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Definition
Runes
Runes are letters in the runic alphabets of Germanic-speaking peoples, written and read most prominently from at least c. 160 CE onwards in Scandinavia in the Elder Futhark script (until c. 700 CE) and the Younger Futhark - which illuminated...
Definition
Vikings
The Vikings were originally diverse Scandinavian seafarers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (though other nationalities were later involved) whose raids and subsequent settlements significantly impacted the cultures of Europe and were felt...
Definition
Writing
Writing is the physical manifestation of a spoken language. It is thought that human beings developed language c. 35,000 BCE as evidenced by cave paintings from the period of the Cro-Magnon Man (c. 50,000-30,000 BCE) which appear to express...
Article
Women in the Viking Age
Although women in the Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE) lived in a male-dominated society, far from being powerless, they ran farms and households, were responsible for textile production, moved away from Scandinavia to help settle Viking territories...
Article
Harald Bluetooth & the Conversion of Denmark
In Scandinavia, Christianity spread due to the support and encouragement of political rulers at the top of the society above all else. Conversion, defined here as the actions taken by kings or clerics to introduce the new religion, did not...
Collection
The Viking Age
This collection on the Vikings, who dominated northern Europe from c. 790 CE to c. 1100 CE, examines not only their fearsome reputation for war and invasion but also their celebrated ships, navigational skills, and runes writing system. In...
Image
Runes in the Lom Stave Church
Runes left from the construction of Lom Stave Church. The church has been standing since the last half of the 12th century CE, and the runes spell out "I was here, all the way up in the corner”.
Image
Runes (Younger Futhark)
An example of Younger Futhark runes from the 12th-century Vaksala Runestone in Sweden.
Video
Writing Old Norse in Runes (remake/improved)
Writing in runes isn't a simple one-to-one conversion of one letter to one rune. This video shows how Old Norse was written using the runes of the Younger Futhark, and then looks at examples of real inscriptions from the Viking Age. Contents...
Video
Magic Runes and Racial Identity
In this talk I present some considerations about the use of runes in Norse sources and draw attention to how they were instrumental in occult and nationalist circles in the 19th century up to Nazi ideology. Hope you find it entertaining...