Runes and the Origins of Writing

by Alain de Benoist

In this wide-ranging yet concise study, Alain de Benoist brings his incisive intelligence and wide erudition to bear on the fiercely debated subject of the mysterious origin and practical and magical functions of runes, providing the reader with a thorough grounding in the potential origin points and evolutions of the Fuþark.

Runes and the Origins of Writing carries its reader on an archaeological and anthropological journey through an enigmatic past, giving to layman and academic alike unique insight into the history of this archaic script, and others like it.

Genres: History, Linguistics

500 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Depuis plus de trente ans, Alain de Benoist poursuit méthodiquement un travail d'analyse et de réflexion dans le domaine des idées. Ecrivain, journaliste, essayiste, conférencier, philosophe, il a publié plus de 50 livres et plus de 3000 articles, aujourd'hui traduits dans une quinzaine de langues différentes.

Ses domaines de prédilection sont la philosophie politique et l'histoire des idées, mais il est aussi l'auteur de nombreux travaux portant notamment sur l'archéologie, les traditions populaires, l'histoire des religions ou les sciences de la vie.

Indifférent aux modes idéologiques, récusant toute forme d'intolérance et d'extrémisme, Alain de Benoist ne cultive pas non plus une quelconque nostalgie «restaurationniste». Lorsqu'il critique la modernité, ce n'est pas au nom d'un passé idéalisé, mais en se préoccupant avant tout des problématiques postmodernes. Les axes principaux de sa pensée sont au nombre de quatre : 1) la critique conjointe de l'individuo-universalisme et du nationalisme (ou de l'ethnocentrisme) en tant que catégories relevant l'une et l'autre de la métaphysique de la subjectivité ; 2) la déconstruction systématique de la raison marchande, de l'axiomatique de l'intérêt et des multiples emprises de la Forme-Capital, dont le déploiement planétaire constitue à ses yeux la menace principale qui pèse aujourd'hui sur le monde ; 3) la lutte en faveur des autonomies locales, liée à la défense des différences et des identités collectives ; 4) une nette prise de position en faveur d'un fédéralisme intégral, fondé sur le principe de subsidiarité et la généralisation à partir de la base des pratiques de la démocratie participative.

Alors que son oeuvre est connue et reconnue dans un nombre grandissant de pays, Alain de Benoist reste largement ostracisé en France, où l'on se borne trop souvent à associer son nom à celui de la « Nouvelle Droite », expression dans laquelle il ne s'est jamais véritablement reconnu.


Biography in English at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_d...

Reviews

[Sean Kelly]

One of the best books you can read on runes. Much literature as De Benoist essentially notes, is either consisting of rather bold claims about their magical and divine purpose by occultists and new agers based on little to no credible evidence or the opposite extreme which is deeply sceptical takes that focus purely on their supposed practical use while denying any evidence for their magical practice in antiquity. Just as he approached the subject of paganism De Benoist approaches this subject with the scholarly seriousness it warrants, striking a realistic and credible balance between the two arguments focusing on a thorough examination of the evidence that will ultimately leave most with little doubt that runes indeed had purpose in relation to magic and divination. One can always be left asking for more and it would be easy to expand on this revelation a lot, but paganism needs some mysteries left for us to figure out and he does an excellent job of laying it all out on a historic context and most likely origins that explain a lot. Highly recommended to those interested in the authentic magical practice of runes and their historic context as well as the shared heritage and origins of Europeans as a whole. Much of the focus of this is on Etruscans and Trojans and given the huge importance of them in European heritage as a whole this is often sadly overlooked in relation to runes, and de Benoist rightly challenges assumptions many are familiar with about the origins of Europe's most ancient alphabets. Nicely presented book also. My only real criticism may be that it ends rather abruptly with no real conclusion as such but De Benoist leaves us with plenty to consider and said all that needed saying.

[Carlos]

An interesting if, seemingly, incomplete book. De Benoist is happy to explore the many, and some outlandish, theories of the origins of runes and their place in the history of writing … except when it touches “the events in Germany in the 1930s”. A quick search of the author’s name seems enough to show why he would be reticent to write the word Nazi. Nevertheless, the book is a good introduction to the many theories around runes with a wealth of references, though slightly overbalanced towards listing the name of every rune researcher.

[Aerik]

Everything I read from Alain de Benoist is dense, full of words I never knew or forgot the meanings of due to lack of every day use, and stands tall on a pile of references. He doesn't make for easy reading, but he does do great research. This book will be read and reread over the years so as to the assimilate the knowledge.