View source for Rune

{{Short description|Ancient Germanic letter}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox writing system
|name = Runic
|native_name = {{script|Runr|ᚱᚢᚾᛁᚲ}}
|type = Alphabet
|languages = [[Germanic languages]]
|time = [[Elder Futhark]] from the 2nd century AD
|fam1      = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]<ref>Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. [https://archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/egypt.html "First Alphabet Found in Egypt"], Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (January/February 2000): 21.</ref>
|fam2 = [[Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinaitic]]
|fam3 = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
|fam4 = [[Greek alphabet]]
|fam5 = [[Old Italic script|Old Italic]] (possibly)
|sisters =
|children = [[Elder Futhark]]<br>[[Younger Futhark]]<br>[[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]]
|unicode = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U16A0.pdf U+16A0–U+16FF]<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U16A0.pdf | title = Runic | type = chart | publisher = Unicode | access-date = 2018-03-24 | archive-date = 2021-10-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211007050759/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U16A0.pdf | url-status = live }}.</ref>
|iso15924 = Runr
|sample = CodexRunicus.jpeg
|imagesize = 150px
}}
{{Contains special characters|Runic}}
{{Alphabet}}
<!--Per [[WP:LEADCITE]], there are no citations for the statements in the lead, because they are all cited in the body. So please do not add {{cn}} tags to the lead but equally, please do not add statements to the lead unless and until they are supported by citation in the body. -->
A '''rune''' is a [[letter (alphabet)|letter]] in a set of related [[alphabet]]s known as '''runic alphabets''' native to the [[Germanic peoples]]. Runes were used to write [[Germanic languages]] (with some exceptions) before they adopted the [[Latin alphabet]], and for specialised purposes thereafter. In addition to representing a sound value (a [[phoneme]]), runes can be used to represent the concepts after which they are named ([[ideographs]]). Scholars refer to instances of the latter as {{lang|de|Begriffsrunen}} ('concept runes'). The Scandinavian variants are also known as ''fuþark'', or ''futhark''; this name is derived from the first six letters of the script, ⟨[[Fehu|ᚠ]]⟩, ⟨[[Ur (rune)|ᚢ]]⟩, ⟨[[Thurisaz|ᚦ]]⟩, ⟨[[Ansuz (rune)|ᚨ]]⟩/⟨[[Ansuz (rune)|ᚬ]]⟩, ⟨[[Raido|ᚱ]]⟩, and ⟨[[Kaunan|ᚲ]]⟩/⟨[[Kaunan|ᚴ]]⟩, corresponding to the Latin letters ⟨f⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨þ⟩/⟨th⟩, ⟨a⟩, ⟨r⟩, and ⟨k⟩. The [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] variant is known as ''[[Anglo-Saxon runes|futhorc]]'', or ''{{lang|ang|fuþorc}}'', due to changes in [[Old English]] of the sounds represented by the fourth letter, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚩ⟩.

[[Runology]] is the academic study of the runic alphabets, [[runic inscriptions]], [[runestones]], and their history. Runology forms a specialised branch of [[Germanic philology]].

The earliest secure runic inscriptions date from around AD 150, with a potentially earlier inscription dating to AD 50 and [[Tacitus]]'s potential description of rune use from around AD 98. The [[Svingerud Runestone]] dates from between AD 1 and 250. 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 calendar]]s.

The three best-known runic alphabets are the [[Elder Futhark]] ({{circa}} AD 150–800), the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon Futhorc]] (400–1100), and the [[Younger Futhark]] (800–1100). The Younger Futhark is divided further into the long-branch runes (also called ''Danish'', although they were also used in [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], and [[Frisia]]); short-branch, or [[Rök runestone|Rök]], runes (also called ''Swedish–Norwegian'', although they were also used in [[Denmark]]); and the ''{{lang|sv|stavlösa}}'', or Hälsinge, runes ([[staveless runes]]). The Younger Futhark developed further into the [[medieval runes]] (1100–1500), and the [[Dalecarlian runes]] ({{circa}} 1500–1800).

The exact development of the early runic alphabet remains unclear but the script ultimately stems from the [[Phoenician alphabet]]. Early runes may have developed from the [[Raetic alphabet|Raetic]], [[Old Italic alphabet#Venetic alphabet|Venetic]], [[Etruscan alphabet|Etruscan]], or [[History of the Latin alphabet|Old Latin]] as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for [[epigraphy]], which would become characteristic of the runes and related scripts in the region.

The process of transmission of the script is unknown. The oldest clear inscriptions are found in Denmark and northern Germany. A "West Germanic hypothesis" suggests transmission via [[Irminones|Elbe Germanic]] groups, while a "[[Goths|Gothic]] hypothesis" presumes transmission via East Germanic [[Chernyakhov culture|expansion]]. Runes continue to be used in a wide variety of ways in modern popular culture.

== Name ==
=== Etymology ===
[[File:Einangsteinen_inscript.jpg|thumb|350x350px|The inscription on the [[Einang stone]] (AD 350–400), reading {{lang|mis|[Ek go]ðagastiz runo faihido}} ("[I, Go]dguest painted/wrote this runic inscription"),<ref name="Spurkland">{{Cite book|last=Spurkland|first=Terje|title=Norwegian runes and runic inscriptions|publisher=The Boydell press|year=2005|isbn=1-84383-186-4|location=Woodbridge|pages=42–43}}</ref> is the earliest Germanic epigraphic attestation of the term.{{sfn|Koch|2020|p=137}}]]

The name stems from a [[Proto-Germanic]] form [[linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] as {{lang|gem-x-proto|*rūnō}}, which may be translated as 'secret, mystery; secret conversation; rune'. It is the source of [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{lang|got-Latn|rūna}} ({{Lang|got|𐍂𐌿𐌽𐌰}}, 'secret, mystery, counsel'), [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|rún}} ('whisper, mystery, secret, rune'), [[Old Saxon]] {{lang|osx|rūna}} ('secret counsel, confidential talk'), [[Middle Dutch]] {{lang|dum|rūne}} ('id'), [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|rūna}} ('secret, mystery'), and [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|rún}} ('secret, mystery, rune').<ref>{{harvnb|de Vries|1962|pp=453–454}}; {{harvnb|Orel|2003|p=310}}; {{harvnb|Koch|2020|p=137}}</ref><ref name="OED">[[Oxford English Dictionary Online]], s.v. † ''roun'', n. and ''rune'', n.2.</ref> The earliest Germanic epigraphic attestation is the [[Primitive Norse]] {{lang|mis|rūnō}} (accusative singular), found on the [[Einang stone]] (AD 350–400) and the [[Noleby Runestone|Noleby stone]] (AD 450).{{sfn|Koch|2020|p=137}}

The term is related to [[Proto-Celtic]] {{lang|cel-x-proto|*rūna}} ('secret, magic'), which is attested in [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|rún}} ('mystery, secret'), [[Middle Welsh]] {{lang|wlm|rin}} ('mystery, charm'), [[Middle Breton]] {{lang|xbm|rin}} ('secret wisdom'), and possibly in the ancient [[Gaulish]] {{lang|xtg|Cobrunus}} (< {{lang|xtg|*com-rūnos}} 'confident'; cf. Middle Welsh {{lang|wlm|cyfrin}}, Middle Breton {{lang|xbm|queffrin}}, [[Middle Irish]] {{lang|mga|comrún}} 'shared secret, confidence') and {{lang|mga|Sacruna}} (< {{lang|mga|*sacro-runa}} 'sacred secret'), as well as in [[Lepontic language|Lepontic]] {{lang|xlp|Runatis}} (< *{{lang|xlp|runo-ātis}} 'belonging to the secret'). However, it is difficult to tell whether they are [[cognate]]s (linguistic siblings from a common origin), or if the Proto-Germanic form reflects an early borrowing from Celtic.<ref name="Matasović">{{Cite book |last=Matasović |first=Ranko |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |isbn=9789004173361 |pages=316 |author-link=Ranko Matasović }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Delamarre |first=Xavier |title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental |publisher=Errance |year=2003 |isbn=9782877723695 |pages=122 |author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}</ref> Various connections have been proposed with other Indo-European terms (for example: [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa-Latn|ráuti}} {{lang|sa|रौति}} 'roar', [[Latin]] {{lang|la|rūmor}} 'noise, rumor'; [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc-Latn|eréō}} {{lang|grc|ἐρέω}} 'ask' and {{lang|grc-Latn|ereunáō}} {{lang|grc|ἐρευνάω}} 'investigate'),{{sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=453–454}} although linguist [[Ranko Matasović]] finds them difficult to justify for semantic or linguistic reasons.<ref name="Matasović" /> Because of this, some scholars have speculated that the Germanic and Celtic words may have been a shared religious term borrowed from an unknown non-Indo-European language.{{sfn|Koch|2020|p=137}}<ref name="Matasović" />

=== Related terms ===
In early Germanic, a rune could also be referred to as {{lang|gem-x-proto|*rūna-stabaz}}, a [[compound (linguistics)|compound]] of {{lang|gem-x-proto|rūnō}} and {{lang|gem-x-proto|*stabaz}} ('staff; letter'). It is attested in Old Norse {{lang|non|rúna-stafr}}, Old English {{lang|ang|rún-stæf}}, and Old High German {{lang|goh|rūn-stab}}.''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=310}}'' Other Germanic terms derived from {{lang|gem-x-proto|*rūnō}} include {{lang|gem-x-proto|*runōn}} ('counsellor'), {{lang|gem-x-proto|*rūnjan}} and {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ga-rūnjan}} ('secret, mystery'), {{lang|gem-x-proto|*raunō}} ('trial, inquiry, experiment'), {{lang|gem-x-proto|*hugi-rūnō}} ('secret of the mind, magical rune'), and {{lang|gem-x-proto|*halja-rūnō}} ('witch, sorceress'; literally '[possessor of the] [[Hel (location)|Hel]]-secret').''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|pp=155, 190, 310}}'' It is also often part of personal names, including Gothic {{lang|got-Latn|Runilo}} ({{lang|got|𐍂𐌿𐌽𐌹𐌻𐍉}}), [[Frankish language|Frankish]] {{lang|frk|Rúnfrid}}, Old Norse {{lang|non|Alfrún}}, {{lang|non|Dagrún}}, {{lang|non|Guðrún}}, {{lang|non|Sigrún}}, {{lang|non|Ǫlrún}}, Old English {{lang|ang|Ælfrún}}, and [[Lombardic language|Lombardic]] {{lang|lng|Goderūna}}.{{sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=453–454}}

The [[Finnish language|Finnish]] word {{wikt-lang|fi|runo}}, meaning 'poem', is an early borrowing from Proto-Germanic,<ref>Häkkinen, Kaisa. Nykysuomen etymologinen sanakirja</ref> and the source of the term for rune, {{lang|fi|riimukirjain}}, meaning 'scratched letter'.<ref>Nykysuomen sanakirja: "riimu"</ref> The root may also be found in the [[Baltic languages]], where [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] {{lang|lt|runoti}} means both 'to cut (with a knife)' and 'to speak'.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language|url=http://www.lkz.lt/en/dze.htm|access-date=2010-04-13|publisher=LKZ|archive-date=2017-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811103658/http://www.lkz.lt/en/dze.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Old English form {{lang|ang|rún}} survived into the [[early modern period]] as ''roun'', which is now obsolete. The modern English ''rune'' is a later formation that is partly derived from [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|runa}}, Old Norse {{lang|non|rún}}, and [[Danish language|Danish]] {{lang|da|rune}}.<ref name=OED />

==History and use==
[[Image:Rökstenen 1.JPG|thumb|An inscription using [[cipher runes]], the [[Elder Futhark]], and the [[Younger Futhark]], on the 9th-century [[Rök runestone]] in Sweden]]
[[Image:Vaksalastenen.jpg|thumb|A Younger Futhark inscription on the 12th-century [[Vaksala Runestone]] in Sweden]]

The runes were in use among the [[Germanic peoples]] from the 1st or 2nd century AD.{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" | The oldest known runic inscription dates to around AD 150 and is found on a comb discovered in the bog of [[Vimose]], [[Funen]], [[Denmark]].{{Sfn | Stoklund | 2003 | p  = 173}} The inscription reads {{lang|de|harja}}; a disputed candidate for a 1st-century inscription is on the [[Meldorf fibula]] in southern [[Jutland]].}}  This period corresponds to the late [[Common Germanic]] stage linguistically, with a continuum of dialects not yet clearly separated into the three branches of later centuries: [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]], [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]], and [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]].

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 [[labialized velar consonant|labiovelars]] in the Elder Futhark (such signs were introduced in both the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] and the [[Gothic alphabet]] as variants of ''p''; see {{lang|ang|[[peorð]]}}.)

===Origins===
{{Main |Elder Futhark}}

The formation of the Elder Futhark was complete by the early 5th century, with the [[Kylver Stone]] being the first evidence of the ''futhark'' ordering as well as of the ''p'' rune.

Specifically, the [[Old Italic script#Rhaetic alphabets|Rhaetic alphabet]] of [[Bolzano]] is often advanced as a candidate for the origin of the runes, with only five Elder Futhark runes ({{script|Runr|ᛖ}} ''e'', {{script|Runr|ᛇ}} ''ï'', {{script|Runr|ᛃ}} ''j'', {{script|Runr|ᛜ}} ''ŋ'', {{script|Runr|ᛈ}} ''p'') having no counterpart in the Bolzano alphabet.{{Sfn | Mees | 2000}} Scandinavian scholars tend to favor derivation from the [[Latin alphabet]] itself over Rhaetic candidates.{{Sfn | Odenstedt | 1990}}{{Sfn | Williams | 1996}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of the Middle Ages |type=under preparation |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://ariadne.uio.no/runenews/odmarune.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623082749/http://ariadne.uio.no/runenews/odmarune.htm |archive-date=2007-06-23 }}</ref> A "North Etruscan" thesis is supported by the inscription on the [[Negau helmet]] dating to the 2nd century BC.{{Sfn|Markey|2001}} This is in a northern Etruscan alphabet but features a Germanic name, {{Lang|gem|Harigast}}. [[Giuliano Bonfante|Giuliano]] and [[Larissa Bonfante]] suggest that runes derived from some North Italic alphabet, specifically [[Old Italic alphabet#Venetic alphabet|Venetic]]: But since [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] conquered [[Veneto]] after 200 BC, and then the [[Latin alphabet]] became prominent and [[Adriatic Veneti|Venetic]] culture diminished in importance, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] people could have adopted the Venetic alphabet within the 3rd century BC or even earlier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bonfante |first1=Giuliano |last2=Bonfante |first2=Larissa |year=2002 |title=The Etruscan Language |page=119 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719055409 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VWGN6e5Rzf8C&dq=runes+from+venetic+alphabet&pg=PA119 |url-status=live |access-date=2015-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622195906/https://books.google.it/books?id=VWGN6e5Rzf8C&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=runes+from+venetic+alphabet&source=bl&ots=OeW0SOpgNo&sig=MPh3Dia9tqPSdKyLUiADT3dGguI&hl=it&sa=X&ei=pBSIVYTzNanNygPEiL8o&ved=0CDwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=runes%20from%20venetic%20alphabet&f=false |archive-date=2015-06-22}}</ref>

The angular shapes of the runes are shared with most contemporary alphabets of the period that were used for carving in wood or stone. There are no ''horizontal'' strokes: when carving a message on a flat staff or stick, it would be along the grain, thus both less legible and more likely to split the wood.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Rix |first1 = Robert W. |year = 2011 |title = Runes and Roman: Germanic literacy and the significance of runic writing |journal = Textual Cultures |volume = 6 |pages = 114–144 |doi=10.2979/textcult.6.1.114 }}</ref> This characteristic is also shared by other alphabets, such as the early form of the [[Latin alphabet]] used for the [[Duenos inscription]], but it is not universal, especially among early runic inscriptions, which frequently have variant rune shapes, including horizontal strokes. Runic manuscripts (that is ''written'' rather than carved runes, such as {{lang|la|[[Codex Runicus]]}}) also show horizontal strokes.

The "[[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] hypothesis" speculates on an introduction by [[West Germanic tribes]]. This hypothesis is based on claiming that the earliest inscriptions of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, found in bogs and graves around [[Jutland]] (the [[Vimose inscriptions]]), exhibit word endings that, being interpreted by [[Scandinavia]]n scholars to be [[Proto-Norse]], are considered unresolved and long having been the subject of discussion.{{efn|Inscriptions such as {{lang|gem|wagnija}}, {{lang|gem|niþijo}}, and {{lang|gem|harija}} are supposed to represent tribe names, tentatively proposed to be [[Vangiones]], the [[Nidensis]], and the [[Harii]] tribes located in the [[Rhineland]].{{Sfn | Looijenga | 1997}} Since names ending in {{lang|gem|-io}} reflect Germanic morphology representing the Latin ending {{lang|la|-ius}}, and the suffix {{lang|la|-inius}} was reflected by Germanic {{lang|gem|-inio-}},{{Sfn | Weisgerber | 1968 |pp=135, 392ff }}{{Sfn | Weisgerber | 1966–1967 | p = 207}} the question of the problematic ending {{lang|gem|-ijo}} in masculine Proto-Norse would be resolved by assuming Roman (Rhineland) influences, while "the awkward ending -a of {{lang|gem|laguþewa}}{{Sfn | Syrett | 1994 | pp= 44ff}} may be solved by accepting the fact that the name may indeed be West Germanic".{{Sfn | Looijenga | 1997}}}}
In the early Runic period, differences between Germanic languages are generally presumed to be small. Another theory presumes a [[Northwest Germanic]] unity preceding the emergence of Proto-Norse proper from roughly the 5th century.{{efn| {{Harvnb | Penzl | Hall | 1994a}} assume a period of "Proto-Nordic-Westgermanic" unity down to the 5th century and the [[Gallehus horns]] inscription.{{Sfn | Penzl | Hall | 1994b |p=186}}}}{{efn|The division between Northwest Germanic and Proto-Norse is somewhat arbitrary.{{Sfn | Antonsen | 1965 | p=36}}}} An alternative suggestion explaining the impossibility of classifying the earliest inscriptions as either North or West Germanic is forwarded by È. A. Makaev, who presumes a "special runic [[Koiné language|koine]]", an early "literary Germanic" employed by the entire Late Common Germanic linguistic community after the separation of Gothic (2nd to 5th centuries), while the spoken dialects may already have been more diverse.{{Sfn | Antonsen | 1965 |p=36}}

===The Meldorf fibula and Tacitus's ''Germania''===
With the potential exception of the [[Meldorf fibula]], a possible runic inscription found in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] dating to around 50 AD, the earliest reference to runes (and runic divination) may occur in Roman Senator Tacitus's ethnographic ''[[Germania]]''.<ref name="SYMONS-2016-5">Symons 2020: 5.</ref> Dating from around 98 CE, Tacitus describes the Germanic peoples as utilizing a divination practice involving rune-like inscriptions:

<blockquote>For divination and casting lots they have the highest possible regard. Their procedure for casting lots is uniform: They break off the branch of a fruit tree and slice into strips; they mark these by certain signs and throw them, as random chance will have it, on to a white cloth. Then a state priest, if the consultation is a public one, or the father of the family, if it is private, prays to the gods and, gazing to the heavens, picks up three separate strips and reads their meaning from the marks scored on them. If the lots forbid an enterprise, there can be no further consultation about it that day; if they allow it, further confirmation by divination is required.<ref name="MATTINGLY-39">Mattingly 2009: 39.</ref></blockquote>

As Victoria Symons summarizes, "If the inscriptions made on the lots that Tacitus refers to are understood to be letters, rather than other kinds of notations or symbols, then they would necessarily have been runes, since no other writing system was available to Germanic tribes at this time."<ref name="SYMONS-2016-5"/>

===Early inscriptions===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Pietroassa ring 1875.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ring of Pietroassa]] ({{circa|250–400 AD}}) by Henri Trenk, 1875]]

Runic inscriptions from the 400-year period 150–550 AD are described as "Period I". These inscriptions are generally in [[Elder Futhark]], but the set of letter shapes and [[bindrune]]s employed is far from standardized. Notably the ''[[jēran|j]]'', ''[[sowilo rune|s]]'', and ''[[ᛜ|ŋ]]'' runes undergo considerable modifications, while others, such as ''[[ᛈ|p]]'' and ''[[ᛇ|ï]]'', remain unattested altogether prior to the first full futhark row on the [[Kylver Stone]] ({{circa}} 400 AD).

Artifacts such as spear heads or shield mounts have been found that bear runic marking that may be dated to 200 AD, as evidenced by artifacts found across northern Europe in [[Schleswig]] (North Germany), [[Funen]], [[Zealand]], [[Jutland]] (Denmark), and [[Scania]] (Sweden). Earlier—but less reliable—artifacts have been found in [[Meldorf]], {{ill|Süderdithmarschen|de}}, in northern Germany; these include brooches and combs found in graves, most notably the [[Meldorf fibula]], and are supposed to have the earliest markings resembling runic inscriptions.

===Magical or divinatory use===
{{Main|Runic magic}}
[[File:Bracteate from Funen, Denmark (DR BR42).jpg|right|thumb|Bracteate [[Alu (runic)#DR BR42|DR BR42]] bearing the inscription ''[[Alu (runic)|Alu]]'']]
[[File:Gummarpstenen.gif|thumb|An illustration of the [[Gummarp Runestone]] (500–700 AD) from [[Blekinge]], Sweden]]
[[File:Björketorpsstenen runor.jpg|right|thumb|Closeup of the runic inscription found on the 6th- or 7th-century [[Björketorp Runestone]] located in [[Blekinge]], Sweden]]

The stanza 157 of {{lang|non|[[Hávamál]]}} attribute to runes the power to bring that which is dead back to life. In this stanza, [[Odin]] recounts a spell:

{{Verse translation |lang=non
|Þat kann ek it tolfta,
ef ek sé á tré uppi
váfa virgilná,:
svá ek ríst ok í rúnum fák,
at sá gengr gumi
ok mælir við mik.<ref name="Hávamál">{{Citation |url=http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/havamal.php |archive-url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508160024/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/havamal.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-05-08 |contribution=Hávamál |title=Norrøne Tekster og Kvad |place=Norway |postscript=. }}</ref>
|I know a twelfth one
if I see up in a tree,
a dangling corpse in a noose,
I can so carve and colour the runes,
that the man walks
and talks with me.{{Sfn|Larrington|1999|p=37}}
}}

The earliest runic inscriptions found on artifacts give the name of either the craftsman or the proprietor, or sometimes, remain a linguistic mystery. Due to this, it is possible that the early runes were not used so much as a simple writing system, but rather as [[magic (paranormal)|magical]] signs to be used for charms. Although some say the runes were used for [[divination]], there is no direct evidence to suggest they were ever used in this way. 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}} The 6th-century [[Björketorp Runestone]] warns in [[Proto-Norse language|Proto-Norse]] using the word ''rune'' in both senses:

{{Blockquote|text=
{{lang|non|Haidzruno runu, falahak haidera, ginnarunaz. Arageu haeramalausz uti az. Weladaude, sa'z þat barutz. Uþarba spa.}}
I, master of the runes(?) conceal here runes of power. Incessantly (plagued by) maleficence, (doomed to) insidious death (is) he who breaks this (monument). I prophesy destruction / prophecy of destruction.<ref name="RUNDATADR360">{{Citation |type=entry |contribution=DR 360 |title=Rundata |edition=2.0 for Windows|title-link=Rundata }}.</ref>
|multiline=yes
|author= [[Björketorp Runestone]]
}}

The same curse and use of the word, rune, is also found on the [[Stentoften Runestone]]. There also are some inscriptions suggesting a medieval belief in the magical significance of runes, such as the [[Franks Casket]] (AD 700) panel.

Charm words, such as {{lang|non|auja}}, {{lang|non|laþu}}, {{lang|non|laukaʀ}}, and most commonly, {{lang|non|[[alu (runic)|alu]]}},{{Sfn|MacLeod|Mees|2006|pp=100–01}} appear on a number of [[Migration period]] Elder Futhark inscriptions as well as variants and abbreviations of them. Much speculation and study has been produced on the potential meaning of these inscriptions. Rhyming groups appear on some early bracteates that also may be magical in purpose, such as {{lang|non|salusalu}} and {{lang|non|luwatuwa}}. Further, an inscription on the [[Gummarp Runestone]] (500–700 AD) gives a cryptic inscription describing the use of three runic letters followed by the Elder Futhark f-rune written three times in succession.{{Sfn|Page|2005 |p=31}}

Nevertheless, 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.  There are at least three sources on divination with rather vague descriptions that may, or may not, refer to runes: [[Tacitus]]'s 1st-century {{lang|la|[[Germania (book)|Germania]]}}, [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s 13th-century {{lang|non|[[Ynglinga saga]]}}, and [[Rimbert]]'s 9th-century {{lang|la|[[Vita Ansgari]]}}.

The first source, Tacitus's {{lang|la|Germania}},<ref>{{Cite book
|first=Cornelius| last= Tacitus
| author-link= Tacitus
| chapter= Germany and its Tribes, chapter 10
|chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.+Ger.+10&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0083|access-date=2023-01-18
| year= 1942
| edition= 1999 Perseus
| title=Complete Works of Tacitus
| editor1=Alfred John Church
| editor2= William Jackson Brodribb
| editor3=Lisa Cerrato
| place=New York
| publisher=Random House
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803185149/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.+Ger.+10&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083 |archive-date=2020-08-03 
| url-status= live 
}}</ref> describes "signs" chosen in groups of three and cut from "a nut-bearing tree", although the runes do not seem to have been in use at the time of Tacitus' writings.  A second source is the {{lang|non|Ynglinga saga}}, where [[Granmar]], the king of {{lang|sv|[[Södermanland]]|italic=no}}, goes to [[Gamla Uppsala|Uppsala]] for the {{lang|non|[[blót]]|italic=no}}. There, the "chips" fell in a way that said that he would not live long ({{lang|non|Féll honum þá svo spánn sem hann mundi eigi lengi lifa}}). These "chips", however, are easily explainable as a {{lang|non|blótspánn}} (sacrificial chip), which was "marked, possibly with sacrificial blood, shaken, and thrown down like dice, and their positive or negative significance then decided."{{Sfn|Foote|Wilson|1970}}{{Rp |needed=yes |date=March 2013 }}

The third source is Rimbert's {{lang|la|Vita Ansgari}}, where there are three accounts of what some believe 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 tool in the "drawing of lots", however, is easily explainable as a {{lang|non|hlautlein}} (lot-twig), which according to Foote and Wilson{{Sfn|Foote|Wilson|1970|p=401}} would be used in the same manner as a {{lang|non|blótspánn}}.

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.

A recent study of runic magic suggests that runes were used to create magical objects such as amulets,{{Sfn|MacLeod|Mees|2006}}{{Rp |needed=yes |date=March 2013}} but not in a way that would indicate that runic writing was any more inherently magical, than were other writing systems such as Latin or Greek.

===Medieval use===
[[Image:CodexRunicus.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Codex Runicus]], a [[vellum]] manuscript from approximately 1300 AD containing one of the oldest and best preserved texts of the [[Scanian Law]], is written entirely in runes.]]{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2017}}

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 create new runes, rename or rearrange its rune names slightly, or stop using obsolete runes completely, to accommodate these changes. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc has several runes peculiar to itself to represent [[diphthong]]s unique to (or at least prevalent in) Old English.

Some later runic finds are on monuments ([[runestone]]s), which often contain solemn inscriptions about people who died or performed great deeds. For a long time it was presumed 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.

In the mid-1950s, however, approximately 670 inscriptions, known as the [[Bryggen inscriptions]], were found in [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]].<ref>{{cite book
|last1       = William
|first1      = Gareth
|year        = 2007
|title       = West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300
|url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=U-2vCQAAQBAJ&q=%22rune-inscribed+sticks+from+bryggen%22&pg=PA473
|publisher   = [[Brill Publishers]]
|page        = 473
|access-date = 2018-05-22
|isbn      = 9789047421214
}}</ref> These inscriptions were made on wood and bone, often in the shape of sticks of various sizes, and contained information of an everyday nature—ranging from name tags, prayers (often in [[Latin]]), personal messages, business letters, and expressions of affection, to bawdy phrases of a profane and sometimes even of a vulgar nature. Following this find, it is nowadays commonly presumed that, at least in late use, Runic was a widespread and common writing system.

[[File:BM-ClogAlmanac.JPG|right|thumb|17th-century clog almanac collected by Sir [[Hans Sloane]], now in the collection of the British Museum]]

In the later Middle Ages, runes also were used in the [[runic calendar|clog almanacs]] (sometimes called ''Runic staff'', ''Prim'', or ''Scandinavian calendar'') of Sweden and [[Estonia]]. The authenticity of some monuments bearing Runic inscriptions found in Northern America is disputed; most of them have been dated to modern times.

===Runes in Eddic poetry===
In [[Norse mythology]], the runic alphabet is attested to a divine origin ({{langx|non|reginkunnr}}). This is attested as early as on the [[Noleby Runestone]] from {{circa|600 AD}} that reads {{lang|non|Runo fahi raginakundo toj[e'k]a...}}, meaning "I prepare the suitable divine rune..."<ref name="RUNDATAVG63">{{Citation |type=entry |contribution=Vg 63 |title=Rundata |edition=2.0 for Windows|title-link=Rundata }}.</ref> and in an attestation from the 9th century on the [[Sparlösa Runestone]], which reads {{lang|non|Ok rað runaʀ þaʀ rægi[n]kundu}}, meaning "And interpret the runes of divine origin".<ref name="RUNDATVG119">{{Citation |type=entry |contribution=Vg 119 |title=Rundata |edition=2.0 for Windows|title-link=Rundata }}.</ref> In the [[Poetic Edda]] poem {{lang|non|[[Hávamál]]}}, Stanza 80, the runes also are described as {{lang|non|reginkunnr}}:

{{Verse translation |lang=non
|Þat er þá reynt,
er þú at rúnum spyrr
inum reginkunnum,
þeim er gerðu ginnregin
ok fáði fimbulþulr,
þá hefir hann bazt, ef hann þegir.<ref name="Hávamál"/>
|
That is now proved,
what you asked of the runes,
of the potent famous ones,
which the great gods made,
and the mighty sage stained,
that it is best for him if he stays silent.{{Sfn|Larrington|1999|p=25}}
}}

The poem {{lang|non|Hávamál}} explains that the originator of the runes was the major deity, [[Odin]]. Stanza 138 describes how Odin received the runes through self-sacrifice:

{{Verse translation |lang=non
|Veit ek at ek hekk vindga meiði a
netr allar nío,
geiri vndaþr ok gefinn Oðni,
sialfr sialfom mer,
a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn.
|
I know that I hung on a windy tree
[[numbers in Norse mythology|nine]] long nights,
wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run.{{Sfn|Larrington|1999|p=34}}
}}

In stanza 139, Odin continues:

{{Verse translation |lang=non
|Við hleifi mik seldo ne viþ hornigi,
nysta ek niþr,
nam ek vp rvnar,
opandi nam,
fell ek aptr þaðan.
|
No bread did they give me nor a [[drinking horn|drink from a horn]],
downwards I peered;
I took up the runes,
screaming I took them,
then I fell back from there.{{Sfn|Larrington|1999|p=34}}
}}

In the Poetic Edda poem {{lang|non|[[Rígsþula]]}} another origin is related of how the runic alphabet became known to humans. The poem relates how {{lang|non|[[Ríg (Norse god)|Ríg]]|italic=no}}, identified as {{lang|non|[[Heimdall]]|italic=no}} in the introduction, sired three sons—{{lang|non|[[Thrall]]|italic=no}} (slave), {{lang|non|[[Churl]]|italic=no}} (freeman), and {{lang|non|[[Jarl (title)|Jarl]]|italic=no}} (noble)—by human women. These sons became the ancestors of the three classes of humans indicated by their names. When Jarl reached an age when he began to handle weapons and show other signs of nobility, {{lang|non|Ríg|italic=no}} returned and, having claimed him as a son, taught him the runes. In 1555, the exiled Swedish archbishop {{lang|non|[[Olaus Magnus]]|italic=no}} recorded a tradition that a man named {{lang|non|[[Kettil Runske]]|italic=no}} had stolen three rune staffs from Odin and learned the runes and their magic.

==Runic alphabets==
{{Redirects here|Futhark|the programming language|Futhark (programming language)}}
=== Elder Futhark (2nd to 8th centuries) ===
{{Main |Elder Futhark}}
[[File:Inscription on Golden horn of Gallehus.jpg|thumb|right|Detail of the Elder Futhark inscription on a replica of one of the 5th-century AD [[Golden Horns of Gallehus]] found on [[Jutland]], now Denmark]]

The Elder Futhark, used for writing [[Proto-Norse]], consists of 24 runes that often are arranged in three groups of eight; each group is referred to as an ''[[Elder Futhark#Description|ætt]]'' (Old Norse, meaning '[[Norse clans|clan, group]]'). The earliest known sequential listing of the full set of 24 runes dates to approximately AD 400 and is found on the [[Kylver Stone]] in [[Gotland]], Sweden.

Each rune most likely had a name which was chosen to represent the sound of the rune itself. The names are, however, not directly attested for the Elder Futhark themselves. [[Germanic philology|Germanic philologists]] [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstruct]] names in [[Proto-Germanic]] based on the names given for the runes in the later alphabets attested in the [[rune poem]]s and the linked names of the letters of the [[Gothic alphabet]]. For example, the letter /a/ was named from the runic [[Alphabet|letter]] [[Image:Runic letter ansuz.svg|20x16px]] called [[Ansuz (rune)|Ansuz]]. An asterisk before the rune names means that they are [[Attested language|unattested]] [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstruction]]s. The 24 Elder Futhark runes are the following:{{Sfn | Page | 2005 | pp= 8, 15–16}}

{{Elder Futhark}}

=== Anglo-Saxon runes (5th to 11th centuries) ===
{{Main|Anglo-Saxon runes}}
[[Image:Anglosaxonrunes.svg|thumb|right|The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc]]

The Anglo-Saxon runes, also known as the ''futhorc'' (sometimes written ''fuþorc''), are an extended alphabet, consisting of 29, and later 33, characters. It was probably used from the 5th century onwards. There are competing theories as to the origins of the Anglo-Saxon (also called Anglo-Frisian) Futhorc. One theory proposes that it was developed in [[Frisia]] and later spread to [[England]],{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} while another holds that Scandinavians introduced runes to England, where the futhorc was modified and exported to Frisia.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Some examples of futhorc inscriptions are found on the [[Thames scramasax]], in the [[Vienna Codex (Anglo-Saxon)|Vienna Codex]], in [[Cotton Otho]] B.x ([[Anglo-Saxon rune poem]]) and on the [[Ruthwell Cross]].

The Anglo-Saxon rune poem gives the following characters and names: {{script|Runr|ᚠ}} feoh, {{script|Runr|ᚢ}} ur, {{script|Runr|ᚦ}} þorn, {{script|Runr |ᚩ}} os, {{script|Runr|ᚱ}} rad, {{script|Runr|ᚳ}} cen, {{script|Runr|ᚷ}} gyfu, {{script|Runr|ᚹ}} ƿynn, {{script|Runr|ᚻ}} hægl, {{script|Runr|ᚾ}} nyd, {{script|Runr |ᛁ}} is, {{script|Runr|ᛄ}} ger, {{script|Runr |ᛇ}} eoh, {{script|Runr |ᛈ}} peorð, {{script|Runr|ᛉ}} eolh, {{script|Runr|ᛋ}} sigel, {{script|Runr|ᛏ}} tir, {{script|Runr|ᛒ}} beorc, {{script|Runr|ᛖ}} eh, {{script|Runr|ᛗ}} mann, {{script|Runr|ᛚ}} lagu, {{script|Runr|ᛝ}} ing, {{script|Runr|ᛟ}} œthel, {{script|Runr|ᛞ}} dæg, {{script|Runr|ᚪ}} ac, {{script|Runr|ᚫ}} æsc, {{script|Runr|ᚣ}} yr, {{script|Runr|ᛡ}} ior, {{script|Runr|ᛠ}} ear.

Extra runes attested to outside of the rune poem include {{script|Runr|ᛢ}} cweorð, {{script|Runr|ᛣ}} calc, {{script|Runr|ᚸ}} gar, and {{script|Runr|ᛥ}} stan. Some of these additional letters have only been found in [[Pseudo-runes|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. Gyfu and wynn stood for the letters [[yogh]] and [[wynn]], which became [g] and [w] in [[Middle English]].

==="Marcomannic runes" (8th to 9th centuries)===
[[Image:Marcomannic.PNG|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Marcomanni]]c runes]]

A runic alphabet consisting of a mixture of Elder Futhark with Anglo-Saxon futhorc is recorded in a treatise called ''De Inventione Litterarum'', ascribed to [[Hrabanus Maurus]] and preserved in 8th- and 9th-century manuscripts mainly from the southern part of the [[Carolingian Empire]] ([[Alemannia]], [[Bavaria]]). The manuscript text attributes the runes to the ''Marcomanni, quos nos Nordmannos vocamus'', and hence traditionally, the alphabet is called "Marcomannic runes", but it has no connection with the [[Marcomanni]], and rather is an attempt of Carolingian scholars to represent all letters of the Latin alphabets with runic equivalents.

[[Wilhelm Grimm]] discussed these runes in 1821.<ref>{{Citation | last = Grimm | first = William | year = 1821 | author-link = Wilhelm Grimm | title = Ueber deutsche Runen |trans-title=Concerning German runes | language = de | chapter = 18 | pages = 149–59}}.</ref>

===Younger Futhark (9th to 11th centuries)===
{{Main |Younger Futhark}}
[[Image:Yngre futharken.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Younger Futhark]]: long-branch runes and short-twig runes]]
[[Image:Sigurd.svg|left|thumb|While also featuring a runic inscription detailing the erection of a bridge for a loved one, the 11th-century [[Sigurd stones#Sö 101|Ramsung carving]] is a [[Sigurd stones|Sigurd stone]] that depicts the legend of [[Sigurd]].]]

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 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 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).

===Medieval runes  (12th to 15th centuries)===
{{Main |Medieval runes}}
[[Image:Medeltida runor.svg|upright=1.85|right|thumb|[[Medieval runes]] ]]
[[Image:Saleby kyrkklocka, Västergötland.png|left|thumb|A church bell from Saleby, [[Västergötland]], Sweden, including a runic inscription from 1228 AD]]

In the Middle Ages, the Younger Futhark in Scandinavia was expanded, so that it once more contained one sign for each phoneme of the [[Old Norse language]]. Dotted variants of [[voiceless]] signs were introduced to denote the corresponding [[voiced]] consonants, or vice versa, voiceless variants of voiced consonants, and several new runes also appeared for vowel sounds. Inscriptions in medieval Scandinavian runes show a large number of variant rune forms, and some letters, such as ''s'', ''c'', and ''z'' often were used interchangeably.{{Sfn | Jacobsen | Moltke | 1942 | p = vii}}{{Sfn | Werner | 2004 | p = 20}}

Medieval runes were in use until the 15th century. Of the total number of Norwegian runic inscriptions preserved today, most are medieval runes.  Notably, more than 600 inscriptions using these runes have been discovered in [[Bergen (Norway)|Bergen]] since the 1950s, mostly on wooden sticks (the so-called [[Bryggen inscriptions]]). This indicates that runes were in common use side by side with the Latin alphabet for several centuries. Indeed, some of the medieval runic inscriptions are written in Latin.

===Dalecarlian runes (16th to 19th centuries)===
{{Main|Dalecarlian runes}}
[[Image:Dalrunor.svg|upright=1.85|thumb|[[Dalecarlian runes]] ]]

According to Carl-Gustav Werner, "In the isolated province of [[Dalarna]] in Sweden a mix of runes and Latin letters developed."{{Sfn | Werner | 2004 | p = 7}}  The Dalecarlian runes came into use in the early 16th century and remained in some use up to the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brix |first=Lise |title=Isolated people in Sweden only stopped using runes 100 years ago |date=May 21, 2015 |url=http://sciencenordic.com/isolated-people-sweden-only-stopped-using-runes-100-years-ago |work=ScienceNordic |access-date=July 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719042236/http://sciencenordic.com/isolated-people-sweden-only-stopped-using-runes-100-years-ago |url-status=live }}</ref> Some discussion remains on whether their use was an unbroken tradition throughout this period or whether people in the 19th and 20th centuries learned runes from books written on the subject. The character inventory was used mainly for transcribing [[Swedish (language)|Swedish]] in areas where [[Elfdalian]] was predominant.

==Differences from Roman script==
While Roman script would ultimately replace runes in most contexts, it differed significantly from runic script. For example, on the differences between the use of Anglo-Saxon runes and the Latin script that would come to replace them, runologist Victoria Symons says:

<blockquote>As well as being distinguished from the roman alphabet in visual appearance and letter order, the fuþorc is further set apart by the fact that, unlike their roman counterparts, runic letters are often associated not only with sound values but also with names. These names are often nouns and, in almost all instances, they begin with the sound value represented by the associated letter. ... The fact that each rune represents [both] a sound value and a word gives this writing system a multivalent quality that further distinguishes it from roman script. A roman letter simply represents its sound value. When used, for example, for the purpose of pagination, such letters can assume added significance, but this is localised to the context of an individual manuscript. Runic letters, on the other hand, are inherently multivalent; they can, and often do, represent several different kinds of information simultaneously. This aspect of runic letters is one that is frequently employed and exploited by writers and scribes who include them in their manuscripts.{{Sfn | Symons | 2016 | p = 6-7}}</blockquote>

==Use as ideographs (''Begriffsrunen'')==
In addition to their historic use as letters in the runic alphabets, runes were also used to represent their names ([[ideograph]]s). Such instances are sometimes referred to by way of the modern German loan word ''Begriffsrunen'', meaning 'concept-runes' (singular ''Begriffsrune''). The criteria for the use of ''Begriffsrunen'' and the frequency of their use by ancient rune-writers remains controversial.<ref name="BEGRIFFSRUNEN-DEFINED">See discussion in for example {{Harvnb|Düwel|2004}}: 123–124 and {{Harvnb|Looijenga|2003}}: 17.</ref> The topic of ''Begriffsrunen'' has produced much discussion among runologists. Runologist [[Klaus Düwel]] has proposed two criteria for the identification of runes as ''Begriffsrunen'': A graphic argument and a semantic argument.<ref name="BEGRIFFSRUNEN-DEFINED"/>

Examples of ''Begriffsrunen'' (or potential ''Begriffsrunen'') include the following:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Inscription
!Date
!Script
!Language
!Rune
!Notes
|-
|[[Lindholm amulet]]
|2nd to 4th centuries
|[[Elder Futhark]]
|[[Proto-Norse]]
|Several different runes
|In this inscription, several runes repeat in a sentence to form an unknown meaning. Various scholars have proposed that these runes represent repeated ''Begriffsrunen''.
|-
|[[Ring of Pietroassa]]
|250–400 AD
|Elder Futhark
|[[Gothic art|Gothic]]
|[[Odal (rune)]]
|This object was cut by thieves, damaging one of the runes. The identity of this rune was debated by scholars until a photograph of it was republished that, according to runologist Bernard Mees, clearly indicates it to have been [[Odal (rune)]].<ref name="MACLEOD-MEES-2006-173">MacLeod & Mees 2006: 173.</ref>
|-
|[[Stentoften Runestone]]
|500–700 AD
|Elder Futhark
|[[Proto-Norse]]
|[[Jēran]]
|This inscription is commonly cited as containing a ''Begriffsrune''.<ref name="BEGRIFFSRUNEN-DEFINED"/>
|}

In addition to the instances above, several different runes occur as ideographs in Old English and Old Norse manuscripts (featuring [[Anglo-Saxon runes]] and [[Younger Futhark]] runes respectively). Runologist Thomas Birkett summarizes these numerous instances as follows:

{{blockquote|The ''maðr'' rune is found regularly in Icelandic manuscripts, the ''fé'' rune somewhat less frequently, whilst in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts the runes ''mon'', ''dæg'', ''wynn'' and ''eþel'' are all used on occasion. These are some of the most functional of the rune names, occurring relatively often in written language, unlike the elusive ''peorð'', for example, which would be of little or no use as an abbreviation because of its rarity. The practicality of using an abbreviation for a familiar noun such as 'man' is demonstrated clearly in the Old Norse poem ''Hávamál'', where the ''maðr'' rune is used a total of forty-five times, saving a significant amount of space and effort (''Codex Regius'': 5–14)<ref name="BIRKETT">Birkett 2010: 1.</ref>}}

==Academic study==
{{Main |Runology}}

The modern study of runes was initiated during the Renaissance, by [[Johannes Bureus]] (1568–1652). Bureus viewed runes as holy or magical in a [[kabbalah|kabbalistic]] sense. The study of runes was continued by [[Olof Rudbeck|Olof Rudbeck Sr]] (1630–1702) and presented in his collection ''Atlantica''. [[Anders Celsius]] (1701–1744) further extended the science of runes and travelled around the whole of Sweden to examine the ''runstenar''.  From the  "golden age of [[philology]]" in the 19th century, runology formed a specialized branch of [[Germanic linguistics]].

==Body of inscriptions==
{{Main |Runic inscriptions}}
[[Image:Kam-med-runer-fra-Vimose DO-4148 2000.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Vimose inscriptions|Vimose Comb]] from the island of [[Funen]], Denmark, features the earliest known runic inscription (AD 150 to 200) and simply reads, ᚺᚨᚱᛃᚨ "Harja", a male name.<ref name="LOOIJENGA 2003: 160">Looijenga 2003: 160.</ref>]]

The largest group of surviving Runic inscription are [[Viking Age]] [[Younger Futhark]] runestones, commonly found in Denmark and Sweden.<ref>{{cite book
|last1       = de Gruyter
|first1      = Walter
|year        = 2002
|title       = The Nordic Languages, Volume 1
|url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=PBKxhq2p0PgC&q=%22Younger+Futhark+were+used+more%22&pg=PA700
|page        = 700
|publisher = Walter de Gruyter
|access-date = 2018-05-22
|isbn      = 9783110197051
}}</ref> Another large group are medieval runes, most commonly found on small objects, often wooden sticks. The largest concentration of runic inscriptions are the [[Bryggen inscriptions]] found in [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]], more than 650 in total. [[Elder Futhark]] inscriptions number around 350, about 260 of which are from Scandinavia, of which about half are on [[bracteate]]s. [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] inscriptions number around 100 items.

==Modern use==
{{main|Modern runic writing}}

Runic alphabets have seen numerous uses since the 18th-century [[Viking revival]], in Scandinavian [[Romantic nationalism]] ([[Gothicismus]]) and [[Germanic occultism]] in the 19th century, and in the context of the [[Fantasy]] genre and of [[modern Germanic paganism]] in the 20th century.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Esotericism===
==== Germanic mysticism and Nazi Germany ====
{{Further|Armanen runes|Wiligut runes|Runengymnastik}}
[[File:EBay 025.jpg|thumb|Runic script on an 1886 gravestone in [[Parkend]], [[England]] ]]

[[Image:Flag Schutzstaffel.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|From 1933, the [[Schutzstaffel unit insignia]] comprised two [[sig rune]]s, which derive from the [[Armanen runes|Armanen Futhark]], invented in the 19th century by ''völkisch'' author [[Guido von List]].]]
The pioneer of the ''[[Armanist]]'' branch of [[Ariosophy]] and one of the more important figures in [[esotericism in Germany and Austria]] in the late 19th and early 20th century was the [[Austria]]n occultist, mysticist, and [[völkisch]] author, [[Guido von List]]. In 1908, he published in ''[[Das Geheimnis der Runen]]'' ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of eighteen so-called, "[[Armanen runes]]", based on the Younger Futhark and runes of List's own introduction, which allegedly were revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after cataract operations on both eyes in 1902. The use of runes in [[Germanic mysticism]], notably List's "Armanen runes" and the derived "[[Wiligut runes]]" by [[Karl Maria Wiligut]], played a certain role in [[Nazi symbolism]]. The fascination with runic symbolism was mostly limited to [[Heinrich Himmler]], and not shared by the other members of the Nazi top echelon. Consequently, runes appear mostly in insignia associated with the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' ("SS"), the paramilitary organization led by Himmler. Wiligut is credited with designing the [[SS-Ehrenring]], which displays a number of "Wiligut runes".{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

====Modern paganism and esotericism====
Runes are popular in [[New Age]] esotericism, [[modern Germanic paganism]], and to a lesser extent in other forms of [[modern paganism]]. Various systems of [[Runic divination]] have been published since the 1980s, notably by [[Ralph Blum]] (1982), [[Stephen Flowers]] (1984, onward), [[Stephan Grundy]] (1990), and Nigel Pennick (1995).{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The [[Uthark theory]] originally was proposed as a scholarly hypothesis by [[Sigurd Agrell]] in 1932.
In 2002, Swedish esotericist [[Thomas Karlsson]] popularized this "Uthark" runic row, which he refers to as, the "night side of the runes", in the context of modern occultism.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

=== Bluetooth ===
[[File:BluetoothLogo.svg|thumb|224x224px|[[Bluetooth]] logo with the initials of [[Harald Bluetooth|Harald Blåtand]]]]

The [[Bluetooth]] logo is the combination of two runes of the [[Younger Futhark]], {{runic|ᚼ}} [[Haglaz|''hagall'']] and {{runic|ᛒ}} [[Berkanan|''bjarkan'']], equivalent to the letters H and B, that are the initials of [[Harald Bluetooth|Harald “Blåtand” Gormsson]]'s name (''Bluetooth'' in English), who was a king of Denmark from the [[Viking Age]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Fantasy Literature ===
{{See also|Cirth#Runes from The Hobbit}}

Runes play an important role in the horror story "Casting the Runes," by the academic Medievalist and ghost story author M. R. James, first published in his 1911 collection "More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary."  In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s novel ''[[The Hobbit]]'' (1937), the Anglo-Saxon runes are used on a map and on the title page to emphasize its connection to the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]]. They also were used in the initial drafts of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', but later were replaced by the [[Cirth]] rune-like alphabet invented by Tolkien, used to write the language of the Dwarves, [[Khuzdul]].  Following Tolkien, historical and fictional runes appear commonly in modern popular culture, particularly in [[fantasy literature]], like in [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'', where Runes is a subject taught at Hogwarts, also in the 7th book ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', Dumbledore gave Hermione a children's book called ''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'' which is written in runes.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Video, board and role-playing games===
Runes feature extensively in many video games that incorporate themes from early Germanic cultures, including ''[[Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice]]'', ''[[Jotun (video game)|Jøtun]]'', ''[[Northgard]]'' and ''[[God of War (franchise)|God of War]]''. They are used for a range of purposes including as names, symbols, decoration and on runestones that provide information about Nordic mythology and background for the game's narrative.{{sfn|Lysiane|2018|pp=16,20,35–36}}{{sfn|Northgard}}{{sfn|Hakala|2020|p=21}}

The 1992 video game ''[[Heimdall (video game)|Heimdall]]'' used runes as "magical symbols" associated with unnatural forces. [[Role-playing games]], such as the [[Ultima (series)#Artificial scripts and language|''Ultima'' series]], use a runic font for in-game signs and printed maps and booklets, and [[Metagaming Concepts|Metagaming]]'s ''[[The Fantasy Trip]]'' used rune-based cipher for clues and jokes throughout its publications.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Unicode==
{{Main|Runic (Unicode block)}}
[[File:Runen Schlagstempel.jpg|thumb|Runic steel stamps, Elder Futhark]]

Runic alphabets were added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in September, 1999 with the release of version 3.0.

The [[Unicode block]] for Runic alphabets is U+16A0–U+16FF. It is intended to encode the letters of the [[Elder Futhark]], the [[Anglo-Frisian runes]], and the [[Younger Futhark]] long-branch and short-twig (but not the staveless) variants, in cases where cognate letters have the same shape resorting to "[[Universal Character Set characters|unification]]".

The block as of Unicode 3.0 contained 81 symbols: 75 runic letters (U+16A0–U+16EA), 3 punctuation marks (Runic Single Punctuation U+16EB {{script|Runr|᛫}}, Runic Multiple Punctuation U+16EC {{script|Runr|᛬}} and Runic Cross Punctuation U+16ED {{script|Runr|᛭}}), and three runic symbols that are used in early modern [[runic calendar]] staves ("Golden number Runes", Runic [[Arlaug]] Symbol U+16EE {{script|Runr|ᛮ}}, Runic [[Tvimadur]] Symbol U+16EF {{script|Runr|ᛯ}}, Runic [[Belgthor]] Symbol U+16F0 {{script|Runr|ᛰ}}). As of Unicode 7.0 (2014), eight characters were added, three attributed to [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s mode of writing Modern English in Anglo-Saxon runes, and five for the "cryptogrammic" vowel symbols used in an inscription on the [[Franks Casket]].

{{Unicode chart Runic}}

==See also==
* ''[[Bautil]]''
* [[Gothic runic inscriptions]]
* [[Etruscan alphabet]]
* [[List of runestones]]
* {{Annotated link|Pentadic numerals}}
* [[Ogham]]
* [[Runiform (disambiguation)]], various scripts having a "rune-like" appearance
* [[Runic magic]]
* {{lang|sv|[[Sveriges runinskrifter]]}}
* [[Letter symbolism]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|25em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Northgard}}|title=Northgard – Balancing Patch 7 – July 2021 – Steam News |url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/466560/view/5016431176761421493 |website=store.steampowered.com |access-date=14 May 2022 |language=en |date=20 July 2021}}
* {{cite journal | first = Elmer H. | last = Antonsen | title = On Defining Stages in Prehistoric Germanic | journal = Language | volume = 41 | issue = 1 | pages = 19–36 | year = 1965 | doi = 10.2307/411849 | jstor = 411849 }}
<!--
* {{cite book | editor1-last = Bammesberger | editor1-first = A | editor2-first = G | editor2-last = Waxenberger | title = Das fuþark und Seine Einzelsprachlichen Weiterentwicklungen | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 2006 | isbn = 3-11-019008-7}} 
* {{cite book | last = Blum | first = Ralph | year = 1932 | title = The Book of Runes – A Handbook for the use of Ancient Oracle: The Viking Runes | series = Oracle Books | publisher = St. Martin's Press | place = New York | isbn = 0-312-00729-9}}.
* {{cite book | author-link = Erik Brate| last = Brate | first = Erik | year = 1922 | title = Sveriges Runinskrifter | url = http://www.runor.se/ | language = sv}}
-->
* Birkett, Thomas. 2010. "[https://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/7th-symposium-preprints/documents/birkett.pdf The ''alysendlecan'' rune: Runic abbreviations in their immediate literary context] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829090350/https://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/7th-symposium-preprints/documents/birkett.pdf |date=2021-08-29 }}". ''[https://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/7th-symposium-preprints/ Preprints to The 7th International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions, Oslo 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829090348/https://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/7th-symposium-preprints/ |date=2021-08-29 }}''. Last accessed 29 August 2021. [[University of Oslo]]. 
*{{cite book |last=de Vries|first=Jan|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch|publisher=Brill|year=1962|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|author-link=Jan de Vries (philologist)}}
* {{cite book | last = Düwel | first = Klaus | year = 2001 | title = Runenkunde | publisher = JB Metzler | language = de |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Düwel |first=Klaus |date=2004 |chapter=Runic |editor1-first=Malcolm |editor1-last=Read |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-last=Murdoch |title=Early Germanic Literature and Culture |pages=121–147 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=9781571131997}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Foote | first1 = P. G. | last2 = Wilson | first2 = D. M. | year = 1970 | page = 401 | title = The Viking Achievement | publisher = Sidgwick & Jackson | place = London | isbn = 978-0-283-97926-2}}
* {{cite book |first1 =Lis |last1 =Jacobsen |last2= Moltke |first2= Erik |author2-link= Erik Moltke | title = Danmarks Runeindskrifter |publisher=Ejnar Munksgaards |location=Copenhagen |year=1942}}
*{{cite book |last=Koch|first=John T.|title=Celto-Germanic, Later Prehistory and Post-Proto-Indo-European vocabulary in the North and West|publisher=Aberystwyth Canolfan Uwchefrydiau Cymreig a Cheltaidd Prifysgol Cymru, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies|year=2020|url=https://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Centre/2020/Celto-Germanic2020.pdf|isbn=9781907029325|author-link=John T. Koch|access-date=2021-12-07|archive-date=2021-11-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125063756/https://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Centre/2020/Celto-Germanic2020.pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book | last = Larrington | first = Carolyne |translator=Larrington | year = 1999 | title = The Poetic Edda | series = [[Oxford World's Classics]] | isbn = 978-0-19-283946-6}}
* {{cite book | last= Looijenga |first= Tineke | title = Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |year = 2003 |isbn= 978-90-04-12396-0}}
* {{cite thesis | last = Looijenga | first = JH | year = 1997 | url = http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/ | title = Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150–700 | publisher = Groningen University | access-date = 2006-02-06 | archive-date = 2006-07-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060728220636/http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/ | url-status = live }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lysiane |first1=Lasausse |title=Norse mythology in video games : part of immanent Nordic regional branding |journal=University of Helsinki |date=2018 |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/236122}}
* {{cite book | last1 = MacLeod | first1 = Mindy | last2 = Mees | first2 = Bernard | year = 2006 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hx7UigqsTKoC | title = Runic Amulets and Magic Objects | publisher = [[Boydell Press]] | place = Woodbridge, UK; Rochester, NY | isbn = 978-1-84383-205-8 | access-date = 2020-09-12 | archive-date = 2020-09-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200919191036/https://books.google.com/books?id=hx7UigqsTKoC | url-status = live }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Markey | first1= TL | year= 2001 | title= A Tale of the Two Helmets: Negau A and B | journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies | volume=29 | pages=69–172}}<!--
* {{cite book | last1 = McKinnell | first1 = John | first2 = Rudolf | last2 = Simek | author2-link = Rudolf Simek | first3 = Klaus | last3 = Düwel | year = 2004 | title = Runes, Magic, and Religion: A Sourcebook | place = Wien | publisher = Fassbaender | isbn = 39-00-53881-6}} -->
* {{cite journal | last = Mees | first = Bernard | year = 2000 | title = The North Etruscan Thesis of the Origin of the Runes | journal = Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi | volume = 115 | pages = 33–82}}
* {{cite book | last = Odenstedt | first = Bengt | year = 1990 | title = On the Origin and Early History of the Runic Script | place = Uppsala, Sweden |publisher= Gustav Adolfs akademien | isbn = 978-91-85352-20-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Orel|first=Vladimir E.|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofgerman0000orel|title=A Handbook of Germanic Etymology |year=2003|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-12875-0|author-link=Vladimir Orel|url-access=registration}}<!--
* {{cite book | author-link = Raymond Ian Page| last = Page | first = Raymond Ian | year = 1999 | title = An Introduction to English Runes | publisher = The Boydell Press | place = Woodbridge | isbn = 0-85115-946-X}} -->
* {{cite book | author-link = Raymond Ian Page| last = Page | first = Raymond Ian | year = 2005 | title = Runes | page = 31 | publisher = The British Museum Press | isbn = 978-0-7141-8065-6}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hakala |first1=Pyry |title=Modern Trends in God of War |journal=Tampere University |date=2020 |url=https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/120923 |language=en}}
* {{cite journal | first1 = Herbert | last1 = Penzl | first2 = Margaret Austin | last2 = Hall | journal = Language |date=Mar 1994a | volume = 70 | number = 1  | pages = 185–89 | type = review | title = The Cambridge history of the English language, vol. I: the beginnings to 1066 | jstor = 416753 | issn = 0097-8507 | eissn=1535-0665 | doi=10.2307/416753}}
* {{cite book | first1 = Herbert | last1 = Penzl | first2 = Margaret Austin | last2 = Hall | volume = 82 | series = Germanistische Lehrbuchsammlung: Literatur | publisher = Lang | year = 1994b | isbn = 978-3-906751-79-5 | title = Englisch: Eine Sprachgeschichte nach Texten von 350 bis 1992 : vom Nordisch-Westgermanischen zum Neuenglischen}}<!--
* {{cite journal | last = Prosdocimi | first = A. L. | year = 2003–2004 | language = Italian | title = Sulla Formazione Dell'alfabeto Runico. Promessa di Novità Documentali Forse Decisive | journal = Archivio per l'Alto Adige | volume = XCVII–XCVIII | pages = 427–40}}
* {{cite journal | last = Rix | first = Robert W. | title = Runes and Roman: Germanic Literacy and the Significance of Runic Writing | journal = Textual Cultures | volume = 6 | issue = 1 | page = 115 | year = 2011 | doi = 10.2979/textcult.6.1.114 | jstor = 10.2979/textcult.6.1.114}}
* {{cite book | last = Robinson | first = Orrin W. | year = 1992 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mmCqKS6rb04C | title = Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages | publisher = Stanford University Press | isbn = 0-8047-1454-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Spurkland | first = Terje | year = 2005 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1QDKqY-NWvUC& | title = Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions | publisher = Boydell Press | isbn = 1-84383-186-4}} -->
* {{cite book | last = Stoklund | first = M. | year = 2003 | contribution = The first runes – the literary language of the Germani | title = The Spoils of Victory – the North in the Shadow of the Roman Empire | publisher = Nationalmuseet}}
* {{cite book | last = Symons | first = Victoria | year = 2016 | title = Runes and Roman Letters in Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts | publisher = De Gruyter }}
* {{cite book | title = The Unaccented Vowels of Proto-Norse | volume = 11 | series = North-Western European Language Evolution | first = Martin | last = Syrett | publisher = John Benjamins | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-87-7838-049-4}}
<!--
* {{cite book | last=Thorsson | first=Edred | first2=Stephen |last2=Flowers | year=1987 | title = Runelore: a Handbook of Esoteric Runology  | publication-place = United States | publisher = Samuel Weiser | isbn = 0-87728-667-1}}
-->
* {{cite journal | last = Weisgerber | first = Johannes Leo | date = 1966–1967 | title = Frühgeschichtliche Sprachbewegungen im Kölner Raum (mit 8 Karten) | journal = Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter | language = de}} 
* {{cite book | last = Weisgerber | first = Johannes Leo | year = 1968 | title = Die Namen der Ubier | place = Cologne | publisher = Opladen | language = de }} 
* {{cite book | last = Werner | first = Carl-Gustav | year = 2004 | url = ftp://tug.ctan.org/pub/tex-archive/fonts/allrunes/allrunes.pdf | title = The Allrunes Font and Package | publisher = The Comprehensive Tex Archive Network | access-date = 2006-06-21 | archive-date = 2017-10-20 | archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171020085541/ftp://tug.ctan.org/pub/tex-archive/fonts/allrunes/allrunes.pdf | url-status = live }} 
* {{cite journal | last = Williams | first = Henrik | year = 1996 | title = The Origin of the Runes | journal = Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik | volume = 45 | pages = 211–18| doi = 10.1163/18756719-045-01-90000019 }}
<!--
* {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Henrik | editor-last= Houston | editor-first = Stephen D. | contribution = Reasons for Runes | title= The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process | publisher = Cambridge University Press |year=2004 | pages=262–73 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jsWL_XJt-dMC |isbn = 0-521-83861-4}}

-->
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons |Runes}}
{{wikiversity |Rune Yoga}}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/nytt-om-runer/ | title= Nytt om Runer | type = runology journal | publisher = UIO | place = [[Norway|NO]] }}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.galinngrund.org/Runes-Bibliography.htm | title = Bibliography of Runic Scholarship | publisher = Galinn grund | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080905182709/http://www.galinngrund.org/Runes-Bibliography.htm | archive-date = 2008-09-05 }}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.christerhamp.se/runor/gamla/ | title = Gamla Runinskrifter | publisher = Christer hamp | place = [[Sweden|SE]]}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Runes, Runic Language and Inscriptions| volume= 23 |last= Gosse |first= Edmund William |author-link= Edmund William Gosse | pages = 852–853|short=x}}
* {{Citation | url = http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue47/8/index.html | title = Maeshowe: The Application of RTI to Norse Runes (Data Paper)| year=2018  | journal = Internet Archaeology| doi = 10.11141/ia.47.8| last1 = Smith| first1 = Nicole| last2 = Beale| first2 = Gareth| last3 = Richards| first3 = Julian| last4 = Scholma-Mason| first4 = Nela| issue = 47| s2cid = 165773006| doi-access = free}}
* [https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/norol Old Norse Online] by Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, free online lessons at the [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc Linguistics Research Center] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]], contains a [https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/norol/100 lesson on runic inscriptions]
* [https://frisiacoasttrail.blog/2023/11/12/scratching-runes-is-no-different-from-spraying-your-tag-on-a-piece/ ''Scratching runes was not much different from spraying tags''], Frisia Coast Trail (2023)

{{Runes}}
{{List of writing systems}}
{{Germanic peoples}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runic Alphabet}}
[[Category:Runes| ]]
[[Category:Runology| ]]
[[Category:Alphabets]]
[[Category:Germanic culture]]
[[Category:Language and mysticism]]
[[Category:Magic symbols]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]