Runes

Runes are the <a href="/facts/Letter_(alphabet)/uRnrbGIJ">letters</a> in a set of related <a href="/facts/Alphabet/vqfRpS3E">alphabets</a>, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see futhark vs runic alphabet), native to the <a href="/facts/Germanic_peoples/N16QoPA7">Germanic peoples</a>. Runes were primarily used to represent a sound value (a <a href="/facts/Phoneme/EXGHlJ7a">phoneme</a>) but they were also used to represent the concepts after which they are named (<a href="/facts/Ideographic_rune/oXHTUYN8">ideographic runes</a>). <a href="/facts/Runology/Ic3QJmMI">Runology</a> is the academic study of the runic alphabets, <a href="/facts/Runic_inscriptions/kcfrBjbW">runic inscriptions</a>, <a href="/facts/Runestones/a4J4IEuP">runestones</a>, and their history. Runology forms a specialised branch of <a href="/facts/Germanic_philology/tk790atD">Germanic philology</a>.
The earliest secure runic inscriptions date from at latest AD 150, with a possible earlier inscription dating to AD 50 and <a href="/facts/Tacitus/u6m0E441">Tacitus</a>'s possible description of rune use from around AD 98. The <a href="/facts/Svingerud_Runestone/v5G4f2W1">Svingerud Runestone</a> dates from between AD 1 and 250. Runes were generally replaced by the <a href="/facts/Latin_alphabet/pqWVHpBz">Latin alphabet</a> as the cultures that had used runes underwent <a href="/facts/Christianisation/ofJwq42c">Christianisation</a>, by approximately AD 700 in central Europe and 1100 in <a href="/facts/Northern_Europe/u77t0yJI">northern Europe</a>. However, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes beyond this period. Up until the early 20th century, runes were still used in rural <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a> for decorative purposes in <a href="/facts/Dalarna/3Fv6KAAe">Dalarna</a> and on <a href="/facts/Runic_calendar/dn59Gp9a">runic calendars</a>.
The three best-known runic alphabets are the <a href="/facts/Elder_Futhark/9KfAExKa">Elder Futhark</a> (c. AD 150–800), the <a href="/facts/Anglo-Saxon_runes/XNUo4zMb">Anglo-Saxon Futhorc</a> (400–1100), and the <a href="/facts/Younger_Futhark/cVcDDaab">Younger Futhark</a> (800–1100). The Younger Futhark is divided further into the long-branch runes (also called Danish, although they were also used in <a href="/facts/Norway/wlDRKRTR">Norway</a>, <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>, and <a href="/facts/Frisia/0CTIG8Qr">Frisia</a>); short-branch, or <a href="/facts/R%25C3%25B6k_runestone/T2fhs72Y">Rök</a>, runes (also called Swedish–Norwegian, although they were also used in <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Denmark</a>); and the stavlösa, or Hälsinge, runes (<a href="/facts/Staveless_runes/BJ6bDg06">staveless runes</a>). The Younger Futhark developed further into the <a href="/facts/Medieval_runes/52vVzcde">medieval runes</a> (1100–1500), and the <a href="/facts/Dalecarlian_runes/spD8Bl3y">Dalecarlian runes</a> (c. 1500–1800).
The exact development of the early runic alphabet remains unclear but the script ultimately stems from the <a href="/facts/Phoenician_alphabet/Vr4smuYg">Phoenician alphabet</a>. Early runes may have developed from the <a href="/facts/Raetic_alphabet/4r5FLUvU">Raetic</a>, <a href="/facts/Old_Italic_alphabet/4r5FLUvU">Venetic</a>, <a href="/facts/Etruscan_alphabet/vSu8y2RQ">Etruscan</a>, or <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Latin_alphabet/mGT54DaI">Old Latin</a> as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for <a href="/facts/Epigraphy/E9UbNeDh">epigraphy</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Irminones/RQAuQSvJ">Elbe Germanic</a> groups, while a "<a href="/facts/Goths/L0oobUSm">Gothic</a> hypothesis" presumes transmission via East Germanic <a href="/facts/Chernyakhov_culture/lWeIuwB9">expansion</a>. Runes continue to be used in a wide variety of ways in modern popular culture.

Runes open-in-new

Runes