+01 424 645 5957

+39 347 378 8169

+01 424 645 5957

+39 347 378 8169

viking-851280_640

Viking Rune Stone

Runes are the letters in the runic alphabets. Runic alphabets were alphabets used by various Germanic tribes not only to write their own languages but also in divination and magic. They were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Iceland before Christianity spreading from Rome took over and made these tribes abandon their runic alphabets to adopt the Latin alphabet.

The earliest runic inscriptions date back to around 150 CE; Runic inscriptions have even been found in North America, supporting stories that the Vikings arrived in the Americas long before Columbus.

The use of runes had generally died out by about 700 CE in central Europe and 1100 CE in northern Europe (except for specialized use).

Old English was written in the runic alphabet known as Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Frisian). This had between 26-33 letters and was used from about the 5th century CE to about the 10th century. During this period they were slowly replaced by the Latin alphabet and the use of the runic alphabet in England died out following the Norman invasion.

Likely to have been acquired from other alphabets (Greek, Etruscan, and Early Roman), runes were made of straight lines as this shape allowed the characters to be carved more easily into wood or stone.

Some 200 examples of runic inscriptions have survived and are found mainly on jewellery, weapons and stones in eastern and southern England.

Related Articles

ICAL TEFL Resources

The ICAL TEFL site has thousands of pages of free TEFL resources for teachers and students. These include: The TEFL ICAL Grammar Guide. Country Guides for teaching around the world. How to find TEFL jobs. How to teach English. TEFL Lesson Plans....

read more

6 Tips to Make your ESL Classes More Effective

Teaching is undeniably a challenging job, in fact many consider it one of the most difficult careers you could choose. Nevertheless, being a teacher is an enriching experience. Through quality education and effective teaching methodologies,...

read more

0 Comments