Runes are an ancient script, developed close to 2000 years ago by the Germanic peoples in Europe, and are the oldest form of written language used by them currently known. Runes fell out of usage at different times, typically associated with conversion to Christianity, with their last regular usage being around the 14th Century.
Interest in the Runes saw a revival in the 19th Century, followed by the 1940's, but it wasn't until the 1960's and '70's that general, balanced interest was once again truly revived. Current modern usage tends to reflect their traditional meanings at the core plus layers of updated interpretations, with writing of both standardised Futhark and Futhorcs ("alphabets"), as well as bindrunes and formulae. Using rune casting and selection also gains deep insight into patterns and layers of the world, within and without.
The most used form of Runes to date is the Elder Futhark, which also seems to be the oldest and most complete form found. There are several other rune rows as well, generally condensed or extended between 16 and 33 Runes in each "set". These differences are local adaptations through the centuries, with the condensed versions from Scandinavian countries, and the extended from Frisia and the Anglo-Saxons.
Predating Runes as an alphabet, inscriptions on rocks show a combination of stylised pictorial and abstract symbols, the meanings of which are largely lost. Our meaning values for the Runes come from three related Rune Poems that have been left to us.
© K.Fehn 2010
