Elder Futhark Runes

This article discusses Peircean ideas and integrates them into a system that can be understood as magical communication within the Umwelt of the Runemaster of the elder runic tradition. I begin by discussing the issue with the word "magic," and I shed light on the problematic etymon. I then go through various schools of academic thought on what this word means and how it may or may not contrast with religion. Albeit rather briefly, I present various schools of thought from Tylor, Frazer, Peirce, Mauss, Durkheim, Malinowski, Lévy-Bruhl, Jakobson, and Nöth. After discussing these approaches, I offer my own idea, called the Law of Magical Semiosis, which is a definition for magical communication specific to the Runemaster and his Umwelt. The goal of this article is to create an objective framework that will allow runologists to use a model to measure magical communication specific to the Elder Futhark tradition.

The seiδrhjallr <a raise platform for working seiδr magic with one or even two persons> and the hasǽti <high seat place of honour> are two entirely different entities and certainly not synonymous. The hasǽti in this case was simply a place of honour afforded to the seiδkona Þorbjǫg as was the custom back then during a time of crisis for the farmstead was experiencing a prolong famine at that time. This was not a gothic experience but normal custom and practise for the head of the farmstead to invite and offer a place of honour to the vǫlva in the hope of gaining her favour to change their fortunes as well as obtaining advice via her divination into the course of events to unfold. The reputation of these holy women were so feared back then that people were afraid even of her gaze upon them. The key to the whole account lies with the Christian female Guδriδr’s song kvæδi as it seems that the spirits according to the vǫlva Þorbjǫg were pleased with the singing. In the saga accounts, nothing is said however as to whether Guδriδr’s kvæδi had any effect on the participants there. The folklorist and late esteemed scholar, Dag Strömbäck however argued in his interpretation of the meaning behind the varδlokka song that that there must have been some trace of shamanic ritual:
“Varδlokkur refers to that special song used to recall the soul of the one shamanizing to the body lying in a state of ecstatic exhaustion.” < Strömbäck 1935-139>

Since the resurgence in popularity of pagan spirituality began, there has been a dramatic increase in interest pertaining to the mystical practices of cultures whose histories and traditions have largely been buried by time and dominance by foreign religions. One of the major aspects of Germanic spirituality and magical practice that has become popular over time is that of the runes. This paper presents an overview of the progress and preservation of runic lore since the decline of the original heathen practices, and examines the structure and methods of one of the most popular and misunderstood uses of runes: runic galdur (ON: Galdr)

My survey aims at giving a short introduction to the
rune studies, which is inadequately presented in
Hungarian scholarship, to put the objects into the
context of international classification, and complete
the information, for example in relation to their
function. In my opinion, the runic script personalize
the artefact, moreover, elevates it to a sacral level,
by transforming it an amulet, at least as its secondary
function. There are two major effects of
amulets: protection from the harmful forces and
winning over the beneficial powers, such in case of
fertility. The practice of runic script is of mainly
masculine character, with its patron Ódin-Wotan, as
masculinity was considered to be protective force,
however, there could have been female rune masters
as well, as the examples shown in this in the paper
denotes.

The Ossolineum bought the coin discussed in this article at the 58th auction of the Warsaw Numismatic Centre held on 8 November 2014. It was initially identifi ed as a Gothic imitation
of an aureus of Severus Alexander, most probably made in the Chernyakhiv culture. Only after close examination was it revealed that the coin had a runic inscription, which was part of the matrix and not carved on the coin. This means that it is the oldest known runic coin, as it should be dated to 271–332, whereas other runic coins or gold Scandinavian bracteates are dated no earlier than to the fi fth century AD. The authenticity of the specimen has been confirmed by microscopic examination, comparative analysis of other imitations, numismatic objects produced in an analogical method or style and metal analyses. Attempts to trace the provenance of the specimen failed. The meaning of the inscription cannot be ascertained. The discovery of runic signs on the coin has serious implications for our knowledge of ancient East Germanic peoples. It means that we have to
date the beginnings of Germanic coinage at least two  centuries earlier than has been accepted until recently. We must also accept that the links between the Baltic and Black Sea regions were very close.

A document about a Rune workshop I ran, to help others' teach this subject.

It covers most of the writing system, constructing a chronological paradigm through Elder, Transitional Younger and the Younger Fuþark.

It is based on using Student application and reflects this method

There are plenty of people so foolish that they believe nothing but what they have seen with their own eyes or heard with their own ears - never anything unfamiliar to them, such as the councils of the wise, or the strength and amazing skills of the great heroes, or the way in which seiðr [pronounced *sayther*] or skills of the mind ON huklaraskap and powerful sorcery ON fjolkyngi may seiðr death or a lifetime of misery for some, or bestow worldly honours, riches and rank on others. These men would sometimes stir up the elements, and sometimes calm them down, just like Othinn and all those who learnt from him these skills, of galðr and healing. Göngu-Hrólfs Saga Prologue

This dissertation addresses the issue of magical communication found in the Elder Futhark runic inscriptions. The study examines the Kragehul Spear Shaft (DR 196), Björketorp runestone (DR 360), the Horn(s) of Gallehus (DR 12), Gummarp runestone (DR 358), Lindholm amulet (DR 261), Straum whetstone (KJ 50), Ribe skull fragment (DR EM85; 151B), the Noleby runestone (KJ 67), and the Eggja runestone (N KJ 101). It seeks magical communication which may putatively be encompassed by my proposed law of magical semiosis, which reads:

<<While operating within an Umwelt where we assume magic is a phaneron in the Weltanschauung of the Runemaster, he or she intentionally manipulates signs and sign-relations within a sign-network by the use of icons (like produces like), indices (contagious properties) and/or symbols (learned conceptual properties). While there will be more than one sign within the sign-network, it is the magical sign which is the most salient when working with such an object. This includes—but is not limited to—phonetic iconicity, semantic iconicity, indexical curses, iconic theophany formulas whereby the Runemaster becomes a god (degrees of iconicity), mythic reenactments, Begriffsrunen (symbolic indexical icons), and certain word-formulae especially alu ‘ecstatic state’ (disputed).>>

I argue that, by setting objective parameters for measuring this law of magical communication, we can then determine whether or not a particular inscription should be understood as magical or non-magical specific to the Umwelt and Weltanschauung of the Runemaster. Essentially, this dissertation is meant to challenge runologists in postulating falsifiable criteria so we may, in an academic setting, discuss magical communication in the world of the Runemaster.

This study begins by discussing how Charles Sanders Peirce can help provide us with a basic framework regarding the sign. His phenomenological framework is applied to the world of the Runemaster. The next section then addresses the problem with the word “magic,” which goes far beyond the concept of “if it does not make sense, it must be magical.” It then leads to a discussion of runes and numinous qualities and finally to a corpus chapter which applies the theories and methods I have adopted.

The study of runes always attracted the attention of the academy and a great interest by the general public. Nowadays we can see them represented in different ways of media and serving for many different purposes. In this article we intend to deal with some of the main points on this subject, as a short introduction on this matter and, the most important, present the texts known as The Rune Poems (the Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic and Norwegian) and the Abecedarium Nordmannicum. All of them full translated for the first time together in Portuguese.

This paper presented to the 6th annual Runic Colloquium at Harvard University on March 11, 2104  examines the current state of the research into the Heavener Runestone, a runic inscription purportedly carved by Vikings using Elder Futhark runes.

This dissertation discusses Roman imperialism and runic literacy. It employs an interdisciplinary terminology. By means of terms new to archaeology, the growth of a specialized language, a technolect, is traced until it enters the realm of literacy. The author argues that there is more than one way for literacy to appear in prehistoric cultures. The ’normal’ perception is that literacy grows out of a need to keep records of a growing economic surplus. The ’other’ way for a culture to become literate is that someone else forces literacy upon it. This has been the case in many parts of the world subject to Western imperialism. The onslaught of Roman imperialism caused the invention of runic literacy in Northern Europe during the Early Roman Iron Age. The invention of the runic script should thus be seen as a preemptive reaction to the threat of Westernization. A comparison is made with a number of Early Modern Period cases of newly invented scripts caused by the arrival of literate Westerners in West Africa. The invention and introduction of the runes may well have been a dictated shift in literacy, seeking to break away from Latin. A number of dictated shifts in literacy from Early Modern Period America and Modern Period Asia are studied in comparison. The interaction between Germanic and Roman affinities was accentuated by the Roman army’s recruitment of Germanic men. These came to dominate the Roman army. This gave rise to a Germanic kleptocracy, a criminal rule in the post-Roman world. The role of runic literacy changed in the post-Roman aftermath of the Migration and Vendel Periods as the kleptocratic elite found it increasingly difficult to support a lavish lifestyle that included runic literacy. As a result, there was a decline in runic literacy in Northern Europe until the economic revival of the Viking Period. By then, it was clear that the North was soon to be integrated into the Christian West.

The sixth consecutive volume of the catalogue of the collection of ancient coins in the Ossoliński National Institute appeared after a twelve-year long break and thirty years after the publication of the first volume. It gathers the Roman Imperial coins from years 193-235 represented in the collection. There are 302 coins catalogued, including official, unofficial and imitative coins, as well as modern coins in the Severan type. Metallurgical analyses of seven coins are reported and interpreted in the annexes by three different Authors. Two of these coin are East Germanic imitations of aurei. One of them is the runic imitation of aureus of Severus Alexander presented in the seperate paper accessible in Academia.edu. The history of the collection (dating back to 1828) and the individual coins is reconstructed thanks to the research started with the archival queries to my PhD thesis in 2008 and continued until now. There are high quality illustrations on the Tables: photos of coins are in colour and on coated paper.

This is the first of the three presentations that I give within the course "Vikingatida och medeltida skandinavisk historia" at the University of Gothenburg. The 60-minute lecture (40+20 minutes) is followed by group work in which students try their hand in source criticism, working on excerpts on the Battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings from two written sources.

The writings offer the main source for those modern Odinists. If you are interested in this stuff, please direct your attention to a wonderful URL – http://euroheritage.net/eddaintro.shtml. Here you can see clearly the mix of Celts and Viking cultures. The Runic alphabet, the Runes' meanings, and spiritual significance (divination):

This paper presents a short overview of the state and history of research on the topic of Elder Runic orthography and epigraphy (150-700 CE). The runic alphabet or fuþark and the problems of interpreting runic texts are presented. The history of research from the 19th century onwards, as well as current trends in the search for the origin of the runes are also described. Thus the theories of a Roman, Greek or Etruscan/North-Italic influence on the development of the runes are elucidated. Some thought is given to the use and purpose of the script. At all points care is given to present the various problems faced by researchers and pluralism of proposed solutions.

On the front panel of the Anglo-Saxon ivory box " Franks Casket " the cruel revenge of Wayland the smith and the Nativity of Jesus are depicted side by side. This juxtaposition was interpreted as a contrast between the cruelty of paganism and the Christian faith. More and more researchers try to point out, however, that Wayland has to be understood as a positive, Christian symbol. In the present paper I argue, that the depiction of Waylandʼs child murder together with the Nativity of Christ was inspired by the iconography of the Massacre of the Innocents. Thus, Wayland could be interpreted as an Anglo-Saxon pagan counterpart of King Herod the Great.