Note: This article contains special characters.

The 24 runes of the Elder Futhark

The Elder Futhark (or Elder Fuþark, Older Futhark, Old Futhark) is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Proto-Norse and other Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts (jewelery, amulets, tools, weapons) and rune stones. In Scandinavia, the script was simplified to the Younger Futhark from the late 8th century, while the Anglo-Saxons and Frisians extended the Futhark which eventually became the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc after Proto-English /a/ developed to /o/ in nasal environments. Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Junicode (short for Junius-Unicode) is a free Unicode font for mediaevalists. ... Free UCS Outline Fonts (also known as, freefont) is a project for developing fonts by collecting characters from other free fonts and joining them in one package. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. ... Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. ... The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to begin with a cut-off date of 1050 BCE. It was used by the Phoenicians to write Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc are a runic alphabet, extended from the Elder Futhark, consisting of 29, and later even 33 characters. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... The Unicode Standard, Version 5. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Elder Futhark Categories: Runology ... File links The following pages link to this file: Elder Futhark Categories: Runology ... “Rune” redirects here. ... The term Germanic tribes (or Teutonic tribes) applies to the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. ... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Viking Age. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... The Frisians are an ethnic group of northwestern Europe, inhabiting an area known as Frisia. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Penis[1], Englisc by its speakers) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Unlike the younger futhark which remained in use until modern times, the knowledge of how to read the Elder Futhark was forgotten, and it was not until 1865 that the Norwegian scholar Sophus Bugge managed to decipher it.^[1] Sophus Bugge (1833-1907) was a Norwegian philologist, known for his work on the runic alphabet and the Eddas. ...

The alphabet

The Older Futhark (named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names) consist of twenty-four runes, often arranged in three groups or aett of eight each. In the following table, each rune is given with its common transliteration: In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...

f	u	þ	a	r	k	g	w
h	n	i	j	ï	p	z	s
t	b	e	m	l	ŋ	d	o

þ corresponds to IPA [θ]. ï is also transcribed as æ, and may have been either a diphthong, or a vowel near [ɪ] or [æ]. z was Proto-Germanic [z], and evolved into Primitive Norse [ɹ], and is also transliterated as R. The remaining transliterations correspond to the IPA symbol of their approximate value. Image File history File links Runic_letter_fehu. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_uruz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_thurisaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ansuz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_raido. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_kauna. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_gebo. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_wunjo. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_haglaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_naudiz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_isaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_jeran. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_iwaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_pertho. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_algiz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_sowilo. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_tiwaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_berkanan. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ehwaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_mannaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_laukaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ingwaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_dagaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_othalan. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...

The earliest known full sequential listing of the alphabet dates to ca. 400 and is found on the Kylver Stone in Gotland: Events First invasion of Italy by Alaric (probable date). ... A modified variant of the Kylver inscription, on the original inscription some letters are mirrored, a few features missing and it also includes an unknown rune and an additional small inscription. ...   is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the second largest island in the Baltic Sea after Zealand. ...

[f]uþarkg[w]hnijpïzstbemlŋdo

Another early inscription was found on the Vadstena bracteate (6th century), showing the division in three ætts, with the positions of ï, p and o, d inverted compared to the Kylver stone: The Vadstena bracteate. ...

fuþarkgw; hnijïpzs; tbemlŋo[d]

Origins

see also runic alphabet.

“Rune” redirects here. ...

Derivation from Italic alphabets

the Northern Etruscan alphabet Negau helmet inscription (read from right to left)

the spearhead of Kovel

The Elder Futhark runes are commonly believed to originate in the Old Italic alphabets: either a North Italic variant (Etruscan or Raetic alphabets), or the Latin alphabet itself. Derivation from the Greek alphabet via Gothic contact to Byzantine Greek culture was popular in the 19th century, but has been ruled out since the dating of the Vimose inscriptions to the 2nd century (while the Goths had been in contact with Greek culture only from the early 3rd century). Conversely, the Greek-derived 4th century Gothic alphabet does have two letters derived from runes, (from Jera) and (from Uruz). Image File history File links Negau_helmet_inscription. ... Image File history File links Negau_helmet_inscription. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Image File history File links Spearhead_of_kovel. ... Image File history File links Spearhead_of_kovel. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The Greek alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century BCE. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel and consonant alike. ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... Finds from Vimose, Funen include some of the very oldest datable Elder Futhark inscriptions in early Proto-Norse (2nd to 3rd centuries AD). ...   The Gothic alphabet is an alphabetic writing system attributed by Philostorgius to Wulfila, used exclusively for writing the ancient Gothic language. ... Image File history File links Gothic_j. ... Jāra or Jēra harvest, (good) year is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the j-rune ᛃ. In the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, it is continued as ᛄ Gēr and ᛡ Ior. ... Image File history File links Gothic_u. ... Ur The rune ᚢ representing the sound u is called Ur in all three rune poems, however with different meanings: Norwegian ᚢ er af illu jarne; Dross comes from bad iron; the reindeer often races over the frozen snow. ...

The angular shapes of the runes, presumably an adaptation to the incision in wood or metal, are not a Germanic innovation, but a property that is shared with other early alphabets, including the Old Italic ones (compare, for example, the Duenos inscription). The 1st century BC Negau helmet inscription features a Germanic name, Hariagastiz, in a North Etruscan alphabet, and may be a testimony of the earliest contact of Germanic speakers with alphabetic writing. Similarly, the Meldorf inscription of ca. AD 50 may qualify as "proto-runic" use of the Latin alphabet by Germanic speakers. The Raetic "alphabet of Bolzano" in particular seems to fit the letter shapes well^[2] The spearhead of Kovel, dated to ca. AD 200, sometimes advanced as evidence of a peculiar Gothic variant of the runic alphabet, bears an inscription tilarids that may in fact be in an Old Italic rather than a runic alphabet, running right to left with a T and a D closer to the Latin or Etruscan than to the Bolzano or runic alphabets. The Duenos inscription, as recorded by Heinrich Dressel. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... The Negau helmet usually refers to one of 28 bronze helmets from the 5th century BS, found in a cache in Negau, present Zenjak, in Slovenia on which is inscribed, in the Etruscan alphabet harigastiz fefakit. ... The Meldorf fibula is a Germanic fibula found in Meldorf, Schleswig-Holstein in 1979, dated to the mid to late 1st century AD (viz. ... Raetic is an obscure language of antiquity, which used to be spoken in the eastern Alps, to the north and west of Venetic. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Very few Elder Futhark inscriptions in the Gothic language have been found in the territory historically settled by the Goths (Wielbark culture, Chernyakhov culture). ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ...

The f, a, g, i, t, m and l runes show no variation, and are generally accepted as identical to Old Italic or Latin F, A, X, I, T, M and L. There is also wide agreement that the u, r, k, h, s, b and o runes correspond directly to V, R, C, H, S, B and O.

The runes of uncertain derivation may either be original innovations, or adoptions of otherwise unneeded Latin letters. Odenstedt (1990:163) suggests that all 22 Latin letters of the classical Latin alphabet (1st century, ignoring marginalized K) were adopted (þ from D, z from Y, ŋ from Q, w from P, j from G, ï from Z), with two runes (p and d) left over as original Germanic innovations, but there are conflicting scholarly opinions regarding the e (from E?), n (from N?), þ (D or Raetic Θ?), w (Q or P?), , ï and z (both from either Z or Latin Y?), ŋ (Q?) and d runes.^[3] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up K, k in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The rune expressing the is called Thurs (Þurs giant, see Jotun) in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems: In Anglo-Saxon England, the same rune was called Thorn and it survives as the letter Þ. The corresponding Gothic letter, , is called þiuþ. This lack of agreement makes it difficult to reconstruct... Algiz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name for the ᛉ rune, representing Proto-Germanic final z. ... Yngvi-Freyr constructs the Temple at Uppsala, by Hugo Hamilton (1830) In Scandinavian mythology, Yngvi, Ingui or Ing appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr (orginally an epitheton, meaning lord). Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz was one of the three sons of Mannus and the legendary ancestor of... Capital wynn (left), lowercase wynn (right) Wynn () (also spelled Wen or en) is a letter of the Old English alphabet. ... Jāra or Jēra harvest, (good) year is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the j-rune ᛃ. In the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, it is continued as ᛄ Gēr and ᛡ Ior. ... Eihwaz (or Eiwaz, Îgwaz) is the Proto-Germanic word for yew, and the reconstructed name of the rune ᛇ. Its is commonly transliterated as ei or ï. Its phonetic value at the time of the invention of the Futhark (2nd century) was not necessarily a diphtong, but possibly a vowel somewhere... ᛈ is the rune denoting the sound p in the Old Futhark runic alphabet, with the tentatively reconstructed Proto-Germanic name perþô. It is continued in the Anglo-Saxon runes, and named peorð in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. ... The d-rune (Unicode U+16DE ) is called Daeg day in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. ... Ehwaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the e-rune Ɇ, meaning horse (cognate to Latin equus). ... Naudiz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the n-rune ᚾ, meaning need, distress. In the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, it is continued as ᚾ nyd, in the Younger Futhark as ᚾ, Icelandic naud, Norse naudhr. ...

Of the 24 runes in the classical futhark row attested from ca. AD 400 (Kylver stone), ï, p^[4] and ŋ^[5] are unattested in the earliest inscriptions of ca. AD 175 to 400, while e in this early period mostly takes a Π-shape, its M-shape ( ) gaining prevalence only from the 5th century. Similarly, the s rune may have either three ( ) or four ( ) strokes (and more rarely five or more), and only from the 5th century does the variant with three strokes become prevalent. A modified variant of the Kylver inscription, on the original inscription some letters are mirrored, a few features missing and it also includes an unknown rune and an additional small inscription. ... Eihwaz (or Eiwaz, Îgwaz) is the Proto-Germanic word for yew, and the reconstructed name of the rune ᛇ. Its is commonly transliterated as ei or ï. Its phonetic value at the time of the invention of the Futhark (2nd century) was not necessarily a diphtong, but possibly a vowel somewhere... ᛈ is the rune denoting the sound p in the Old Futhark runic alphabet, with the tentatively reconstructed Proto-Germanic name perþô. It is continued in the Anglo-Saxon runes, and named peorð in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. ... Yngvi-Freyr constructs the Temple at Uppsala, by Hugo Hamilton (1830) In Scandinavian mythology, Yngvi, Ingui or Ing appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr (orginally an epitheton, meaning lord). Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz was one of the three sons of Mannus and the legendary ancestor of... Ehwaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the e-rune Ɇ, meaning horse (cognate to Latin equus). ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ehwaz. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_sowilo. ...

Note that the "mature" runes of the 6th to 8th centuries tend to have only three directions of strokes, the vertical and two diagonal directions. Early inscriptions also show horizontal strokes: in the case of e mentioned above, but also in t, l, ŋ and h.

Date and purpose of invention

The general agreement dates the creation of the first runic alphabet to roughly the 1st century AD. Early estimates include the 1st century BC^[6], and late estimates push the date into the 2nd century AD. The question is one of estimating the "findless" period separating the script's creation from the Vimose finds of ca. AD 160. If either ï or z indeed derive from Latin Y or Z, as suggested by Odenstedt, the first century BC is ruled out, because these letters were only introduced into the Latin alphabet during the reign of Augustus. (Redirected from 1st century AD) (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... (1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries) Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... Finds from Vimose, Funen include some of the very oldest datable Elder Futhark inscriptions in early Proto-Norse (2nd to 3rd centuries AD). ... Centuries: 1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century Decades: 110s - 120s - 130s - 140s - 150s - 160s - 170s - 180s - 190s - 200s - 210s 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 Execution of Justin Martyr, Rome Date of earliest finds of Elder Futhark inscriptions in Vimose Marcomannic Wars Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor. ... Eihwaz (or Eiwaz, Îgwaz) is the Proto-Germanic word for yew, and the reconstructed name of the rune ᛇ. Its is commonly transliterated as ei or ï. Its phonetic value at the time of the invention of the Futhark (2nd century) was not necessarily a diphtong, but possibly a vowel somewhere... Algiz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name for the ᛉ rune, representing Proto-Germanic final z. ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ...

Other scholars are content to assume a findless period of a few decades, pushing the date into the early 2nd century (Askeberg 1944:77, c.f. Odenstedt 1990:168). Pedersen (and with him Odenstedt) period of development of about a century to account for their assumed derivation of the shapes of þ and j from Latin D and G. Image File history File links Runic_letter_thurisaz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_jeran. ...

The invention of the script has been ascribed to a single person (Moltke 1976:53) or a group of people who had come into contact with Roman culture, maybe as mercenaries in the Roman army, or as merchants. The script was clearly designed for epigraphic purposes, but opinions differ in stressing either magical, practical or simply playful (graffiti) aspects. Bæksted (1952:134) concludes that in its earliest stage, the runic script was an "artificial, playful, not really needed imitation of the Roman script", much like the Germanic bracteates were directly influenced by Roman currency, a view that is accepted by Odenstedt (1990:171) in the light of the very primitive nature of the earliest (2nd to 4th century) inscription corpus. For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... A bracteate (from the Latin bractea, a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold coin produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age, but the name is also used for later produced coins of silver produced in Central Europe during...

Rune names

Each rune most probably had a name, chosen to represent the sounds of the rune itself. The names are, however, not directly attested for the Old Futhark themselves. Reconstructed names in Proto-Germanic are often used to refer to 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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The rune poems list the letters of a runic alphabet with a short verse characterizing each one. ...   The Gothic alphabet is an alphabetic writing system attributed by Philostorgius to Wulfila, used exclusively for writing the ancient Gothic language. ...

• fehu "wealth, cattle"
• ûruz "aurochs" (or ûram "water / slag"?)
• thurisaz "giant, ogre, thorn"
• ansuz "one of the Aesir" (or ahsam "ear (of corn)"?)
• raidô "ride, journey"
• kaunan "ulcer, illness" (or kenaz, meaning "torch")
• gebô "gift"
• wunjô "joy"
• haglaz "hail (precipitation)"
• naudiz "need"
• îsaz "ice"
• jera "year"
• îgwaz "yew"
• perþô "pear"?
• algiz "elk" (?)
• sôwilô "Sun"
• tîwaz (a god)
• berkanan "birch"
• ehwaz "horse"
• mannaz "man"
• laguz "lake", or laukaz "leek"
• ingwaz (a god)
• dagaz "day"
• ôþalan "estate, inheritance"

The rune names stood for their rune because of the first phoneme in the name (the principle of acrophony), with the exception of Ingwaz and Algiz: the Proto-Germanic z sound of the Algiz rune, never occurred in a word-initial position. The phoneme acquired an r-like quality in Proto-Norse, usually transcribed with R, and finally merged with r in Icelandic, rendering the rune superfluous as a letter. Similarly, the ng-sound of the Ingwaz rune does not occur word-initially. Image File history File links Runic_letter_fehu. ... The Fe rune ᚠ represents the f-sound. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_uruz. ... The rune ᚢ representing the sound u is called Ur in all three rune poems, however with different meanings: Norwegian ᚢ er af illu jarne; Dross comes from bad iron; the reindeer often races over the frozen snow. ... Binomial name Subspecies Bos primigenius primigenius   (Bojanus, 1827) Bos primigenius namadicus   (Falconer, 1859) Bos primigenius mauretanicus   (Thomas, 1881) See Ur (rune) for the rune. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Slag is also an early play by David Hare. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_thurisaz. ... The rune expressing the is called Thurs (Þurs giant, see Jotun) in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems: In Anglo-Saxon England, the same rune was called Thorn and it survives as the letter Þ. The corresponding Gothic letter, , is called þiuþ. This lack of agreement makes it difficult to reconstruct... The giants Fafner and Fasolt seize Freyja in Arthur Rackhams illustration to Richard Wagners version of the Norse myths. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ansuz. ... The a-rune , Younger Futhark was probably named after the Æsir, in Proto-Germanic *Ansuz. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_raido. ... Raidô ride, journey is the suggested Proto-Germanic name of the r-rune of the Elder Futhark ᚱ. The name is attested for the same rune in all three rune poems, Norwegian Ræið Icelandic Reið, Anglo-Saxon Rad, as well as for the corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet... Image File history File links Runic_letter_kauna. ... The k-rune ᚲ (Younger Futhark ᚴ, Anglo-Saxon Futhorc ᚳ) is called Kaun in both the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems, meaning ulcer. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is Kaunan. ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_gebo. ... Gyfu is the name for the g-rune ᚷ in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, meaning gift or generosity: ᚷ Gyfu gumena byþ gleng and herenys, wraþu and wyrþscype and wræcna gehwam Generosity brings credit and honour, which support ones dignity; it furnishes help and subsistence... Image File history File links Runic_letter_wunjo. ... Capital wynn (left), lowercase wynn (right) Wynn () (also spelled Wen or en) is a letter of the Old English alphabet. ... Look up joy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_haglaz. ... Haglaz Haglaz or Hagalaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the h-rune , meaning hail (the precipitation). ... This article is about the precipitation. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_naudiz. ... Naudiz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the n-rune ᚾ, meaning need, distress. In the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, it is continued as ᚾ nyd, in the Younger Futhark as ᚾ, Icelandic naud, Norse naudhr. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_isaz. ... Isaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the i-rune ᛁ, meaning ice. In the Younger Futhark it is called Iss in Icelandic and isa in Norse. ... This article is about water ice. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_jeran. ... Jāra or Jēra harvest, (good) year is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the j-rune ᛃ. In the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, it is continued as ᛄ Gēr and ᛡ Ior. ... A year (from Old English gÄ“r) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_iwaz. ... Eihwaz (or Eiwaz, Îgwaz) is the Proto-Germanic word for yew, and the reconstructed name of the rune ᛇ. Its is commonly transliterated as ei or ï. Its phonetic value at the time of the invention of the Futhark (2nd century) was not necessarily a diphtong, but possibly a vowel somewhere... Binomial name L. Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_pertho. ... ᛈ is the rune denoting the sound p in the Old Futhark runic alphabet, with the tentatively reconstructed Proto-Germanic name perþô. It is continued in the Anglo-Saxon runes, and named peorð in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_algiz. ... Algiz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name for the ᛉ rune, representing Proto-Germanic final z. ... For other uses, see Moose (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_sowilo. ... The Trundholm Sun Chariot pulled by a horse is believed to be a sculpture illustrating an important part of Nordic Bronze Age mythology. ... Sol redirects here. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_tiwaz. ... Tyr rune The t-rune ᛏ is named after Tyr, and was identified with this god. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_berkanan. ... Berkanan is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the b-rune ᛒ, meaning birch. In the Younger Futhark it is called bjarken in Icelandic and bjarkan in Norse. ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ehwaz. ... Ehwaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the e-rune Ɇ, meaning horse (cognate to Latin equus). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_mannaz. ... Mannaz or Manwaz is the Proto-Germanic term for man, in the gender-neutral sense of person, human being. The word developed into Old English man, mann human being, person, (c. ... This article is about modern humans. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_laukaz. ... Laguz Laguz or Laukaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the l-rune ᛚ, laguz meaning water or lake and laukaz meaning leek. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called lagu ocean. In the Younger Futhark it is called lögr waterfall in Icelandic and logr water in... For other uses, see Lake (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Leek (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_ingwaz. ... Yngvi, Ingui or Ing appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr, which meant lord. In Scandinavian mythology, Yngvi, alternatively Yngve, was the progenitor of the Yngling lineage, a legendary dynasty of Swedish kings from whom the earliest historical Norwegian kings in turn claimed to be descended... Image File history File links Runic_letter_dagaz. ... The d-rune (Unicode U+16DE ) is called Daeg day in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. ... Look up day in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Runic_letter_othalan. ... The Odal rune. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In an acrophonic alphabet the initial (Greek: acro) sound (phonos) of a word gives the name to the whole. ...

Most names, in spite of being reconstructions, can be assumed with a fair degree of certainty for the Old Futhark because of the concurrence of Gothic, Anglo-Saxon and Nordic names. The names come from the vocabulary of daily life and mythology, some trivial, some beneficent and some inauspicious:

• Mythology: Tiwaz, Thurisaz, Ingwaz, God, Man, Sun.

• Nature and environment: Sun, day, year, hail, ice, lake, water, birch, yew, pear, elk, aurochs, ear (of corn).

• Daily life and human condition: Man, wealth/cattle, horse, estate/inheritance, slag, ride/journey, year/harvest, gift, joy, need, ulcer/illness.

It has been argued that such a distribution of meanings support the use of the runes for purposes of divination. On the other hand, however, the NATO phonetic alphabet, although hardly ever used for divination, shows a similar distribution of inherited names (Charlie, Juliet), unremarkable basic vocabulary (Hotel, Uniform) and concepts very much in vogue at the time of its invention (Radar, X-Ray, Foxtrot, Tango). A similar acrophonic principle is found in the names of the Ogham letters given in the 14th century Auraicept na n-Éces. For other uses, see Human condition (disambiguation). ... Divination according to Ralph Blum in progress The Elder Futhark may well have been used for magical and occult purposes historically; 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. ... FAA radiotelephony phonetic alphabet and Morse code chart. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... fol. ...

Inscription corpus

[ek go]dagastir runo faihido inscription on the 4th century "Einang stone" [1]

Old Futhark inscriptions were found on artefacts scattered between the Carpathians and Lappland, with the highest concentration in Denmark. They are usually short inscriptions on jewellery (bracteates, fibulae, belt buckles), utensils (combs, spinning whorls) or weapons (lance tips, seaxes) and were mostly found in graves or bogs. Download high resolution version (964x228, 47 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (964x228, 47 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... composite photograph of the inscription The Einang stone (Einangsteinen) is a rune stone near Fagernes, Norway. ... Satellite image of the Carpathians. ... National anthem Sámi soga lávlla Languages Sami, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian Area ca. ... A bracteate (from the Latin bractea, a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold coin produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age, but the name is also used for later produced coins of silver produced in Central Europe during... Aquamarine, platinum, and diamond brooch/pendant worn by Mrs. ...

Scandinavian inscriptions

Seeland-II-C bracteate, ca. AD 500, hariuha haitika : farauisa : gibu auja : ttt

Words frequently appearing in inscriptions on bracteates with possibly magical significance are alu, laþu and laukaz. Their meaning is unclear, although alu has been associated with "ale, intoxicating drink", in a context of ritual drinking, and laukaz with "leek, garlic", in a context of fertility and growth. An example of a longer early inscription is on a 4th century axe-handle found in Nydam, Jutland: wagagastiz / alu:??hgusikijaz:aiþalataz (wagagaztiz "wave-guest" could be a personal name, the rest has been read as alu:wihgu sikijaz:aiþalataz with a putative meaning "wave/flame-guest, from a bog, alu, I, oath-sayer consecrate/fight". The obscurity even of emended readings is typical for runic inscriptions that go beyond simple personal names). A term frequently found in early inscriptions is Erilaz, apparently describing a person with knowledge of runes. Image File history File links Brakteat_Odin_Runen. ... Image File history File links Brakteat_Odin_Runen. ... Seeland-II-C (Sjaelland bracteate 2) is a Scandinavian (Sjaelland) C-bracteate dating to the Migration period (ca. ... Symbel (from Proto-Germanic *sumlan banquet, continuing *sm-lo-, i. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... Erilaz is a Migration period Proto-Norse word attested on various Elder Futhark inscriptions, which has often been interpreted to mean magician or rune master, viz. ...

The oldest known runic inscription dates to ca. 160 AD and is found on a comb discovered in the bog of Vimose, Funen. The inscription reads harja, either a personal name or an epithet, viz. Proto-Germanic *harjaz (PIE *koryos) "warrior", or simply the word for "comb" (*hārjaz). Another early inscription is found on the Thorsberg chape (ca. 200), probably containing the theonym Ullr. Centuries: 1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century Decades: 110s - 120s - 130s - 140s - 150s - 160s - 170s - 180s - 190s - 200s - 210s 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 Execution of Justin Martyr, Rome Date of earliest finds of Elder Futhark inscriptions in Vimose Marcomannic Wars Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor. ... Finds from Vimose, Funen include some of the very oldest datable Elder Futhark inscriptions in early Proto-Norse (2nd to 3rd centuries AD). ... Funen (Danish: Fyn) is the third largest island of Denmark, it has a population of 445,000 people. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the baked good, for other uses see Pie (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Warrior (disambiguation). ... The Thorsberg chape (a metal piece belonging to a scabbard found in the Thorsberg moor) bears an Elder Futhark inscription, one of the earliest known altogether, dating to roughly AD 200. ... This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript in the care of the Árni Magnússon Institute, shows Ullr on his skis and with his bow. ...

The typically Scandinavian rune stones begin to show the transition to Younger Futhark from the 6th century, with transitional examples like the Björketorp or Stentoften stones. In the early 9th century, both the older and the younger futhark were known and used, which is shown on the Rök Runestone where the runemaster used both. A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Viking Age. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... The Runestone The Björketorp Runestone (DR 360 U) in Blekinge, Sweden, is part of a grave field which includes menhirs, both solitary and forming stone circles. ... The Stentoften Runestone (DR 357 U) is a runestone which contains a curse in Proto-Norse, and the runestone was discovered in 1823 by the dean O. Hammer. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... A black-and-white rendition of the text on one side of the Rök Stone. ... A runestone being made by the modern runemaster Kalle Dahlberg. ...

The longest known inscription in Older Futhark, and one of the youngest, consists of some 200 characters and is found on the early 8th century Eggjum stone, and may even contain a stanza of Old Norse poetry. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... The Eggja stone is a grave stone that was ploughed up in 1917 on the farm of that name, in Sogndal, parish of Sogn, Norway. ... Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in a number of Nordic languages, embraced by the term Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. ...

The Caistor-by-Norwich astragalus reading raihan "deer" is notable as the oldest inscription of the British Isles, dating to ca. AD 400, the very end of Roman Britain and just predating the modifications leading to Futhorc. Thg Caistor-by-Norwich astralagus is a roe deer astragalus found in Norfolk, bearing a 5th c. ... Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeologists label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Continental inscriptions

The oldest inscriptions (before AD 500) found on the Continent are divided into two groups, the area of the North Sea coast and Northern Germany (including parts of the Netherlands) associated with the Saxons and Frisians on one hand (part of the "North Germanic Koine", Martin 2004:173), and loosely scattered finds from along the Oder to south-eastern Poland, as far as the Carpathian Mountains (e.g. the ring of Pietroassa), associated with East Germanic tribes. The latter group disappears during the 5th century, the time of contact of the Goths with the Roman Empire and their conversion to Christianity. For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). ... The Frisians are an ethnic group of northwestern Europe, inhabiting an area known as Frisia. ... The Oder (or Odra) River (German: Oder, Polish/Czech: Odra, Ancient Latin: Viadua, Viadrus, Medieval Latin: Odera, Oddera) is a river in Central Europe (mostly in Poland). ... Satellite image of the Carpathians. ... Very few Elder Futhark inscriptions in the Gothic language have been found in the territory historically settled by the Goths (Wielbark culture, Chernyakhov culture). ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... By Germanic Christianity is that phase in the history of Northern Europe understood, when the Germanic peoples of the Migration period and Viking Age adopted Christianity. ...

In this early period, there is no specifically West Germanic runic tradition. This changes from the early 6th century, and for about one century (520s to 620s), an Alamannic "runic province" (Martin 2004) emerges, with examples on fibulae, weapon parts and belt buckles. As in the East Germanic case, use of runes subsides with Christianization, in the case of the Alamanni in the course of the 7th century. Area settled by the Alamanni, and sites of Roman-Alamannic battles, 3rd to 6th century The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of west Germanic tribes located around the upper Main, a river that is one of the largest tributaries of the Rhine, on land that is today...

Distribution

There are some 350 known Elder Futhark inscriptions (Fischer 2004:281). Lüthi (2004:321) identifies a total of approx. 81 known inscriptions from the South (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and approx. 267 from Scandinavia. The precise numbers are debatable because of some suspected forgeries, and some disputed inscriptions (identification as "runes" vs. accidental scratches, simple ornaments or Latin letters). 133 Scandinavian inscriptions are on bracteates (compared to 2 from the South), and 65 are on rune stones (no Southern example is extant). Southern inscriptions are predominantly on fibulae (43, compared to 15 in Scandinavia). The Scandinavian rune stones belong to the later period of the Elder Futhark, and initiate the boom of medieval Younger Futhark stones (with some 6,000 surviving examples). A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Viking Age. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Elder Futhark inscriptions were rare, with very few active literati, in relation to the total population, at any time, so that knowledge of the runes was probably an actual "secret" throughout the Migration period. Of 366 lances excavated at Illerup, only 2 bore inscriptions. A similar ratio is estimated for Alemannia, with an estimated 170 excavated graves to every inscription found (Lüthi 2004:323)

Estimates of the total number of inscriptions produced are based on the "minimal runological estimate" of 40,000 (ten individuals making ten inscriptions per year for four centuries). The actual number was probably considerably higher. The ca. 80 known Southern inscriptions are from some 100,000 known graves. With an estimated total of 50,000,000 graves (based on population density estimates), some 80,000 inscriptions would have been produced in total in the Merovingian South alone (and maybe close to 400,000 in total, so that of the order of 0.1% of the corpus has come down to us), and Fischer (2004:281) estimates a population of several hundred active literati throughout the period, with as many as 1,600 during the Alamannic "runic boom" of the 6th century. For other uses, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ...

List of inscriptions

After Looijenga (1997), Lüthi (2004).

• Scandinavia
  • Period I (AD 150–550)
    • Vimose inscriptions (6 objects, 160–300)
    • Gotland spearhead (ca. 180), gaois
    • Ovre Stabu spearhead (ca. 180), raunijaz
    • Illerup inscriptions (9 objects)
    • Golden horns of Gallehus (ca. 400)
    • Einang stone (ca. 400)
    • Kylver Stone (ca. 400)
    • Rö Runestone (400-450)
    • Kalleby Runestone (5th century)
    • Möjbro Runestone (400-550)
    • Järsberg Runestone (500-550)
  • Bracteates: total 133 (see also Alu)
    • Seeland-II-C (ca. 500)
    • Vadstena bracteate
    • Tjurkö bracteate
  • Period II (AD 550–700)
    • Skåäng Runestone (6th century?)
    • Björketorp Runestone
    • Gummarp Runestone
    • Istaby Runestone
    • Stentoften Runestone

• South-Eastern Europe (AD 200–550): ca. 4
  • Gothic runic inscriptions (200–350)

• Continental inscriptions (mainly Germany; AD 200–700): 50 legible, 15 illegible (39 brooches, 11 weapon parts, 4 fittings and belt buckles, 3 strap ends, 8 other)
  • Thorsberg chape (ca. 200)
  • Nordendorf fibula
  • Pforzen buckle
  • Bülach fibula

• English and Frisian (AD 300–700): 44; see Futhorc

Finds from Vimose, Funen include some of the very oldest datable Elder Futhark inscriptions in late Proto-Germanic or early Proto-Norse (2nd to 3rd centuries AD). ... Image depicting the copies of the Golden horns found at the National Museum of Denmark. ... composite photograph of the inscription The Einang stone (Einangsteinen) is a rune stone near Fagernes, Norway. ... A modified variant of the Kylver inscription, on the original inscription some letters are mirrored, a few features missing and it also includes an unknown rune and an additional small inscription. ... Rö runestone (Bo Krause1966;73A U) is one of Swedens oldest and most notable runestones. ... The Kalleby Runestone is an enigmatic Iron Age rune stone inscribed in Proto-Norse with the Elder Futhark: þrawijan * haitinaz was This short text has been the subject of several interpretations where þrawijan, which means yearning, is interpreted as either a name or an epithet. ... The Möjbro Runestone is a runestone inscribed in Proto-Norse with the Elder Futhark. ... The sketch of the runestone and the other stones on the possible barrow in 1860s. ... Erilaz is a Migration period Proto-Norse word attested on various Elder Futhark inscriptions, which has often been interpreted to mean magician or rune master, viz. ... Seeland-II-C (Sjaelland bracteate 2) is a Scandinavian (Sjaelland) C-bracteate dating to the Migration period (ca. ... The Vadstena bracteate. ... brass replica of Tjurkö 1 (the eye is not reproduced) The Tjurkö Bracteates are two bracteates found on Tjurkö, Eastern Hundred, Blekinge, Sweden, bearing Elder Futhark inscriptions. ... The Skåäng Runestone is an Iron Age runestone which is inscribed in Proto-Norse with the Elder Futhark. ... The Runestone The Björketorp Runestone (DR 360 U) in Blekinge, Sweden, is part of a grave field which includes menhirs, both solitary and forming stone circles. ... The Gummarp Runestone was a runestone from the Vendel era and which was located in Gummarp, in the province of Blekinge, Sweden. ... The Istaby Runestone or DR 359 is a runestone in Proto-Norse which was raised in Blekinge, Sweden, during the Vendel era. ... The Stentoften Runestone (DR 357 U) is a runestone which contains a curse in Proto-Norse, and the runestone was discovered in 1823 by the dean O. Hammer. ... Very few Elder Futhark inscriptions in the Gothic language have been found in the territory historically settled by the Goths (Wielbark culture, Chernyakhov culture). ... The Thorsberg chape (a metal piece belonging to a scabbard found in the Thorsberg moor) bears an Elder Futhark inscription, one of the earliest known altogether, dating to roughly AD 200. ... The Nordendorf fibula is an early 7th century Alamannic fibula found in Nordendorf near Augsburg (Bavaria). ... The Pforzen buckle is a silver belt buckle found in Pforzen, Ostallgäu. ... An Alamannic fibula found in Bülach in the Canton of Zürich, a silver disc-brooch with almandine inlay, discovered in 1927 in a womans grave in a row-gravefield. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Notes

Berkanan is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the b-rune ᛒ, meaning birch. In the Younger Futhark it is called bjarken in Icelandic and bjarkan in Norse. ... Finds from Vimose, Funen include some of the very oldest datable Elder Futhark inscriptions in early Proto-Norse (2nd to 3rd centuries AD). ... Very few Elder Futhark inscriptions in the Gothic language have been found in the territory historically settled by the Goths (Wielbark culture, Chernyakhov culture). ...

References

• A. Bæksted, Målruner og troldruner, Copenhagen (1952).
• J. H. Looijenga, Runes around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150–700, dissertation, Groningen University (1997).
• Katrin Lüthi, Von Þruþhild und Hariso: Alemannische und ältere skandinavische Runenkultur im Vergleich in: Alemannien und der Norden, ed. Naumann (2004), 318–339.
• Max Martin, Kontinentalgermanische Runeninschriften und 'alamannische Runenprovinz' in: Alemannien und der Norden, ed. Naumann (2004), 165–212.
• Svante Fischer, Alemannia and the North — Early Runic Contexts Apart (400–800) in: Alemannien und der Norden, ed. Naumann (2004), 266–317.
• Sean Nowak, Schrift auf den Goldbrakteaten der Völkerwanderungszeit, Diss. Göttingen (2003) [2]
• Bengt Odenstedt, On the Origin and Early History of the Runic Script, Typology and Graphic Variation in the Older Futhark, Uppsala (1990), ISBN 9185352209.
• Hemlut Rix, 'Germanische Runen und venetische Phonetik', in Vergleichende germanische Philologie und Skandinavistik, Festschrift für Otmar Werner, ed. Birkmann et al., Tübingen (1997), 231–248.
• Orrin W. Robinson Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages Stanford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8047-1454-1

Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

See also

• Proto-Norse
• Runic alphabet
• Rune poem
• Rune stone
• Gothic alphabet

Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... “Rune” redirects here. ... The rune poems list the letters of a runic alphabet with a short verse characterizing each one. ... A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Viking Age. ...   The Gothic alphabet is an alphabetic writing system attributed by Philostorgius to Wulfila, used exclusively for writing the ancient Gothic language. ...

External links

• Runenprojekt inscription database at the University of Kiel
• Ancient Scripts: Futhark
• Runic Inscriptions by Yves Kodratoff
• Omniglot.com Elder Futhark
• [3] the elder Futhark

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...