Let's start with a clear explanation, what are runes?
Runes are characters used to record sounds, form words, and convey meaning - functionally an alphabet. Their earliest securely dated carvings in Scandinavia reach back to the first centuries of our era. In 2021, the Svingerud Stone found near Tyrifjord, Norway, pushed known runic history even earlier with inscriptions dated to roughly 0-250 CE.
While runes are most abundant in Scandinavia, inscriptions also appear across Germanic-speaking regions of Europe. For clarity, this guide centers on the Scandinavian tradition while noting key related alphabets.
Why do runes look so angular?
Most runes are built from straight strokes. That’s no accident: carvers worked in wood, bone, and stone, where straight lines are easier to incise and less likely to split along the grain. You’ll also notice few horizontal cuts across the grain on wooden pieces—another practical choice to avoid cracking.
The First Runic Language
The oldest runic inscriptions are linked to Proto-Norse, an early branch of the Proto-Germanic continuum that later diversified into the North Germanic (Nordic) languages. Because pronunciation shifted over time and early texts are brief, scholars reconstruct rather than definitively know the sound values for the earliest system, the Elder Futhark.
👉 Buy Elder Futhark Runes Ring >>
A famous early artifact is the Vimose comb from Denmark (c. 160 CE), inscribed with harja. It may be a personal name (“Harja”) or possibly “warrior.” The same word appears centuries later on a Swedish runestone, showing both continuity and change in the tradition.
Runes in VarVar Jewelry
1. “Web of Wyrd” / “Skuld’s Net” — Fate, interconnection, memory
👉 Buy Web of Wyrd with Othala Rune Pendant >>
What does this rune mean? A modern symbol popular in Norse-inspired art and jewelry. It visualizes the weave of wyrd, the interlacing of past, present, and future, and is often associated with the Norns who shape destiny.
2. Othala / Othila / Ōþala (ᛟ) — Heritage, homeland, legacy
The rune is called Elder Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
What does this rune mean? Inherited estate/ancestral property. The Old English Rune Poem glosses it as the dear home where one enjoys rightful prosperity.
3. Algiz / Elhaz (ᛉ) → later Yr (ᛦ) — Protection, warding, skill
In Elder Futhark, the “z-rune” commonly dubbed Algiz; in Younger Futhark, the Yr rune (ᛦ) occupies the final position and later shades toward the ʀ-sound in Old Norse.
What does this rune mean? In later tradition and much modern usage, Algiz/Yr is read as protection/warding (often linked to the elk’s antlers).
Chronicle of runes
1. Elder Futhark (c. 1st–8th centuries)
The oldest widely attested runic row. As sound systems shifted, so did the script.
2. Younger Futhark (c. 8th–11th centuries)
By the Viking Age, words tended to shorten (e.g., stainaR → stæin, wulfaR → ulfR, jara → ar). The script condensed to 16 signs, capturing a changed phonology and relying more on context to disambiguate sounds.
Variations include:
- Short-twig runes (prominent on Sweden’s Rök stone; also found in Norway, e.g., the Oseberg ship finds).
- Staveless (Hälsinge) runes, a minimalist local style in Hälsingland, Sweden.
- Secret (lönn) runes, which encode the rune’s position within the futhark using visual patterns—puzzles for insiders.
3. Medieval Rune Rows (c. 11th–14th centuries; later in some regions)
As Latin writing spread, runes adapted: new characters were coined to mirror Latin letters. Even so, “official” rows often still listed 16 core runes while extra signs circulated in practice.
How do we know the rune order?
Archaeological finds preserve full alphabets, confirming order and membership:
- Kylver stone (Sweden, 4th century): the oldest complete Elder Futhark row.
- Vadstena and Grumpa bracteates (Sweden): medallions bearing the row.
- For Younger Futhark, an early (and macabre) witness is an 8th-century skull fragment from Ribe, Denmark, carved on the inside; the Gørlev stone (Denmark, 9th century) presents a complete row.
Where Did Runes Come From?
- Mythic origin
In the Hávamál (Poetic Edda), Odin hangs on the world tree Yggdrasil and “takes up the runes,” gifting them to humankind. Some early runestones (e.g., Noleby and Sparlösa in Sweden) even say the runes were “invented by the gods.”
👉 Buy Yggdrasil Ring in silver or gold
- Greek theory
Runes adapted from Greek cursive plus Roman elements by the Goths (c. 250 CE). Dating of early finds now makes this timing unlikely.
- Etruscan/North Italic theory
Borrowing from North Italic alphabets modeled on Etruscan, possibly in southern Germany late 1st century BCE. Archaeology doesn’t yet support such an origin locus.
- Latin theory (widely favored)
Runes inspired by Roman letter forms during intense contact along the frontier—yet the rune shapes and sound values aren’t one-to-one copies. The system is distinct, not merely a transliteration of Latin.
The short answer: runes likely arose amid cultural contact with the Roman world, then became a unique Germanic script tailored to local sounds and materials.
FAQs
1. Are Viking runes “magical” symbols?
They’re first and foremost a writing system. That said, inscriptions and poems show people also used runes for ritual, commemoration, and coded messages (e.g., secret runes). Meanings layered over time, especially in medieval and modern esoteric traditions.
2. Did everyone read runes?
Literacy often concentrated among specialists and elites in ancient societies. Every day inscriptions on tools and sticks suggest wider practical use, but survival bias makes numbers hard to estimate.
3. Why do some inscriptions look so different?
Regional styles, time period, material, and purpose matter. A memorial stone in granite, a quick message on a wooden stick, and a coded “secret rune” puzzle can look and read very differently.
