THE RUNIC SCRIPT
THE FUTHARK

The RUNIC SCRIPT

Following is a chart showing the essential 24 RUNES, signs, which stood for the very ancient alphabet used by the Danish, Germanic, and Celtic peoples of that very remote historical past. The approach here is fundamentally Linguistic, rather than magical, mystical, or metaphysical, as is almost always presented on the Web and elsewhere. Those who raged with interest when "Black Magic" or simply "Magic" and "Witchery" were a strong fad in the US and other parts of the globe a couple of decades or so ago. In this meister_z Learning Center everything is strictly English-Language and General-Culture oriented. Truth, Knowledge, and enjoyment are the ultimate aims. Therefore, the information below is designed as such.

Transliteration	Name¹	Meaning of the name
r	fehu	cattle (cf. German Vieh)
u	uruz	urochs
th	þurisaz²	giant (demon)
a	ansuz	Asa (Odin)
r	raiðo	cart, journey
k	kaunan (kenaz)	torch, light
g	gebo	gift
w	wunjo	fortune (glory)
h	hagalaz	hail
n	nauðir	need
i	isan	ice
j	jeran	year, harvest
æ	eiwaz	yew (cf. ivy)
p	perþo	pear, vessel
z	algiz⁴	elk, safety
s	sowulo	sun
t	tiwaz	Tyr
b	berkanan	birch
e	ehwaz	horse (cf. Latin equus)
m	manz	mankind
l	laukaz (laguz)	leek (sea)
i	ingwaz (inguz)	Ing (ng)
d	dagaz (þagaz)	day
o	oþalan (othila)	estate, property

¹ The names of the runes are reconstructed forms by the runologist Wolfgang Krause. These reconstructions are based on names mentioned in manuscripts that date from the 8th century and later. However, the runic script may have been invented as early as the 1st century and we cannot be sure that the reconstructed names are the same as the names that were actually used in the early centuries.

² Later this rune was called þorn (thorn) in English texts, and sometimes in Scandinavian texts as well. Perhaps this rune was renamed by the Christians to avoid associations with the devil.

³ The exact sound value of this rune is uncertain.

⁴ This rune originally had the sound value of z and it only occured at the end of a syllable. Later this sound changed into r.

Top

RETURN to ENGLISH LANGUAGE INDEX.

The RUNIC SCRIPT

r

u

th

a

r

k

g

w

h

n

i

j

æ

p

z

s

t

b

e

m

l

i

d

o