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Anglo-Saxon runes or Anglo-Frisian runes are runes that were used by the Anglo-Saxons and Medieval Frisians (collectively called Anglo-Frisians) as an alphabet in their native writing system, recording both Old English and Old Frisian (Old English: rūna, ᚱᚢᚾᚪ, "rune").
The Elder Futhark (named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names: F, U, Þ, A, R and K) has 24 runes, often arranged in three groups of eight runes; each group is called an ætt [2] (pl. ættir; meaning 'clan, group', although sometimes thought to mean eight). In the following table, each rune is given with its common transliteration:
The name rune itself, taken to mean "secret, something hidden", seems to indicate that knowledge of the runes was originally considered esoteric, or restricted to an elite. [citation needed] The 6th-century Björketorp Runestone warns in Proto-Norse using the word rune in both senses: Haidzruno runu, falahak haidera, ginnarunaz.
The j rune was rendered superfluous due to Old Norse sound changes, but was kept with the new sound value of a. The old z rune was kept (transliterated in the context of Old Norse as ʀ) but moved to the end of the rune row in the only change of letter ordering in Younger Futhark. The third ætt was reduced by four runes, losing the e, ŋ, o ...
The evolution of the rune in the elder futhark during the centuries. The k-rune ᚲ (Younger Futhark ᚴ, Anglo-Saxon futhorc ᚳ) is called Kaun in both the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems, meaning "ulcer". The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Kauną. It is also known as Kenaz ("torch"), based on its Anglo-Saxon name.
Viking Runestones – Stones that mention Scandinavians who participated in Viking expeditions in western Europe, and stones that mention men who were Viking warriors and/or died while travelling in the West. Jarlabanke Runestones – a collection of 20 runestones written in Old Norse related to Jarlabanke Ingefastsson and his clan. Frösöstenen
Runes are letters of several related alphabets historically used by various Germanic peoples, including the Norse. [12] In Nordic folklore, runes hold significant cultural and mystical importance. [13] [14] [15] They are often associated with the god Odin, who, according to myth, obtained the knowledge of runes through self-sacrifice. [12]
The Elder Futhark rune ᛉ is conventionally called Algiz or Elhaz, from the Common Germanic word for "elk". [citation needed]There is wide agreement that this is most likely not the historical name of the rune, but in the absence of any positive evidence of what the historical name may have been, the conventional name is simply based on a reading of the rune name in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem ...