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These are family trees of the Norse gods showing kin relations among gods and other beings in Nordic mythology. Each family tree gives an example of relations according to principally Eddic material however precise links vary between sources. In addition, some beings are identified by some sources and scholars.
The vast majority of runestones date to the Viking Age. There is only a handful Elder Futhark (pre-Viking-Age) runestones (about eight, counting the transitional specimens created just around the beginning of the Viking Age). Årstad Stone (390–590 AD) Einang stone (4th century) Tune Runestone (250–400 AD) Kylver Stone (5th century)
A chart showing 30 Anglo-Saxon runes A rune-row showing variant shapes. The letter sequence and letter inventory of futhorc, along with the actual sounds indicated by those letters, could vary depending on location and time. That being so, an authentic and unified list of runes is not possible.
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 (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:
Geographic distribution of the Sigurd stones. The Sigurd stones form a group of eight or nine Swedish runic inscriptions (five or six runestones, two natural rocks, and a baptismal font) and one picture stone that depict imagery from the Germanic heroic legend of Sigurd the dragon slayer.
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 stone first appears in historical records in the 17th century when Johannes Bureus (1568-1652) wrote down parts of its message. Remarkable neither in size or beauty but famed through its prominent location in the pathway of tens of thousands of tourists and school children, this fragment of a runestone is one of three runestone found in the old town.