History of the Runic Alphabet
The runic alphabet is an ancient form of writing that began in Europe. Like virtually everything else in the world, the history of exactly how, when and where the runic alphabet began depends largely on who you ask with scholars constantly debating the subject.
There seems to be some evidence to support the start of the runic alphabet with the Heruli, a tribe of Alpine Germanic people. This is based partially on the fact that some of the early Viking tribes called a rune master "heruli". Of course this is speculation as we will probably never know the exact origin.
One line of thinking also links the runic alphabet to the earlier versions of the Etruscans first attempt at a written language which was based in some part on the Greek. Again, there are many theories and little proof as to which version came first and in my opinion, it really doesn't matter where they came from, only what they can now do.
Bronze Age Runic Alphabets
Bronze Age rock carvings found mainly in Sweden show a Pre-runic alphabet, part of which is clearly seen in later Runic Alphabets, so the earliest beginnings of Runes begins sometime prior to the Bronze Age.
Ancient inscriptions have been found in North America which tends to support the claim that the Vikings were in America long before Columbus.
Origin and Meaning of the word Rune
Even the origin and meaning of the term Rune is debated among scholars with some claiming it means "a whispered secret" while others claim it means simply "mystery".
The Oxford Concise Dictionary defines the word "rune" as "any of the letters of the earliest Germanic alphabet used by Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons from about the third century B.C. and formed by modifying Roman or Greek characters to suit carving."
The Rune Poetic Edda
Norse mythology teaches that Odin was impaled on his own spear and hung from Yggdrasil, the world tree for nine days and nights. While hanging there the runes appeared below him, he then picked them up and gained the power and knowledge the runes gave him.
He passed the knowledge on to the Vanir Goddess Freya who taught him the magick of Seidr in exchange. It was Heimdall, the God who guarded the Rainbow Bridge who taught the runes to mankind.
Where a large part of the debate comes in is in whether there is a Latin or Greek influence in the alphabet functions of Runes and evidence seems to point to both having an influence rather than one or the other.
The Sacred Runic Alphabet
The Runes were never the basis of a spoken language. They were a sacred written language. Very powerful magickal symbols with a specific meaning, used as a means of divination.
How many Runes are there?
The number of runes has changed over the years. The Elder Futhark used in this lesson is probably the best known of the runic alphabets. It was used by the northern Germanic tribes of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany and contains 24 sigils. The term Futhark comes from the first 6 letters of the name.
Around the 5th century C.E. and about the time the Anglo-Saxon's invaded, several runes were added to cover the extra sounds in their spoken language, bringing the total to 33. This version of the runes was called the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
The Elder Futhark remained in use in the Scandinavia area until some time around the 8th century C.E., when changes in the Norse language was made which precipitated a change in the runes to what is now called the Younger Futhark.
Of course during this entire time there were many local variations to the various major versions of the runic alphabet, yet through it all, runes remained in use until 1639 when the Christian church attempted to "drive the devil out of Europe".
The Christian Church attempted to cleanse the land and set about trying to destroy all of the Rune stones across the land. Rune Masters were either executed or went under ground and many people believe there was a lot of knowledge that died with them.
Thankfully there have always been people that refuse to allow any group to completely wipe out their way of life as the Runes were basically taken underground where they managed to survive in Scandinavia, especially Sweden and have been revived by the modern Pagan and New Age Movement.
Your Personal Rune Journey
For the modern Pagan, Runes hold mainly a magickal aspect. At the same time they can be used as an alphabet, which still allows you to tie magickal aspects into your writings.
As a new student of runes, I urge you to spend time reading and learning from many sources. No one person has all the answers and there will always be debates on the subject.
Don't allow yourself to be pulled into their debate's, it will only serve to hamper your attempts to get the most out of using the runes as possible.
Runes are tools to tap into your personal connection with the Universal knowledge. All the debating in no way changes how well you can connect with that knowledge.
A wise man once told me "Only a fool will debate the unprovable". That holds true even today.
Rune Reading
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