Runes: Ancient Scripts

by Martin Findell

Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets that were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. From late antiquity through the early middle ages, peoples across northwestern Europe inscribed runes on gravestones, buildings, jewelry, and weapons in a range of forms from crude scratchings to sophisticated relief carvings. Reading and deciphering this script has called on the expertise of a number of academic disciplines including archaeology, art history, linguistics, and forensic science.
 
The runes illustrated in this lively introduction, which include memorials for the dead, business messages, charms, curses, and prayers, offer a fascinating glimpse into the beliefs of early Anglo-Saxon and Germanic cultures. The author traces the history of these ancient symbols from their mysterious origins to their development as a widely used script, concluding with a brief discussion of their use in modern mystery and fantasy literature, including the runic adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Linguistics, Language, Archaeology, Medieval

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well produced book (The British Museum) on a subject I was keen to learn more about. Lavishly illustrated. I’d hoped by the end of the book to be able to ‘translate’ all runic inscriptions! But Life is rarely as straightforward as that! Even the experts often can’t agree on the ‘meaning’ of many of the runic writings. I found the cultural fusions very interesting. In my ignorance, I’d assumed that the runes were essentially the province of the pagan. But it seems that they were used quite widely, especially in Northumbria by the monk scribes, as part of the illustrations to their written works. Rune writing continued in the far north of the British Isles well into the Middle Ages and beyond. Similarly in parts of Scandinavia.

There was something of a revival of interest in the runes from the eighteenth century onwards when the study started to become linked with things magical and supernatural. Then something of a runic heyday under the Third Reich of course, where they were often prominent. The mark of the SS, the swastika itself and the various runic embellishments used to differentiate the Aryan from the rest…

Useful reference book and it's pointed me in the direction of a number of objects in the British Museum I want to take a closer look at.

[Andreas Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff, the medieval inscriptions found in Bergen were particularly fun. But where is the Piraeus Lion???

[Víctor Jiménez Martínez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Language and scripture are the means that leave the imprint of a people's soul: human communication going beyond time through art, somehow immortalising daily human experience. From the languages and carvings of ancient Germanic people to their adaptation to western fantasy, runes have been a diverse system of writing that has gone from mere language into magic and (political) weapons. This edition is a fine, academic and accessible introduction to the study of anglosaxon and Scandinavian runes, their alphabet, evolution and history, told throughout archaeological findings that help understand and demystify the culture culture of a rich community.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book—a great introduction to an ancient writing system, with enough linguistic, geographical, historical, and cultural detail to offer readers a sense of the scope of runology (without overwhelming them). If it weren't for the last chapter, this book would be a solid 5-star that I would recommend to all my friends.

In the last chapter, Findell explores some modern ideas associated with runes, such as the relatively recent construct that runes are magical (or have the innate ability to work magic). He outlines the use of runes in the occult, particularly in the racist political extremism that characterized the Nazi party, as well as with certain "New-Age or pagan magic." And, he sort of blames this magical interpretation on J. R. R. Tolkien.

I agree that it is sad that a beautiful linguistic aspect of runes may be largely ignored by modern people. I have not encountered that, but I am not a runologist; I assume that Findell has witnessed this himself. But linguistics was the whole point for Tolkien, too. He was a philologist who was very much interested in ancient languages, cultures, and mythology, and it was language that inspired his fiction in the first place. His use of runes in the stories is NEVER in a magical context, and the characters who study them are the ones who (like Tolkien and Findell) are interested in foreign languages and peoples. To his credit, Findell does temper his statements with the comment, "It would obviously be unjust to draw direct parallels between fantasy literature, modern paganism and political extremism." But then he continues, "In their use of runes, though, these three areas of culture are informed by a shared set of (thoroughly modern) ideas. The most important of these are that runes are inherently magical." Tokien may be responsible for reawakening an interest in runes, from an archaeological and linguistic standpoint. He may also be responsible for inspiring other fantasy authors to use runes in their stories, much in the same way that The Lord of the Rings has inspired most fantasy books that came after it. But to trace the runes-as-magic theory back to a man whose intellectual pursuits never mixed the two? Someone whose fantasy works explored runes (as well as Old English, Welsh, Gaelic, and Finnish, for the record) for their linguistic qualities alone? I doubt it was Findell's intent to cast aspersions on Tolkien, and certainly other fantasy writers may have taken runes further and used them in fictional spells. But I think Findell is generalizing a little too much here; painting with too wide a brush for so sophisticated a point.

Still, though, I thought this book was an amazing introduction to runology, and it was very readable and interesting. I didn't know much about runes going in, but Findell did an amazing job of laying the groundwork. He also handled the complexities of runes quite clearly.

[Alys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure I remember any of what I read but it was all very interesting while I was reading it. I liked how it claimed runes weren't really some mystic code but a few chapters later was explaining exaclty why they were a mystic code. I thought the whole runes in Nazism bit at the end was extremely interesting and a bit scary.

[Tom Fordham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing little read looking at runes. While these days runes are associated with magic and mysticism, they are ultimately a writing system. Exploring the Elder and Younger Furtharks alongside the Anglo Saxon Furthorc, Findall offers a neat glimpse into the runologist's world. Seeing the images of the Frank's Casket reminded me of the time I saw it in person and I'm still fascinated with it. An interesting book to start your journey into understanding runes.

[Ionarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really solid reference/non-fiction book. For what it is - a short, basic but academic introduction to a complex topic - it's absolutely excellent. No matter where you're coming from with an interest in runes, you'll learn something you want to know, and probably tons you didn't even think you wanted to know. I'll definitely be buying a copy to refer back to - apart from anything else, I had fun decoding the Tolkien map in the back using the runic alphabet and very much intend to do the same for other bits of Tolkien.

My only gripe has nothing to do with the excellent content, but the material of the book. Whichever idiot decided to print it on semi-glossy paper should be tried for crimes against knowledge. It's horrible stuff, feels awful under your fingers, reflects the light so it's tricky to read under certain lights (for a PAPER BOOK) and makes horrible squeaky noises akin to nails on a blackboard. It's actually putting me off buying the rest of these lovely British Museum books because it makes reading them an unpleasant experience (which is why I took months to read this, when actually it was a very quick read.) I can only hope they get re-released with normal fucking paper, because then I'll probably buy the whole lot.

[Joseph F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat, easy to read short book on the basics of the runes. The author covers the different runic alphabets, their history and names, and how they were used for inscriptions in Europe for almost 2000 years. The book is published by the British museum and is illustrated with many nice color photos of the museum's runic artifacts. Many books on runes that are easily available are mostly New Age nonsense; invented in the earlier twentieth century. Introductory books by serious runologists can be a bit dry or intimidating to some people. This book, with its friendly layout, fills a much needed gap for those who want to know a little something about serious runology, and to see if it is something they would like to explore further.

[Thomas Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book kind of impulsively in the museum shop of the national museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. I figured that when a book is sold in a museum, it can't be bad. Worst case it bores you to tears, but at least you have a souvenir.

However I am glad to announce that this (small) book is actually an interesting introduction in runes and runology. In order to fully get the content, I recommend you take the time to actually learn the rune rows in the book (Elder futhark, younger futhark, futhorc) and then actively try to decipher the images with the author. Now I write runic texts at my job so I feel more like a viking and less as a desk-bound office slave. Results may vary. In sum, a very interesting book, but a bit short and it takes some study to learn the runes. Would recommend.

[Katelis Viglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study. It is one of the best introductions to runology in our times. The book contains many paradigms, clear and large photos, liguistic and historical analysis. Τhe pages of the book are of thick, high quality paper. What a pitty that the extent of the study is comparatively small. I wish the author to give us and other larger in extent books, with coherent and well-structured content as it is this one.

[Thora Jaspersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice popular-scientific book from the publications of The British Museum. Mostly sutiable for 'beginners' with runes, great book for introduction into runology. It's not an esoteric book. Includes a lot of visual materials, like photos of histrical founds and artefacts with in detail described context. I really liked the last chapter about the modern appropriation of runes.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the history of runes and their uses throughout illustrated with good examples. Despite being a British Museum book it was neither too academic or dry. I liked that there were references to further reading scattered throughout the book for those that want a more in-depth look at some of the subject matter.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview on the history and usage of runes over time - even accounting for missuse by rune esoterics and the nazis. Very interesting especially because of the pictures of actual artifacts from the British Museum.

The only thing I would have liked to see, would have been printed comparisons of the runes, to make it easier getting into reading the inscriptions from the photos provided.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short introduction to runes and their history

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant introduction - only wish it were longer!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book with plenty of scope in terms of history and geography of Runes.

[Danny Whatmough · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars only due to comparison with the previous Cuneiform book I read.

It's an interesting book that goes into some details and stories and the like, but one of the things that I liked in the Cuneiform book was the type of "try it yourself" section at the end showing all the symbols with each other, this one lacks that and due to the difference Rune dialects (is dialects right for written languages?) the symbols and their meanings are kind of separated across various parts of the book.

Again possibly due to the wider use of runes and more variation there wasn't one cohesive story about the language but rather a bit of a jump around to different areas usage of it along with talk of how it was used alongside Latin and intermixed with Latin.

I dunno, on it's own it's decent, very decent.
But I started with a slight interest in Runes due to the history and didn't see much of that,
nor enough to feed the interest I already had.
And in comparison with the Cuneiform book it just failed to hold my interest near as much...

[Adriano Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very down-to-earth book about the runes in the sense of focusing exclusively on the historical view of the runes, especially on the British Isles, which I really enjoyed about.

Besides being a quite pleasant read, it is nice to see how deep he dug into the archaeological findings on the British Isles compared to other books on the subjects that focus almost exclusively on the Norse regions and putting everything else simply as an "add" or a "good to know about" thing.

It is very nicely illustrated, too.

Even though it helps you further connect with the runic symbols, if you're expecting a more esoteric, mystical, magic, new-agey woo-woo view, this book isn't definitely for you.

[Sierra Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invariably, the most important part of this book is the ending. It recounts the racist and nationalist history of rune magic. Even today, the rune magic used by neopagan practitioners is still derived from romantic nationalist movements that inspired much of the ethos for Nazi Germany.
From a researchers perspective, the runic alphabet is gorgeous for the richness and beauty of the language. I personally had no idea that even modern pagan practitioners (including those who are not neo-nazis) use a Listian system of magical rune meanings that is not based in ethical research practices, but in racism.

[El Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up to do some research for a writing project and it delivered exactly what I needed. An excellent introduction into runes, covering the essentials from development and usage to modern perceptions and iconography. Incredibly useful for my purposes and in general super interesting. Struck an excellent balance between being a developed, insightful academic text whilst still being accessible and not being overwhelmed by jargon. Some great suggestions for further reading as well!

[Saru · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an introductory book/manual to the world of the runes it is excellent. I would like to highlight that it does not only talk about old and young futhark, a whole chapter is devoted to furhork, the long forgotten English rune alphabet.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine introduction to runes from a linguistic and archaeological standpoint. This is a slim, accessible volume, full of color pictures.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Läst snabbt på Akademibokhandeln för att utbilda mig lite mer om vikingskultur. fick en bra översikt om Runes

[Michael Daines · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Runes” is an approachable scholarly overview of what we know about runes. It covers the three major categories of runes and how their uses changed over time. It also digs into the mythologies around runes that have developed in the past 200 years, which includes Tolkien but also the Nazi fascination which tainted our perception. Interestingly, the new-age notions of fortune telling with runes derives from the fellow the Nazis learned from. I’ve toyed with the idea of learning Old English, so maybe I’ll come back to all this at some point.