Category: Runes and Rune Lore

What do runes really represent? They are often described simply as an ancient alphabet — a system of symbols used to record early northern European languages.

There’s now a new free resource on the site for anyone curious about runes. Rune Meanings is a complete guide to the 29 characters of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Each rune has its own page, exploring its form, use, symbolism, and historical context. Simply open the page, select a rune, and follow it through. While other…

The Rings These rings were made as companions to one another.Both draw on early Scandinavian runic traditions from the Viking Age, when runes were used not only for writing but also for marking meaning, memory, and protection. The designs are engraved using a modern tool – a laser – but the forms and ideas behind…

Runes were more than a practical writing system in early medieval England. While they were used to mark objects, record names, and carve inscriptions, they also carried layers of cultural meaning that appeared in poetry, symbolism, and belief. In Anglo-Saxon England, the runic alphabet known as the Futhorc developed alongside the language of Old English.…

While many people associate runes with Vikings and Scandinavia, runic writing was also used in early medieval England. The version of the alphabet used there is known as the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Developed from earlier Germanic runic systems, the Futhorc expanded the original alphabet to better represent the sounds of Old English. It appeared on objects…

Across the Viking world, symbols were often used to express protection, strength, and resilience. Among these symbols were warding runes—marks intended to guard a person, object, or place from harm. While runes primarily served as a writing system, they were also associated with deeper cultural meaning. Certain runes came to represent ideas such as defence,…

When most people think of Viking runes, the symbols they imagine usually belong to a runic alphabet known as Younger Futhark. This was the writing system used throughout the Viking Age, appearing on rune stones, weapons, jewellery, tools, and everyday objects across Scandinavia. Though simple in appearance, the Younger Futhark alphabet played an important role…

For many people, Viking runes are mysterious symbols carved into ancient stones, weapons, and jewellery. They appear powerful and enigmatic, hinting at a forgotten world of myth, craftsmanship, and belief. But runes were never meant to be mysterious decorations. To the Norse people, they were a practical writing system, a way of recording names, marking…