King’s College 2004 v Mistress Gunnvör sílfrahárr
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Sources: Runic Inscriptions
Runes and Runestones
vWhat are runes?
wRunic script comprises a
family of related writing systems. Runes have been used from at least the 2nd century AD to
the 16th century.
wRunic inscriptions
appear both on large stones and on portable objects. The runic alphabet of the Germanic world is
called the futhark, which is simply the first six letters of this alphabet
pronounced in sequence.
The individual letters are referred to as runes.
vRunic alphabets
wBefore the Viking
Age: Elder Futhark (24 runes, ca. 0 to
c.650 AD)
wViking Age: Younger Futhark (16 runes, Danish and Swedish-Norwegian variants exist, dating c.650-ca.1050)
wMedieval Futhork: (27 runes, c. 1050 to c. 1400). Latin script had completely replaced the runes by the end of the third
period.
