Advanced Rune Translation
By Brenna Westfeld
Introduction
Welcome scholars, to the humble offerings of Advanced Rune Translation. This text has been developed with the purpose of aiding you in your quest to translate and comprehend complex runic passages.
Every person, no matter how far along the path of understanding they are, will encounter difficulties in the translation of runes. The study of this ancient and venerable writing system is fraught with intricacies and uncertainties. More than two thousand years of history lay behind the runes, and as such, they have many deep and enduring tales to tell us. Whether you are simply interested in understanding the scratchings some ancient visitor left on a rock in your garden, or you are keen to experience the use of runes in divination, it is important to have a proper knowledge base and a solid understanding of the topic. Think of the knowledge as a tool. Without the proper tools, it is usually quite difficult to complete a task. For example, envision yourself trying to mix a simple sleeping draught, and suddenly realizing that you don’t have a cauldron to mix it in. Without the proper tools, the task cannot be completed!
It is the authors’ hopes that this text will provide the student with a thorough grounding in the history of runes, and a strong understanding of the most common runic alphabets. Through this knowledge, the student will be able to begin, or continue with, a practical study of runes, whether for translation or divination purposes. While other texts may act simply as a “dictionary” for translating runes back and forth to the wizard’s mother tongue, this book is intended to move beyond simple translation, into the realm of more accurate translations, taking into account the context of passages, the peculiarities of certain alphabets, and the intent of the original scribe of the runes.
The text is laid out in three sections, each divided into chapters for the convenience of the student. Please note that while the contents herein are as accurate as possible at the time of publishing, new discoveries are made every day, and the student should keep a close watch for notices of updates and new editions of the text.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Ch. 1: History and Origin of Runes
Ch. 2: The Runes
Ch. 3: Elder Futhark
Publisher’s Note:
The information contained herein deals with magical applications, and any injury or damage caused by the use of this information is in no way the fault of the authors, publishers, editors, marketers, photographers, researchers, or any other staff who have connections to the text. The publisher cautions all parents to read the material carefully before allowing children access to this information, and requests that all wizards of legal age remain constantly vigilant during any application of the knowledge gained from this text.
History and Origin of Runes
When it comes to Runes, we can make a distinction of two types of origins: the mythological origin and the historical origin.
According to the Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was attested to a divine origin, as can be read on two rune stones: the Noleby Rune stone, reading: "I prepare the suitable divine rune", and the Sparlösa Rune stone, saying: "And interpret the runes of divine origin".
The mythological origins are based on a couple of Norse poems and myths. Two of those poems are Hávamál and Rígsthula, which both describe how the runic alphabet became known to man in a different way. A short description of those can be found underneath here.
Hávamál:
This poem tells us that the runic alphabet was received by the major god Odin through self-sacrifice. He was hung from the world tree while pierced by his own spear for nine long days and nights, so he would be able to learn the wisdom that would give him power over the nine worlds. This wisdom was the art of runes.
Rígsthula:
According to this poem the runic alphabet was brought to man by Ríg's son Jarl (a half god, seeing Ríg was a god but his mother a human being). As Jarl showed signs of nobility and started to handle weapons, Ríg claimed him as his son and taught him the art of runes.
The Swedish archbishop Olaus Magnus declared in 1555 that a man named Kettil Runske (which explains the name "Runes") had stolen three rune staffs from the god Odin and by that was able to learn the runes and the magic attached to them.
I have presented three different kinds of mythological origin to you; now it is time to move on with the historical origin of the runic alphabet.
The runic alphabet shows a lot of similarities to various other alphabets, such as the Latin, the Greek and the Italic alphabet. The Old Italic Alphabet, especially, is thought to be the origin of the runes, because it shows so many similarities to the runes that it cannot be all due to chance.
A great difference, however, is that the runes lack the use of horizontal strokes. This was because of the material runes were carved in: wood. Horizontal lines would get lost among the grain of the split wood. A 'vertical' alphabet like the Runes is not unique, though. It was also used for a Latin alphabet for example.
This is the basic information you need to know about the origin of runes before reading the first part of this book, "The Runes", in which we will discuss several types of runes. You will find that though they all belong to the category "Runes", there are great differences between the different rune types, as well as similarities, of course; after all, they all share the same origin.
Elder Futhark
In this chapter we will be learning about the Elder Futhark, which is considered to be the oldest form of the runic alphabet; stemming from the 2nd to the 8th centuries (around 150 to 800AD). The Elder Futhark was primarily used by the Germanic tribes during the Migration period. The tribes used the language for inscriptions on different artifacts such as jewelry, amulets, tools, rune stones, and even weapons. Old Futhark inscriptions were found on artifacts between Carpathians and Lappland, with a wide majority found in Denmark. Items that were found included, belt buckles, utensils, such as combs and spinning whorls, and of course weapons including axes and lance tips. Inscriptions were also found in/on graves or bogs.
The Elder Futhark consisted of 24 runes, but initially named after the first six rune names, which were F, U, Th, A, R, and K. These are usually arranged in three groups of eight letters each. Each group is commonly referred to as an Ætt. The Elder Futhark runes are believed to have originated from the Old Italic alphabets or directly from the Latin alphabet itself. The earliest sequential listing of the full set of runes dates back to roughly around 400AD. The oldest inscription is found on the Kylver Stone found in Gotland, Sweden.
The different shapes of the runes are presumably an adaptation to the cravings that were made into the woods and metals the ancient tribes had available to them at the time. From our archaeological studies we can confirm that these materials used were a property that was shared with other early alphabets.
There are over 350 known Elder Futhark inscriptions to date. Around 260 of these inscriptions are from Scandinavia. Each of the runes most likely has its own name and represents the sound of the rune itself. The names though, do not attest directly to the Elder Futhark themselves. Elder Futhark inscriptions are considered to be rare in comparison to the total of the population. The knowledge of this rune is actually considered to be a secret throughout the Migration period.
The Elder Futhark is one of three best-known alphabets along with the Anglo-Saxon runes and the Younger Futhark.
Introduction
Welcome scholars, to the humble offerings of Advanced Rune Translation. This text has been developed with the purpose of aiding you in your quest to translate and comprehend complex runic passages.
Every person, no matter how far along the path of understanding they are, will encounter difficulties in the translation of runes. The study of this ancient and venerable writing system is fraught with intricacies and uncertainties. More than two thousand years of history lay behind the runes, and as such, they have many deep and enduring tales to tell us. Whether you are simply interested in understanding the scratchings some ancient visitor left on a rock in your garden, or you are keen to experience the use of runes in divination, it is important to have a proper knowledge base and a solid understanding of the topic. Think of the knowledge as a tool. Without the proper tools, it is usually quite difficult to complete a task. For example, envision yourself trying to mix a simple sleeping draught, and suddenly realizing that you don’t have a cauldron to mix it in. Without the proper tools, the task cannot be completed!
It is the authors’ hopes that this text will provide the student with a thorough grounding in the history of runes, and a strong understanding of the most common runic alphabets. Through this knowledge, the student will be able to begin, or continue with, a practical study of runes, whether for translation or divination purposes. While other texts may act simply as a “dictionary” for translating runes back and forth to the wizard’s mother tongue, this book is intended to move beyond simple translation, into the realm of more accurate translations, taking into account the context of passages, the peculiarities of certain alphabets, and the intent of the original scribe of the runes.
The text is laid out in three sections, each divided into chapters for the convenience of the student. Please note that while the contents herein are as accurate as possible at the time of publishing, new discoveries are made every day, and the student should keep a close watch for notices of updates and new editions of the text.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Ch. 1: History and Origin of Runes
Ch. 2: The Runes
Ch. 3: Elder Futhark
Publisher’s Note:
The information contained herein deals with magical applications, and any injury or damage caused by the use of this information is in no way the fault of the authors, publishers, editors, marketers, photographers, researchers, or any other staff who have connections to the text. The publisher cautions all parents to read the material carefully before allowing children access to this information, and requests that all wizards of legal age remain constantly vigilant during any application of the knowledge gained from this text.
History and Origin of Runes
When it comes to Runes, we can make a distinction of two types of origins: the mythological origin and the historical origin.
According to the Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was attested to a divine origin, as can be read on two rune stones: the Noleby Rune stone, reading: "I prepare the suitable divine rune", and the Sparlösa Rune stone, saying: "And interpret the runes of divine origin".
The mythological origins are based on a couple of Norse poems and myths. Two of those poems are Hávamál and Rígsthula, which both describe how the runic alphabet became known to man in a different way. A short description of those can be found underneath here.
Hávamál:
This poem tells us that the runic alphabet was received by the major god Odin through self-sacrifice. He was hung from the world tree while pierced by his own spear for nine long days and nights, so he would be able to learn the wisdom that would give him power over the nine worlds. This wisdom was the art of runes.
Rígsthula:
According to this poem the runic alphabet was brought to man by Ríg's son Jarl (a half god, seeing Ríg was a god but his mother a human being). As Jarl showed signs of nobility and started to handle weapons, Ríg claimed him as his son and taught him the art of runes.
The Swedish archbishop Olaus Magnus declared in 1555 that a man named Kettil Runske (which explains the name "Runes") had stolen three rune staffs from the god Odin and by that was able to learn the runes and the magic attached to them.
I have presented three different kinds of mythological origin to you; now it is time to move on with the historical origin of the runic alphabet.
The runic alphabet shows a lot of similarities to various other alphabets, such as the Latin, the Greek and the Italic alphabet. The Old Italic Alphabet, especially, is thought to be the origin of the runes, because it shows so many similarities to the runes that it cannot be all due to chance.
A great difference, however, is that the runes lack the use of horizontal strokes. This was because of the material runes were carved in: wood. Horizontal lines would get lost among the grain of the split wood. A 'vertical' alphabet like the Runes is not unique, though. It was also used for a Latin alphabet for example.
This is the basic information you need to know about the origin of runes before reading the first part of this book, "The Runes", in which we will discuss several types of runes. You will find that though they all belong to the category "Runes", there are great differences between the different rune types, as well as similarities, of course; after all, they all share the same origin.
Elder Futhark
In this chapter we will be learning about the Elder Futhark, which is considered to be the oldest form of the runic alphabet; stemming from the 2nd to the 8th centuries (around 150 to 800AD). The Elder Futhark was primarily used by the Germanic tribes during the Migration period. The tribes used the language for inscriptions on different artifacts such as jewelry, amulets, tools, rune stones, and even weapons. Old Futhark inscriptions were found on artifacts between Carpathians and Lappland, with a wide majority found in Denmark. Items that were found included, belt buckles, utensils, such as combs and spinning whorls, and of course weapons including axes and lance tips. Inscriptions were also found in/on graves or bogs.
The Elder Futhark consisted of 24 runes, but initially named after the first six rune names, which were F, U, Th, A, R, and K. These are usually arranged in three groups of eight letters each. Each group is commonly referred to as an Ætt. The Elder Futhark runes are believed to have originated from the Old Italic alphabets or directly from the Latin alphabet itself. The earliest sequential listing of the full set of runes dates back to roughly around 400AD. The oldest inscription is found on the Kylver Stone found in Gotland, Sweden.
The different shapes of the runes are presumably an adaptation to the cravings that were made into the woods and metals the ancient tribes had available to them at the time. From our archaeological studies we can confirm that these materials used were a property that was shared with other early alphabets.
There are over 350 known Elder Futhark inscriptions to date. Around 260 of these inscriptions are from Scandinavia. Each of the runes most likely has its own name and represents the sound of the rune itself. The names though, do not attest directly to the Elder Futhark themselves. Elder Futhark inscriptions are considered to be rare in comparison to the total of the population. The knowledge of this rune is actually considered to be a secret throughout the Migration period.
The Elder Futhark is one of three best-known alphabets along with the Anglo-Saxon runes and the Younger Futhark.