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Thesis: The Futhark has an interesting and unique history, 
	although there are many different theories about its origin. 
	Throughout the centuries, many alphabets, became extinguished 
	and were forgotten by its inventors. Not so the runic writing: 
	it changed in appearance and meaning, but endured about 
	2,000 years.


I.	Introduction


II.	"Rune" - a meaningful name

	a) The origin of the word "rune"
	b) The meaning of the word "rune"


III.	The origins of the futhark alphabet

	a) The Latin or Roman theory
	b) The Greek theory
	c) The Futhark as parent of the European alphabets
	d) The Etruscan theory


IV.	The Futhark


V.	The Elder Futhark

	a) The Runestaves of the Elder Futhark
	b) The numbers of the runes
	c) Names of the runes and their meaning


VI.	The Younger Futhark

	a) Changes due to local dialects
	b) Letters of the Younger Futhark


VII.	Variations of the Younger Futhark

	a) Nordic and Swedish runes
	b) Roek runes
	c) Halsinge runes
 

VIII.	The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc


IX.	Medieval runes

	a) Runes after the introduction of the Latin alphabet
	b) "Dotted runes"


X.	Ogham - a runic code


XI.	Runic inscriptions

	a) Purpose and Material
	b) Distribution in northern Europe


XII.	Conclusion

Derived from ritualistic ideographs called runes, the runestaves are the letters of the futharks, the early Germanic alphabets. They represent a phonetic value as well as an idea or concept and a number. Futhark, or futhorc in Anglo-Saxon language, is an epigraphic alphabet. That means it was used for inscriptions in wood, stone and other durable materials. It is unknown when the Germanic people first started to use a simple writing system and where the letters originated.
There are several theories on the origin of the futharc alphabet: the Latin or Roman theory, the Greek theory, the Etruscan (or North-Italic) theory, and variations of the above. Futharks were in use from an unsure point in time, some historians say as early as 200 B.C., in some cases till the early Middle Age. Most of the surviving inscriptions date from 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D, which is called the Viking Age. Even in this time, writing was not common knowledge, but a privilege to priests and monks. Because Runes survived long after the introduction of Christianity in Northern Europe, their meanings are well known. Today, like a thousand years ago, runes are casted for fortune telling and other "New Age" rituals.

The Old Norse, Old Irish and Old Saxon language refer to runestaves as ‘run’, Old English, Gothic and Old High German as ‘runa’, Middle Welsh as ‘rhin’. The etymology of the word is uncertain, like the origin of the writing system itself.
There are two possibilities: It may be derived from the Proto-Indo-European ‘reu-’ meaning to roar or whisper, which would connect to magical practices of the literate priests, or from Proto-Indo-European ‘gwor-w-on-’, which refers to the Greek and Old Indic gods Ouranos and Varuna and the Germanic god Odhinn. (Edred Thorsson, "Runelore") Germanic and Celtic root ‘runo’ can be found in all Indo-Germanic languages in different variations, but none of these refers to it as letters only. Rune means secret or mystery, in Old Norse also wisdom. The Germanic people believed that Odhinn, in Norse mythology the king of the gods and the god of wisdom, magic and poetry, hung in a tree for nine days in order to learn the runic writing which he shared with only the highest of the priests. "Read these runes, learned by the gods", says an inscription in the county of Vaestergoetland.
Before ca 200 A.D.no runic texts were found. Early inscriptions consist of only a few runes forming a charm or symbolizing magic power. Originally, runes were magic symbols, representing an Idea, like a protecting or helping god. Later on, as an alphabet developed, the runic characters were adopted in it. The runestaves consist of lines cut perpendicular or diagonal to the grain in a wooden staff. Traces of paint found on several runestones insists that runes were also colored on some occasions.

There are various theories about the origins of the Futhark. The Latin or Roman theory was first stated scientifically by L.F.A. Wimmer in 1874. He believed that the Romans and the Germanic people came in contact as early as the 2nd century B.C. They adapted the Latin alphabet and changed the letters making it easier to carve messages and magic formulas in wood or stone. The runic writing system spread fast along the trade routes, which were well established. E. Moltke’s theory set the place of origin for a latin-runic alphabet in the Danish region. (Moltke, Eric,"Runerne i Danmark og Deres Oprindelse") The problem is that the early runic writing appears regions were, unless you assume super-fast trade routes, it could not come from as far away as the Romans. Although the idea of writing with a phonetic system seems not to come from the Romans, the influence of the Latin alphabet in border regions between approximately 200 B.C. and 400 A.D. (E. Thorsson,"Runelore") cannot be neglected.
In 1899, Sophus Bugge came up with a theory stating that the Futhark was adapted from the Greek alphabet. The Goths, a Germanic people, had early contact with the Hellenic culture at the Black Sea. They took the Greek cursive alphabet, modified it for their needs and brought it with them back to Scandinavia. This theory is very unlikely, because the Gothic-Greek contact was not before 200 A.D. The oldest runic inscription yet found dates from 50 A.D.
Another unlikely theory is that the Visigothic priest Wulfias invented the rune alphabet. It is based on a gothic translation of the bible, where an alphabet with some runic and some Greek characters was used. More likely Wulfias used existing runic characters, especially regarding the time of introduction of Christianity in Northern Europe.
Both, the Latin and the Greek theory let one question open: Why did the Futhark, if derived from the Greek or Latin alphabet, starts with f(ehu) and u(ruz) instead of a(lpha) and b(etha), like both, Greek and Latin, do? Haellristnigar, pre-runic symbols were found in various Bronze Age carvings in Sweden. One theory is, that the Germanic people did not adopt any alphabet, but used their magic symbols to represent phonetic values. Where t hey got the idea from is not stated.
R.M. Meyer had the idea that the runic writing system, first only ideographic, took on later a phonetic value based on the first letter of the represented word (acrophonetic transformation). Other, like the Greek or Phoenician alphabet, derived from this early writing system. The Germanic people had an ideographic system, haellristnigar, but it was never used for writing. Since the discovery of the Meldorf brooch, dated several years before Tacitus’ "Germania", which stated runic writing system, this theory has been dropped.
The Etruscan, or North-Italic, theory by C.J.S. Marstrander was stated in 1928 and modified by Wolfgang Krause in 1937.The Cimbri in the Alps and had early contact with the Etruscans, a highly literate people in Northern Italy. They gave the knowledge to the Suebi who spread it in northern Europe, Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. Viking trading routes brought it finally to Iceland other remote areas. There are no other historic objection supporting this theory, except that the contact could have been as early as 300 B.C. (Thorsson, Edred,"Runelore") There is one relict holding this theory: the helmet of Negau from the 3rd century B.C. which has an inscription in Germanic language and Etruscan script.
"? u i i a w i e t i t s a g i r a h " read from right to left, makes no sense in Etruscan, but in Germanic language "Haragasti taiwai..." translates as "to the god Harigast (=Odhinn)". (Thorsson, E.,"Runelore") The Etruscan letters resemble the Germanic runestaves, but not the phonetic values of the futhark. However, this theory is the most popular among scholars.

The runic alphabet is named futhark after its first six letters (f-ehu), (u-ruz), (th-uriaz), (a-nsuz), (r-aido), (k-enaz). The Anglo-Saxon version is called futhorc because of changes in the alphabet, which occurred during the Viking Age. Essentially the history of runic writing spans three epochs. The elder period reaches to about 800 A.D., the younger period from 800 to 1200 A.D., and the medieval period after 1200 till 1600 or 1700 A.D. Other historians divide it in four periods. The first two, from 100 to 800 A.D. and from 800 to 1100 A.D.,are "expressions of unified runic traditions bound in a coherent symbology" (Edred Thorsson,"Runelore"). The third is the middle period, where the use of rune continued in some rural areas in Scandinavia, but without the original traditions. The revival period, after 1600, is where mainly rune casting took place.

The Elder Futhark is the original rune writing used before 800 A.D. It is also called the Early, or Common Germanic (Teutonic) alphabet. This Futhark consists of the 24 basic characters, and is the parent of several subsequent variations. The alphabet is divided into three groups to eight letters each, called ‘aettir’ which means ‘eights’. The aettir are counted from the bottom to the top. The third row (aett), the Freyr’s Eight is named after the Nordic goddess of love, fertility, beauty, but also of battle and death. The first eight runes, fehu, uruz, thuriaz, ansuz, raido, kenaz, gebo, and wunjo are forming Freyr’s aett. Hagal’s Eight, the letters hagalaz, nautiz, isa, jera, ihwaz, perthro, elhaz, and sowilo, refers to a nickname of Odhinn. The first aett, Tyr’s Eight consists of tiwaz, berkano, ehwaz, mannaz, laguz, ingwaz, dagaz, and finally othala. Tyr is in Norse mythology the god of the sky.
The Futhark runes have got numbers from 1 to 24, starting not with fehu, but with uruz as the first rune, and declaring fehu, meaning property, as the last rune. The number 24 was considered a magic or holy number and has special meaning in the Norse rune mythology. These numbers are important to encode Oghams, the cryptic writings of the Celts, and, of course, to cast the runes.
Every runestave has a name, which is a word with a meaning for itself. Fehu () translates as cattle, which stands for property and money. Uruz () is the aurochs, thuriaz () refers to the god of thunder, or ‘the strong one’, ansuz () is the god Ase, raido () a wagon or chariot, kenaz () is a torch. Gebo () is a gift, which causes wunjo () - joy and pleasure. Hagalaz () is sometimes translated as hailstone or otherwise as hagal, the god Odhinn. Nautiz() is the need, isa () the ice, and jera () means year. Ihwaz () is translated as yew, perthro () means lot cup, elhaz ()can be elk or protection. A verse of a rune poem states about sowilo ():

	 (sun) 	is the shield of the clouds,
			and a shining glory,
			and the life-long sorrow (=destroyer) of ice.

(translation taken from Thorsson, E. "Runelore")

Tiwaz () is Tyr, the sky god, berkano () means goddess. The same poem, the Old Icelandic Rune Poem says about mannaz ():

	 (man) 	is the joy of man,
			and the increase of dust,
			and the adornment of ships.

This poem dates from the 15th century, but it preserves the much older Early Futhark. The next is letter the water-rune laguz (), followed by the earth god Ing, ingwaz (), and dagaz () the day. The last runestave in the alphabet is othala () translates as ancestral property or heritage.
The meaning, order within the alphabet, and the phonetic value of the Elder Futhark are remarkable homogeny throughout Northern Europe. This fact speaks for the theories of origin, which state that the alphabet was adapted from another culture at one point in time. If it had developed in different places or direct from the runic ideographs, it would be split in various branches in this early time of history.

The splitting in different alphabet occurred in the time of the Younger Futhark, which reaches from the 8th century to the 12th century A.D. This time is called the Viking Age, because the Viking culture reached its height in this period. Trade had spread the Futhark all over Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, the British Isles and Danmark. The people adopted the alphabet and changed it to fit their language. The Anglo-Saxons added letters to represent every sound variation, while the Old-Norse-speaking people assigned two ore more phonetic values to each runestave. It seems paradox, because Old Norse is richer in sound variations than Old English, but if the Scandinavians had added letters for each of their sound, they would have ended up with a very complicated alphabet.
The Nordic, or Scandinavian Futhark has 16 characters, feh, ur, thurs, as, reidh, kaun, hagall, naudh, iss, ar, sol, tyr, bjarkan, madhr, logr, and yr. Kaun for example, represents three phonetic values: g, k and ng. The Younger, or Viking Futhark had a less traditional meaning and was not only used for rituals and religion. Although writing stayed a privilege of few people, it became a formal alphabet. Monks were paid to set up contracts, and inscriptions were made to honor persons or remember events. Literature appears in the later centuries of the younger period and a few runic manuscripts dating from this time were found. In result of growing trade with other literate cultures, the writing system begun to develop technical significance. During the Viking Age, Christianity was introduced to the Northern people, and with it the Latin alphabet.

The history of therunes alphabets after the 8th century A.D. is different for east and west Scandinavia, Danmark, Britain and Ireland. The runes had been spread over northern Europe, and the peoples changed them to fit their language and dialect. Few differences are between Normal, Common Nordic, and Danish Futhark, except for the order of the letters. In Sweden, some interesting forms developed.
The Norwegian-Swedish ‘Roek’ or ‘short-wig’ futhark consists of only simplified runes, while the staveless runes of the Halsinga alphabet are reduced to short diagonal and vertical bits. This version of the futhark was obvious designed to be written on paper, which is unusual. On stone it would be a chaos of bits and dots, and impossible to read.

The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, the runic alphabet with was in use in Britain between approximately 650 and 1100 A.D. It developed from the Elder Futhark by adding letters to represent the different Old English sounds. These differences in the Phonetic value gave it the name Futhorc instead of Futhark. The Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet consisted at the beginning of 28 and was later extended to 33 runestaves. Old English epigraphy ended in 1100 A.D., while the Scandinavian futhark endured for several more centuries.

Medieval Runes are runic inscriptions from te 12th to the 16th century. Most Germanic countries had already converted to Christianity. Although now mainly the Latin alphabet was used, runic tradition continued. Rural runemasters tried to preserve the ancient way, but by the end of the era only literature about the Viking Age was still written in runic characters. Occasionally runestaves were used for charms and memorial inscription, such as gravestones, long after 1200 A.D. in Scandinavia. These runic letters correspondent to the Latin alphabet, which means the first rune originally f, and called fehu, now represents the sound a, uruz becomes b, etc. This extended ‘futharkh’ alphabet was invented by Ari inn Frodhi and Thoroddur Runmeistri in 1100, according to Edred Thorsson’s book “Runelore”. The characters are often called ‘dotted runes’, in Old Norse ‘stungar runar’, because dots wereused to disdinguish between b and p, t and d, k and g.

A special form of runic coding are the Celtic Oghams. A vertical or horizontal stave is crossed by longer or shorter lines, determining the aett (row) and place within the aett of the futhark.

Runic inscriptions were made for dedicatory, commemorative, sepulchral, or magic purpose on stones, weapons, wood, tools, manuscripts, and jewelry.
The oldest runic inscription is on the Meldorf brooch and dates from 50 A.D. It was found on the west coast of Juteland in Danmark, the longest one is the Roek.-stone in Sweden with over 140 runes. 90% of all inscriptions were made during the 11th and 12th century. The Uppland of Sweden has with about 1,500 runestones the most inscriptions. 500 were found in Sodermansland and another 500 in the rest of Sweden. Denmark has 200, Norway 100, Iceland 50 and England has 50 runestones. Counting all runic relicts, Sweden has over 3,000. The historic value of the inscriptions is what and where they are, and not what they record. A skilled runemaster could make ciphers, where he played around with the names, values or sound at one level and wrote a plain message at another - that makes it difficult to really understand the text.

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