Runes

Want to learn more about Norse Vikings? We provide information and insight for people interested in Viking Age Scandinavia. The present web site is a dynamic resource that treats on current and past issues related to Norse cultural heritage. The Viking Rune offers unique online features: free Rune Converter and Motto Generator. We are committed to greater access to knowledge about the Vikings, which is the only way to dispel the myth about Norse warriors as cruel and bloodthirsty raiders who did nothing but kill, pillage and rape. The Viking Rune is always up-to-date with the latest developments in North Germanic studies, including hot archeological finds in Scandinavia and elsewhere.

Runes Runestones of the Viking Age July 8, 2010 Rune Stones Runestones are stones with runic inscriptions. The eldest runestones, inscribed with Elder Futhark inscriptions, date from the 4th century. However, the most of the runestones were created during the late Viking Age and thus inscribed with the Younger Futhark runes. The runestones were usually erected to commemorate one or several deceased kinsmen, and in most [...]
Read the full article → Germanic Names in the Eldest Runic Inscriptions July 6, 2010 Elder Futhark Male Names Ado – Gammertingen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), ivory box. Adujislu – Westeremden A (Groningen, Netherlands), weaving-slay of yew-wood. Meaning: ādu- < *auda, ‘wealth’ and -jīslu < *gīsalaz, ‘hostage’ or ‘offspring’. Aebi – Schwangau (Bayern, Germany), gilt-silver buckle. Æko – Chessel Down II (Isle of Wight), silver plate. Æniwulufu – Folkestone (Kent, England), gold tremissis. Meaning: [...]
Read the full article →. Norse Rune Symbols and the Third Reich July 31, 2009 Runes Meaning Some of the symbols treated in this article may be interpreted as pointing to Nazi ideology in certain contexts. Their use in the present article has nothing to do with it. Any such connotations are a recent development as compared to the long history of the most of these signs. Below both their original meaning [...]
Read the full article → Rune Stone Used as Parking Lot Border May 20, 2009 Rune Stones Last fall an area near a church outside Stockholm, Sweden was excavated in order to lay some cables. The workers dug out some rocks, which were left on the plot. One of these rocks covered with mud and earth was thought to be quite fitting for use as a church parking lot border. Week after [...]
Read the full article →. Jelling Rune Stones Remain Outdoors March 29, 2009 Rune Stones The Jelling stones are two massive runestones standing in a churchyard in Jelling, Denmark, between two large mounds. Both date to the 10th century. The older and the smaller of the two was erected by Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The Larger stone was erected by Harald Bluetooth in memory of [...]
Read the full article → The Rune Converter March 26, 2009 Old Norse Just added a page with a new feature: the Rune Converter. One can input a word or phrase, press the “convert” button and get the same sequence of signs in runes. So the converter transforms the letters of the Roman alphabet into runic writing. What distinguishes it among similar scripts is its extended functionality: there [...]
Read the full article →. Norse Viking Symbol – Horn Triskelion January 27, 2009 Norse Mythology Three interlocked drinking horns is an important Norse Viking symbol. It seems to be closely related the Valknut and Triquetra and is often referred to as the Horn Triskelion. A triskelion (or triskele) is a symbol with threefold rotational symmetry (such symmetry means that a figure, which has it, looks the same after a certain [...]
Read the full article → Elder Futhark – Inner Structure December 17, 2008 Elder Futhark Countless “introductions to runes” each represent the Germanic Elder Futhark in a standardized form, both as for the appearance of the individual runes and the order in which they are arranged (my earlier post on the Elder Futhark is no exception). However, we should be aware of the fact that getting the real picture implies [...]
Read the full article →. Magic Runes December 13, 2008 Elder Futhark Among the most ancient Elder Futhark inscriptions there are a few words that appear pretty often, but what they actually mean is unclear. According to a subtle remark by R. I. Page, in runology, like in too many other knowledge areas, the following principle has been extensively used as a guideline: “Whatever cannot be readily [...]
Read the full article → Runic Love Quotes December 1, 2008 Medieval Runes The fire of 1955 destroyed part of Bryggen, the old quarter of Bergen (Norway). This made possible large scale excavations of a medieval town. Archeologists brought to light over 550 objects with runic inscriptions, dating to 1150-1350. The most of them are on wooden sticks with flattened sides. At a time when everyone had a [...]
Read the full article →. Younger Futhark Runes And Later Developments November 29, 2008 Medieval Runes At the end of the 8th century an unknown rune-master reformed the Elder Futhark having reduced it to 16 runes. By the 10th century the new form of writing was accepted in the whole of Scandinavia. This variant of runic alphabet is known as the Younger Futhark. It is this set of runes that may [...]
Read the full article → Elder Futhark Runic Alphabet November 16, 2008 Elder Futhark The elder Futhark is the most ancient Germanic runic alphabet. The word futhark is formed after the first six runes in it, the same way as the Greek word alphabet is formed after the first two Greek letters, Alpha and Beta. See below which signs represented which sounds: The order of the runes has nothing [...]
Read the full article →. Viking Runes on the Piraeus Lion in Venice November 9, 2008 Runic Inscriptions The Venetian Arsenal is guarded by four statues of lions. One of them, a nine feet high marble beast, bears on its mighty shoulders two lengthy runic inscriptions. These are carved within the intricate ornaments that represent writhing lindworms, characteristic for classical runestone design. The holy patron of Venice is St. Mark; the vicissitudes of [...]
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