚧ
| eth
| 16B7
|
áš·
| gebo gyfu g
| 16C7
|
ᛇ
| iwaz eoh
| 16D7
|
á›—
| mannaz man m
| 16E7
|
ᛧ
| short-twig-yr
|-
| 16A8
|
ᚨ
| ansuz a
| 16B8
|
ᚸ
| gar
| 16C8
|
ᛈ
| pertho peorth p
| 16D8
|
ᛘ
| long-branch-madr m
| 16E8
|
ᛨ
| icelandic-yr
|-
| 16A9
|
áš©
| os o
| 16B9
|
áš¹
| wunjo wynn w
| 16C9
|
ᛉ
| algiz eolhx
| 16D9
|
á›™
| short-twig-madr m
| 16E9
|
ᛩ
| q
|-
| 16AA
|
ᚪ
| ac a
| 16BA
|
ᚺ
| haglaz h
| 16CA
|
ᛊ
| sowilo s
| 16DA
|
ᛚ
| laukaz lagu logr l
| 16EA
|
ᛪ
| x
|-
| 16AB
|
áš«
| aesc
| 16BB
|
áš»
| haegl h
| 16CB
|
ᛋ
| sigel long-branch-sol s
| 16DB
|
á››
| dotted-l
|-
| 16AC
|
ᚬ
| long-branch-oss o
| 16BC
|
áš¼
| long-branch-hagall h
| 16CC
|
ᛌ
| short-twig-sol s
| 16DC
|
ᛜ
| ingwaz
|-
| 16AD
|
áš
| short-twig-oss o
| 16BD
|
áš½
| short-twig-hagall h
| 16CD
|
á›?
| c
| 16DD
|
á›?
| ing
|-
| 16AE
|
áš®
| o
| 16BE
|
áš¾
| naudiz nyd naud n
| 16CE
|
ᛎ
| z
| 16DE
|
ᛞ
| dagaz daeg d
|-
| 16AF
|
ᚯ
| oe
| 16BF
|
áš¿
| short-twig-naud n
| 16CF
|
á›?
| tiwaz tir tyr t
| 16DF
|
ᛟ
| othalan ethel o
|}
Distribution
{| border="0" cellpadding="0"
!Area
!number of rune inscriptions
|-
|
Sweden
|3432
|-
|
Norway
|1552
|-
|
Denmark
|844
|-
|'''Scandinavian total'''
|'''5826'''
|-
|the British Isles
|100
|-
|
Greenland
|92
|-
|
Iceland
|39
|-
|
Ireland
|15
|-
|
Faroes
|9
|-
|'''Non-Scandinavian total'''
|'''255'''
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''6081'''
|}
"Runiform" scripts
The 8th century
Orkhon script (sometimes called Old Turkic), and the related medieval
Old Hungarian script are often ''called'' runes, but strictly speaking that term refers only to the Germanic alphabet. For this reason, they are also sometimes referred to as "runiform".
See also
*
Elder Futhark
*
Rune poem
*
Rune stone
*
Solomon and Saturn
*
Codex Runicus
*
Siglas Poveiras
*
Computus Runicus
*
Old Italic alphabet
*
Ogham, the early Irish monumental alphabet
*the "
Armanen runes", invented by
Guido von List
*the
Cirth "runes", invented by
J.R.R. Tolkien
*the Uthark, advocated by
Sigurd Agrell.
*
Runecasting
*
Runes in popular culture
References
* Erik Brate: ''Sveriges runinskrifter'', 1922 ([http://www.runor.se/ online text] in
Swedish language Swedish)
*J. H. Looijenga, ''[http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/ Runes around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150-700]'', dissertation, Groningen University (1997).
*R.I. Page. ''An Introduction to English Runes''. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999. ISBN 0851157688.
* Orrin W. Robinson. ''Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages'' Stanford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0804714541
External links
{{commons|Runes}}
-
the Futhark (ancientscripts.com)
-
Omniglot Rune Page
-
The Development of Old Germanic Alphabets (titus.uni-frankfurt.de, with an image of the
Negau helmet)
*Encoding
** "''[http://home.att.net/~jameskass/ Code2000.ttf]''" - a font containing nearly 35,000 glyphs (shareware) by James Kass
*
-
Unicode Code Chart (PDF)
http://sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html
{{Runes}}
Special characters
{{Template:SpecialChars}}
Category:Germanic paganism
Category:Runes
Category:Runology
Category:Alphabetic writing systems
Category:History of the Germanic peoples
Category:Scandinavia
Category:Anglo-Saxon England
Category:Viking Age
als:Futhark
bs:Rune
bg:Руни
ca:Alfabet rúnic
cs:Runy
da:Runealfabet
de:Runen
es:Runa (escritura)
eo:Runaj alfabetoj
fo:Rúnir
fr:Alphabet runique
gl:Alfabeto rúnico
io:Runo-skribajo
is:Rúnir
it:Alfabeto runico
lv:RÅ«nu raksts
lt:Runos
nl:Runen
ja:ルーン文å—
no:Runer
nn:Runer
pl:Runy
pt:Runas
ru:Руны
sl:Runa
sr:Руне
fi:Riimukirjoitus
sv:Runor
zh:如尼å—æ¯?
*** Shopping-Tip: Runic alphabet
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