(Runes)
The Futhark
This form of the runes is known as the Elder, or Germanic Futhark.
A germanic alphabet used since about 3 rd century. It is referred to
as FUTHARK, after the first 6 letters. Each rune
was a letter in the alphabet and also stood for a word (its name).
The futhark originally
consisted
of 24 letters, beginning with F and ending with O, and was used by
the northern
Germanic tribes of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern
Germany.
The earliest use of runes was for magical purposes .
There were many different.
Futharks. The one used here is the elder Germanic Futhark.
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Sources
There are
several historical runic inscriptions, found on everything from swords
to stones to bronze pendants,
which
list the entire runic alphabet in order. One of the oldest and most complete
of these is the Kylver stone,
found
in Gotland, Sweden and dating from the fifth century c.e. Others are less
complete, but show a remarkable
continuity
in the order in which the runes are listed. The only surviving written
accounts of the actual names and
meanings
of the runes, however, were not recorded until the advent of the Christian
era. Some of these
manuscripts,
which date from the 9th. century until well into 12th, are known as rune
poems. These poems have a
verse
for each rune, each of which begins with the rune itself and its name.
Some of these poems are more Pagan
than others,
particularly those from Iceland, where Christianity was not yet as widespread
as it was in the
Anglo-Saxon
regions.
History
There is some debate over the origin of the "alphabet" aspect of the
runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several
scholars are once again arguing in favour of both these theories. However,
the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin. The
parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly
in the
forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing,
and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also
explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic
and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch
of the Wester Greek family of alphabets). This theory would place the original
creation of
the futhark sometime before the 1st. century c.e., when the Italic
scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and
phoenetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as
far back as 200 b.c.e.
The Anglo-Saxon Futhark
The forms of several of the runes changed,
notably the runes for A/O, C/K, H, J, S, and Ng.
Also, changes in the language led to between five and nine runes being
added
to the alphabet to compensate for the extra sounds,
and several runes were given different corresponding letters.
The Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark (as it is now called)
reduced the number of runes from 24 to 16, and several runes came to
represent
multiple
sounds. The forms of the runes were also changed and simplified. There
are several variations of this
futhark
- Danish, long branch, Norwegian, dotted, etc.
This form
of the runic alphabet spread from Denmark north into Sweden and Norway,
and was carried into
Iceland
and Greenland by the Vikings. It is possible that
they were also brought to North America with the
Vinland
expeditions, but so far no authenticated inscriptions have been found.
[More on the Futhark and the connection withthe
Gokturk alphabet]
The Kylver
stone from Stanga (Gotland) SWEDEN | The
Mojbro stone from Uppland SWEDEN |
The Istaby stone
from Blekinge SWEDEN |
| An Exposition on Runic Practises
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