Runes

Runes, characters in the ancient alphabet used by Germanic peoples. Runic inscriptions have been found all over Western Europe, on stone monuments and on such objects as metal spearpoints and amulets; the greatest concentrations are in England and Scandinavia. The runic alphabet, called futhark after the sounds of the initial letters, originally had 24 characters. In English versions the number was eventually increased to 33, whereas in Scandinavia it was reduced to 16 and later expanded to 26.

It is believed that runes are derived from a northern Etruscan alphabet used among Italic tribes in the eastern Alps, and that they were developed in the 2nd or 3rd century ad by a Germanic people living in the region of modern Bohemia. The earliest surviving inscription is from the mid-3rd century. Runes were in wide use from the 4th to the 12th century and more than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manuscripts are still in existence. A form of runes was used in Scandinavia throughout the Middle Ages as an alternative to the Latin alphabet used by the clergy, and runes survived in occasional use in rural Sweden at least until the 17th century. Runes were also used to augment the Latin alphabet for certain sounds, notably the thorn (þ, th) used in Anglo-Saxon England and modern Iceland.