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Runes and Writing

Dear Viking Answer Lady:

I have been tasked with creating an SCA award scroll for a person with a Viking persona. What kind of runes do I use?

(signed) Seeking C&I Info

Gentle Reader:

Gentle Reader,

You have fallen prey to a common misconception, that the runic alphabet was commonly used for writing such documents as awards and charters. If you have a Viking Age person receiving this award, then it would probably be best to inscribe the runes onto an object, such as a two or four-sided wooden stave, or a sword, a stone, etc.

If the Gentle Reader really wishes to produce a scroll, then my recommendation would be to produce a Latin scroll text using one of the earlier manuscript hands as described below.

Another excellent idea is one developed by Master Johannes von Narrenstein. He suggests that since the sagas were written 200 to 300 years after the Viking Age in a time when the saga authors looked back with pride upon the accomplishments of their ancestors, the sagas may serve as models for scrolls for Vikings, provided the context of the scroll was understood as a recording of the deeds of the recipient from a time much after their own. Since the most precious thing for a Viking Age person was word fame, and to be remembered after their lifetime, this text from their "future" would be an excellent commemoration of the award.

Master Johannes created such a saga for the Laurelling of Mistress Jofridr of Mynydd Seren. He created her "Laurel scroll" as a small book of period sagas, with her award among them in saga format: "There was a woman named Jofridr," etc. Master Johannes says, "Much easier to store at home than a runestone."

Mistress Brynhildr jarla Kormáksdóttir uses a different approach. She creates Old Norse poetry, customized for the award recipient and based on their deeds and accomplishments. The rationale here is that such a praise poem could reasonably have accompanied an award or gift during the Viking Age, and as we see from poetry preserved in the sagas, poems were remembered and set down and written later. Thus this type of text would represent an oral poem created during the recipient's "lifetime" in the Viking Age, while the actual scroll or small book containing the poem would be from that person's "future".

So, what were runes used for if they weren't being used on manuscripts?

    Runes and Writing in Runes

    There are several runic alphabets, each used during a different period of time or in a specific location. These include the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark, the Anglo-Saxon Futhork, and others.

    During the Viking Age, beginning somewhat before 800 AD, the Younger Futhark came into use in Scandinavia. This alphabet uses only sixteen runes, and in many cases one symbol is used to represent many sounds. For instance, the K-rune-rune was used for both k and g, while the U-rune-rune was used for u, o, ø and w.

    Even when dealing with the Younger Futhark, there are several related but slightly different alphabets that vary by place and time. These can be roughly divided into two main types: the first is the "long-branch" or normal Younger Futhark, which are sometimes referred to as the "Danish runes".

    Younger Futhark Long Twig Form

    There is also a variant known as the "short-twig runes" in which the forms are simpler, also called the "Norwegian-Swedish runes".

    Younger Futhark Short Twig Form

    "Shorthand" versions of these futharks appeared, as did hybrid variants. What exact form was used depended on exactly what date one is looking at, and what region. By the Middle Ages, as the language changed and so did the runic alphabet. Gradually symbols were chaged, and new symbols adopted, resulting in a 16-rune alphabet plus extensions:

    Younger Futhark Medieval Form

    For a very nice summary of the exact form of the various runic alphabets used by country and by time, see Arild Hauge's Rune Pages.

    In the North, writing as we understand it was essentially a Christian technology. With a few exceptions, runes were only in use for short inscriptions of a memorial nature (such as on runestones), for identification (runes spelling a name on an object), or for magical purposes (runes used for healing or for curses, etc.) For example:

    Runestones

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    The Rök Runestone
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    Thorwald's Cross
     

    Runes for Identification

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    Baseplate of Ranveig's Casket, with inscription "Ranveig owns this casket"
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    Comb with English Name "Eadrinc" in Runes
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    Lucet with Runes
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    Back of Cloak Brooch with Inscription "Melbrigda owns [this] brooch"
       

    Magical Runes

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    Tablet-weaving tablet in antler with curse inscription: "Sigvor's Ingvar may have my bad luck"
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    Human skull fragment with runic inscription against aches, ca. 800 AD
     

    Most of the surviving Viking Age runic inscriptions come from runestones, which were erected as grave markers, memorials, and cenotaphs most often. By the Middle Ages in Scandinavia, runes came to be used occasionally to record Latin incriptions (approximately 10% of all medieval runic inscriptions are Latin) and these usually invocations of saints or prayers.

    Occasionally runes are found on various wooden items such as crosses. In Bergen, Norway, 110 "ownership tags" have been found, shaped in many cases so that they can be easily attached to goods or merchandise. Several runic "business memos" have also been discovered in Bergen, usually on a wooden stick which has been whittled flat on at least one side, with the most usual type having four flat sides for inscription. Since the runes occurred in a fixed order, carpenters and construction workers used them to label wooden roof beams for churches so that they went up in the correct order.

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    Ownership Tag reading "Gunnar Owns"
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    Business memo from Tore the Fair to his business partner Havgrim, from Bergen, ca. 1330 AD
     
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Were there no runic manuscripts anywhere?

    Aside from occasional runic marginalia found in Latin manuscripts, the only documented use for runes on parchment occurs around 1300 during the Scandinavian Middle Ages, when antiquarian interest led to some isolated use of runes in written documents. This medieval antiquarian revival was a period of intense interest in Viking Age poetry and history, and included such notable scholars as Snorri Sturluson, who authored the Prose Edda.

    The best known examples of runic manuscripts are the Codex Runicus, a compilation of the Skånske lov or Scanian Law of Denmark, and in Planctus Mariae, a translation of a religious text.

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    Sample of runic text from Codex Runicus
    See the Arnamanean Institute full size image
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OK, I've decided to use a medieval Scandinavian calligraphy style instead of runes. Can you tell me more about medieval Scandinavian calligraphy?

The most important point for the calligrapher to remember is that Scandinavia's calligraphy traditions came to them from the Continent and from England, and remained closely tied to styles and trends elsewhere from the introduction of Christianity throughout the medieval period.

    Scandinavian Manuscripts Basics

    After Christianity was introduced in Scandinavia, the Church brought with it the Christian technology of writing with ink on parchment or vellum, and later watermarked paper, which reached Scandinavia in the 14th century. Writing was done with quill pens, normally made from goose or swan feathers. While there were many types of inks, the normal color was black, usually with red accents and occasionally blue. After the black text was written, a rubricator would come back and add red titles and headings.

    The most usual form of parchment book is the codex, a book comprising one or more folded sheets. In the 14th century, it became customary to label or foliate the pages of the books, using some combination of letters and Roman numerals, for example, Ai, Aii, Aiii ... Axvii, followed by Bi, Bii and so on. Continuous pagination such as is used in modern books didn't become common until relatively modern times. The right bottom corner of each page usually had the first letter or syllable of the word which would begin the next page, called the custos, which served as an aid to ensure that the pages were bound in the correct order. A codex might be a folio, quarto, octavo, duodecimo, or sextodecimo, depending on whether the parchment sheet was folded to make two, four, eight, twelve, or sixteen leaves. Codices were usually bound in wooden boards covered with leather, and often had a clasp to close them.

    Some manuscripts were embellished with miniatures in colors, often with gold or silver leaf. The most common type of manuscript to recive this special ornamentation were liturgical documents and law codices. Initials could encompass not only decoration, but elaborate miniatures. Some manuscripts also included larger illustrations, often in the margins or page footers.

    Illuminated documents began appearing fairly early in Scandinavia, for instance the illuminated harmony of the Gospels, Dalbyboken, ca. 1050 AD. Icelandic illuminated books were fairly common in the 13th and 14th centuries, and there are very fine illustrations in the 15th and 16th centuries.

    Calligraphy and Text

    Abbreviations and Ligatures

      As with the rest of Western Europe, Scandinavian scribes used many types of abbreviation and ligatures, including:

      • suspension -- the omission of one or more letters at the end of a word, with the abbreviation being indicated by a point, colon, or stroke either over the word or under it

      • contraction -- omission of one or more letters in the middle of a word, with the abbreviation being marked by a stroke over the word. An example would be ds for Latin deus

      • superscript -- also known as interlinear letters, a special type of contraction where the missing letters appear in the space above the word, written between the lines of text

      • special abbreviation signs -- also known as Tironian notes, a system devised by a freedman of the Roman orator Cicero. This freedman, Tiro, devised a number of special symbols to stand for common word elements or short words such as et (or for Old Norse ok), con, er, re and so forth. Similar symbols came to be used in vernacular texts as well, more so in Norway than either Sweden or Denmark.

      When possible, many letter pairs that shared a common feature would be combined into a single character, called a ligature. The most familiar to modern eyes are æ and &. A ligature could represent a single sound, as in æ, or could represent distinct sounds, such as the s-k ligature.

    Caroline Miniscule/Insular Period (ca. 1050-1250 AD)

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    Caroline miniscule ca. end of 12th Century, from Reykjaholtsmáldagi, Iceland
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    Caroline-Insular miniscule ca. 1200, from Jordebók från Munkelivs kloster, Norway
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    Egils saga Skallagrimssonar Theta Fragment, mid-13th Century. See also the color plate below

      Documents using Caroline miniscule hands are in Latin and include manuscripts, books, and diplomas. The earliest book is Dalbyboken, ca. 1050 AD, and the earliest diploma is from 1135 AD.

      There are several differences between book script and documentary script, with documentary script being more conservatibe, utilizng features of Merovingian scripts from the Continent and it is not a true cursive. Documentary script differs from book script by the use of long ascenders and descenders and the looping decoration of minims and abbreviation signs.

      In Iceland and in Norway, in addition to the Caroline miniscule from the Continent, there was significant influence from Insular scripts introduced from England.

      Significant documents in this style include:

      • Dalbyboken, ca. 1050 AD, Denmark's oldest liturgical book.

      • Íslendingabók by Ari fróði of Iceland, ca. 1020 AD, utilizing Insular script.

      • First Grammatical Treatise, Icelandic ca. 1130's AD, utilizing Insular script.

      • Västgötalagen, ca. 1225-1250 AD, a Swedish law text which shows the influence of Insular and West Norse writing.

      • Necrologium Lundense, 12th century Danish book, includes about eight different hands and shows the development of writing over almost 100 years.

    Early Gothic (ca. 1250-1350 AD)

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    Gothic miniscule, Sweden, latter part of the 14th Century

      Latin sources include diplomas, chronicles, annals, necrologies, and town charters. Vernacular Danish sources include law texts, medical books, and religious literature.

      In this period documentary script differs from books script by becoming more cursive, i.e., more letters are written continuously without lifting the pen between each letter.

      Significant documents in this style include:

      • Skånske Lov, ca. 1250 AD, the Scanian Law of Denmark

    Later Gothic (ca. 1350-1525 AD)

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    Gothic Hybrid (Vadstenakursiv) from Vitæ Patrum ca. end of the 14th Century, Sweden
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    Gothic Cursive, Diplomatarium Norvegicum XXV, 19, 1484, Norway
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    Gothic Cursive, Denmark, 1490

      Latin sources include liturgical manuscripts. Vernacular Danish sources include legal texts, diplomas, chronicles, medical works, and religious literature.

      Until 1450, the script used in most books and diplomas is Gothic hybrid, also called lettre bâtarde. This is a semicursive form in which the letters are written with broad pen-strokes and are only partly joined, and use elegant, rounded, sweeping lines. In Sweden from ca. 1370 to 1526 AD, a Gothic hybrid script was used.

      After 1450, true cursive script appears in books and in documents. During this period vernacular Danish becomes the primary language used in diplomas, instead of Latin or Low German.

      After the Reformation, German neo-Gothic script comes into use in Denmark and Sweden, and continued in use until the 19th century. At this time, Swedish adopted ä and ö from German, and in 1526 adopted the å, letters which distinguished Swedish from Danish or Norwegian, which retained medieval letter-forms.

    Manuscript Samples

    Below are a number of samples from a variety of Scandinavian medieval manuscripts. Most of these can be found in a larger format showing the whole page at the website of the The Arnamagnean Institute of the University of Copenhagen. If you click on the thumbnails, you will see a larger sample of the text on which I have adjusted the color and contrast of the original image to allow the text to be read more clearly.

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    Ágrip af Noregs konunga sögum, Icelandic mss. ca. middle of the first half of the 13th Century
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    Egils saga Skallagrimssonar Theta Fragment, mid-13th Century
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    Völuspá from the Icelandic Codex Regius, late 13th Century
     
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    Anders Sunesøn's Latin paraphrase of the Skånske kirkelov, late 13th century
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    Verse couplet from bottom of f. 61v of Skånske kirkelov, written in a contemporary hand. It reads:hauí that skanunga ærliki mææn toco vithar oræt aldrigh æn. ("Let it be said of the honourable men of Skåne, that they have never yet accepted injustice.")
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    Njáls saga Delta Fragment, ca. 1300
     
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    Jyske Lov Jutish Law Code from Denmark, ca. 1300
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    Elucidarius from the Hauksbók codex, early 14th Century
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    Ólafs saga helga hin sérstaka last quarter of the 14th Century
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    A deed, dated 7 September 1371, detailing the sale of the farm Hnútsstaðir í Aðaldal (Þingeyjarsýsla) by the priest Kári Bergþórsson to Bjarni Þorsteinsson.
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    Ólafs saga helga from Flateyjarbók, 1387-1394. Note the illuminated initial, showing St. Ólaf's martyrdom at Stiklastaðir.
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    Grettis saga, last quarter of the 15th Century. From the initial M the text reads: MADVR er nefndur aunundur son ofeigs bullu fotar. juars sonar beytils onundur uar broder gudbiargar. modur Gudbrandzt kulu. fødur astu. modur olafs kongs hínns helga.
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Calligraphy Bibliography

  • The Arnamagnean Institute of the University of Copenhagen has begun creating digital images of a number of Scandinavian manuscripts, available on-line. Accessed 2/17/00

  • Einar Ól. Sveinsson. "Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njálssaga", Studia Islandica XIII. Reykjavík, 1953.

  • Hreinn Benediktsson. Early Icelandic Script as Illustrated in Vernacular Texts from the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Icelandic Manuscripts, series in folio, 2. Reykjavik: The Manuscript Institute of Iceland. 1965.

  • Jón Helgason, ed. The Arna-Magnæan Manuscript 674A, 4to: Elucidarius, Manuscripta Islandica IV Copenhagen. 1957. Facsimile.

  • Lars Svensson. "Alphabet." Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. ed. Phillip Pulsiano. New York: Garland. 1993. pp. 9-10.
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  • Lars Svensson. "Paleography." Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. ed. Phillip Pulsiano. New York: Garland. 1993. pp. 491-495.
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  • Lindow, John. Myths and Legends of the Vikings. Santa Barbara, CA: Bellerophon Books. 1979.
    This excellent little coloring book is chock-full of line drawings of Viking Age art and artifacts, carefully selected to accompany the brief text retellings of the Norse myths by a noted scholar of the Viking Age. The best use of this particular coloring book is not for children, however, but for artists wishing to utilize Viking Age artistic motifs in their own work -- this book provides line drawings which can easily be used as artist's cartoons for projects ranging from embroidery to woodwork to stained glass to carving and so on.
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  • Þorgeir Sigurðsson. History and overview of special characters in Icelandic orthography: Year 1000-2000: þ, á, é, í, ö, æ, ý and ð. Accessed 21 June 2000. (Link dead as of 12/09/05. The page may still be accessed via the Wayback Machine).

  • Wilson, David M. and Ole Klindt-Jensen. Viking Art. 2nd ed. London: George Allen & Unwin. 1980.
    Not only includes a discussion of the art-history of the Vikings, but also includes 69 line drawings and 80 photographic plates showing details of Viking design. A must for any craftsman, from calligrapher to jeweler to leatherworker, etc.
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More Information About Runes

    General

  • Åhfeldt, Laila Kitzler. Work and Worship: Laser Scanner Analysis of Viking Age Rune Stones. Theses and Papers in Archaeology B:9. Stockholm: Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University. 2002. Accessed 9 December 2005.

  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. A Concise Grammar of the Older Runic Inscriptions. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag. 1975. 3484600527

  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "The Graphemic System of the Germanic fuşark". Linguistic Method. Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl. Eds. I. Rauch & G. Carr. The Hague and New York: Mouton. 1979. pp. 287-297.
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  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "The Oldest Runic Inscriptions in the Light of New Finds and Interpretations". Runor och runinskrifter. Föredrag vid Riksantikvarieämbetets och Vitterhetsakademiens symposium 8-11 september 1985 ed. by Helmer Gustavson et al. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. 1987. pp. 17-28.

  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "On the Mythological Interpretation of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions". Languages and Cultures. Studies in Honor of Edgar C. Polomé. Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs 36. ed. by M.A. Jazayery and Werner Winter. Berlin: Mouton-De Gruyter. 1988. pp. 43-54.
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  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "On Reading Runic Inscriptions". North-Western European Language Evolution (NOWELE) 2 (1983) pp. 23-40.

  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "The Runes. The Earliest Germanic Writing System". The Origins of Writing. Ed. Wayne M. Senar. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. 1989. pp. 137-158.
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  • Antonsen, Elmer, H. "Toward a New Runic Grammar". The Nordic Languages and Modern Linguistics. Proceedings of the International Conference of Nordic and General Linguistics University of Iceland, Reykjavík July 6-11, 1969. Ed. Hreinn Benediktsson. Reykjavík: Visindefelag Islendinga. 1970. pp. 313-321.

  • Bammesberger, Alfred. "The Development of the Runic Script and Its Relationship to Germanic Phonological History" Language Change and Language Structure. Older Germanic Languages in a Comparative Perspective. Eds. Toril Swan, Endre Mørck, and Olaf Jansen Westwik. Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs 73. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 1994. pp. 1-25.
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  • Barnes, Michael, P. "The Origins of the Younger fuşark - A Reappraisal". Runor och runinskrifter. Föredrag vid Riksantikvarieämbetets och Vitterhetsakademiens symposium 8-11 september 1985 ed. by Helmer Gustavson et al. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. 1987. pp. 29-45.

  • Brodeur, Arthur, G. "The Riddle of the Runes" University of California Publications in English 3 (1932), pp. 1-15.

  • Derolez, René. "The Runic System and its Cultural Context". Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Michigan Germanic Studies 7:1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1981. pp. 19-26.

  • Duwel, Klaus. Runenkunde. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler. 1983.
    Amazon  Buy this book today!
    A useful bibliographic survey on runic texts.

  • Ellegard, Alvar, "Who were the Eruli?" Scandia 53 (1987) pp 5-34.
    ErilaR or irilaR are terms used for runic writers using the Elder Futhark (pre Viking Age), although the term may be related to the name of a Germanic tribe, the Heruli, as well.

  • Freij, Henry. "Tracing a Rune-Carver by Groove Profile and Cut-Marks" Norwegian Archaeological Review 23 (1990). pp. 150-152.

  • Haugen, Einar. "The Dotted Runes. From Parsimony to Plenitude". Proceedings of the Seventh Viking Congress, Dublin 15-21 August 1973. Eds. Bo Almqvist and David Greene. London: Viking Society for Northern Research. 1976. pp. 83-92.
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  • Haugen, Einar. "On the Parsimony of the Younger Fuşark". Festschrift für Konstantin Reichardt. Ed. Christian Gellinek. Bern-München: Francke 1969. pp. 51-58.

  • Jansson, Sven. Swedish Vikings in England: The Evidence of the Rune Stones. The Dorothea Coke Memorial Lecture in Northern Studies delivered 11 March 1965 at University College London. London: H.K. Lewis. 1966.

  • Jesch, Judith. "Runic Inscriptions and Social History. Some Problems of Method" Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Grindaheim, Norway, 8-12 August 1990. Ed. James E. Knirk, Runrön 9. Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet. Uppsala: 1994. pp. 149-162.

  • Kniezsa, Veronika. "The Orthographic Aspect of the Runes". Historical Linguistics and Philology. Ed. Jacek Fisiak. Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs 46. Berlin and New York: 1990. pp. 245-259.

  • Knirk, James E., Marie Stoklund, and Elisabeth Svärdström. "Runes and Runic Inscriptions." Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. ed. Phillip Pulsiano. New York: Garland. 1993. pp. 545-555.
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  • Liestøl, Aslak. "The Emergence of the Viking runes" Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Michigan Germanic Studies 7.1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1981. pp. 107-118.

  • Liestøl, Aslak. "The Literate Vikings" Proceedings of the Sixth Viking Congress. Uppsala 3-10 August. Bonäs, Dalarna 10-12 August 1969. Eds. Peter Foote and Dag Strömbäck. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksells Boktryckeri AB. 1971. pp. 69-78.

  • Liestøl, Aslak. "The Viking runes: The Transition from the Older to the Younger Fuşark" Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research XX:4, London 1981, pp. 247-266. (G 88, Rök, DR 239, DR Hedeby träpinne 1.

  • Moltke, Erik. "How To Investigate and Reproduce a Runic Inscription" Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Michigan Germanic Studies 7.1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1981. pp. 186-198.

  • Ohlsson, Stig Örjan. "Why Didn't the Vikings Just Go On Writing as their Ancestors Did? A Survey of the Runic Tradition, with Emphasis on the Break Between Older and Younger Futhark". Medeltida skrift- och språn ett symposium i Stockholm våren 1992. Ed. Inger Lindell. Runica et mediævalia, Opuscula 2. Stockholm: 1994. pp. 79-102.

  • Owen, Francis. "Alliteration in the Runic Inscriptions" Modern Philology 25 (1928). pp. 397-408.

  • Page, Raymond I. Runes. Reading the Past Vol 4. University of California Press. 1989.
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  • Page, Raymond I. "Runes and Non-Runes" Medieval Literature and Civilization. Studies in Memory of G.N. Garmonsway. Eds. D.A. Pearsall and R.A. Waldron. London: Athlone Press. 1969. pp. 28-54.
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  • Page, Raymond I. Runes and Runic Inscriptions: Collected Essays on Anglo-Saxon and Viking Runes. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. 1998.
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  • Page, Raymond I. "Runic Links across the North Sea in the Pre-Viking Age". Beretning fra Fjerde tværfaglige vikingesymposium. Eds. H. Bekker-Nielsen and H.F. Nielsen. Odense: Odense Universitet, Forlaget Hikiun. 1985. pp. 31-49.

  • Runor och runinskrifter. Kungl Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Statens historiska museum. 1980.
    A collection of articles, some in English, dealing with runes and runic inscriptions.

  • Stoklund, Marie. "Greenland Runes. Isolation or Cultural Contact?" The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic, Red. C. Batey et al. Edinburgh 1993, pp. 528-543.

  • Stoklund, Marie. "Greenland Runic Inscriptions" Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Michigan Germanic Studies 7.1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1981. pp. 138-148.

  • Stromback, Dag. The Epiphany in Runic Art: the Dynna and Sika Stones. London: University College London. 1970.
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  • Thompson, Claiborne W. "On Transcribing Runic Inscriptions". Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Michigan Germanic Studies 7.1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1981. pp. 89-97.

  • Thompson, Claiborne W. "'Rune' and 'Runic'". Scandinavica 16 (1977). pp. 23-28.

  • Wicker, Nancy, L. "Bracteate Workshops and Runic Literacy" Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Grindaheim, Norway, 8-12 August 1990. Ed. James E. Knirk, Runrön 9. Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet. Uppsala: 1994. pp. 59-81.

  • British Isles

  • Barnes, Michael, P. The Runic Inscriptions of Maeshowe, Orkney. Runrön 8. Uppsala: Institutionen fur nordiska sprak, Uppsala Universitet. 1994.
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  • Hills, Catherine. "The Archaeological Context of Runic Finds". Old English Runes and their Continental Background Ed. Alfred Bammesberger. Heidelberg: C. Winter. 1991. pp. 41-59.
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  • Olsen, Magnus. "Runic Inscriptions in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man," Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland. Part 6. ed. Haakon Shetelig. Oslo: 1954. pp. 151-233.

  • Page, Raymond I. An Introduction to English Runes. London: 1973.

  • Page, Raymond I. "Scandinavian Runes in the British Isles". Popular Archaeology 8:6 (July 1987). pp. 35-39.

  • Polomé, Edgar. "The Names of the Runes". Old English Runes and their Continental Background Ed. Alfred Bammesberger. Heidelberg: C. Winter. 1991. pp. 421-438.
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  • Wilson, David M. "Manx Memorial Stones of the Viking Period." Saga Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 18 (1970-1971) pp. 1-18.

  • Wilson, David M. The Viking Age in the Isle of Man - the Archaeological Evidence. C.C. Rafn Lecture No. 3. Odense. 1974.
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  • Sweden

  • Arwidsson, Greta. "Viking Society in Central Sweden. Traditions, Organization and Economy". The Vikings. Proceedings of the Symposium of Faculty of Arts of Uppsala University June 6-9, 1977. Eds. Thorsten Andersson and Karl Inge Sandred. Uppsala: 1978. pp. 154-160.

  • Jansson, Sven B. F. Runes in Sweden. trans Peter Foote. Stockholm: Gidlunds. 1987.
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  • Soderburg, Sven and Erik Brate, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: I. Olands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1900-1906.

  • Brate, Erik, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: II. Osterhotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1911-1918.

  • Brate, Erik, and Elias Wessen eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: III. Sodermanlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1924-1936.

  • Kinander, Ragnar, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: IV. Smalands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1935-1961.

  • Jungner, Hugo and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: V. Vastergotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1940-1971.

  • Wessen, Elias and Sven B.F. Jansson, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: VI-IX. Upplands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1940-1958.

  • Jansson, Sven B.F. The Runes of Sweden. New York: Bedminster Press. 1962.

  • Jansson, Sven B.F., Elias Wessen and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: XI-XII. Gotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1962-1978.

  • Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIII. Vastmanlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1964.

  • Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIV. Narkes runinskrifter. Varmlands runeinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1975-1978.

  • Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XV. Gastriklands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1981.

  • Fornvannen.
    Any new Swedish inscriptions found which are not included in the Sveriges runinskrifter series are published in a periodical called Fornvannen.

  • Sawyer, Birgit. "The Erection of Rune-stones in Viking-Age Scandinavia; The Political Background". The Audience of the Sagas. The Eight International Saga Conference, Preprints. Bd 2, August 11-17, 1991 Gothenburg University, Göteborg: 1991. pp. 233-242.

  • Sawyer, Birgit. Property and Inheritance in Viking Scandinavia: The Runic Evidence. Occasional Papers on Medieval Topics, 2. Alingsås: Viktoria Bokforlag. 1988.

  • Sawyer, Birgit. "Viking-Age Rune-Stones as a Crisis Symptom" Norwegian Archaeological Review 24:2 (1991). pp. 97-112.

  • Sawyer, Birgit. "Sigtuna - A Border Town". Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Grindaheim, Norway, 8-12 August 1990. Ed. James E. Knirk, Runrön 9. Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet. Uppsala: 1994. pp. 163-177.

  • Strid, Jan P. "Runic Swedish Thegns and Drengs". Runor och runinskrifter. Föredrag vid Riksantikvarieämbetets och Vitterhetsakademiens symposium 8-11 september 1985 ed. by Helmer Gustavson et al. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. 1987. pp. 301-316.

  • Thompson, Claiborne W. "Nonsense Inscriptions in Swedish Uppland". Studies for Einar Haugen, Presented by Friends and Colleagues. Eds. Einar Ingvald Haugen and Evelyn Scherabon Firchow. The Hague: Mouton. 1972. pp. 522-534.

  • Thompson, Claiborne W. Studies in Upplandic Runography. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1975.
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  • Thompson, Claiborne W. "A Swedish Runographer and a Headless Bishop" Medieval Scandinavia 3 (1970). pp. 50-62.

  • Thompson, Claiborne W. "Öpir's Teacher". FV 67 (1972). pp. 16-19.

  • Denmark

  • Barnes, Michael, P. "The New Runic Finds from Illerup and the Question of the Twenty Second Rune". Saga och Sed: Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademiens Årsbok 1984. Uppsala: 1986. pp. 59-76.

  • Jacobsen, Lis and Erik Moltke. Danmarks runeindskrifter. Copenhagen: Einar Munksgarrd. 1941-1942.
    The most comprehensive work on Danish runic inscriptions and monuments.

  • Moltke, Erik. "Medieval Rune-Amulets in Denmark" Acta Ethnologica 3 (1938). pp. 116-147.

  • Moltke, Erik. Runes and Their Origin: Denmark and Elsewhere. Trans. by Peter G. Foote. Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark, Nationalmuseets Forlag. 1985.
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  • Randsborg, Klavs. "Runestones and People in a Changing Society". The Viking Age in Denmark: The Formation of a State. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1980. pp. 25-44.
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  • Norway

  • Knirk, James, E. "Learning to Write with Runes in Medieval Norway" Medeltida skrift- och språn ett symposium i Stockholm våren 1992. Ed. Inger Lindell. Runica et mediævalia, Opuscula 2. Stockholm: 1994. pp. 169-212.

  • Liestøl, Aslak. "Correspondence in Runes" Medieval Scandinavia 1 (1968). pp. 17-27.

  • Olsen, Magnus and Aslak Liestol, eds. Norges innskrifter med de yngre runer. Oslo: Norsk Historisk Kjeldeskrift-Institutt, 1941-1990.
    The catalog of Norwegian runic inscriptions and monuments.

  • Russia and Eastern Europe

  • Melnikova, Elena A. "New Finds of Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions from the USSR" Runor och runinskrifter. Föredrag vid Riksantikvarieämbetets och Vitterhetsakademiens symposium 8-11 september 1985 ed. by Helmer Gustavson et al. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. 1987. pp. 163-173.

  • Melnikova, Elena A. "Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions as a Source for the History of Eastern Europe" Les Pays du Nord et Byzance: Scandinavie et Byzance. Actes du colloque d'Upsal 10-22 avril 1979. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Gigura, Nova Series, 19. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1981. pp. 169-173.
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