Другое : History of runes
History of runes
History of runes
Fulfilled by the
second year student of Rostov State
Pedagogical University Translation Department Neustroev Cyril
Rostov-on-Don
2001
From ancient times mankind was
appealed by unknown writings: half-forgotten antique languages, Egypt
hieroglyphs, Indian inscriptions… The fate of runes was much happy – their
sense wasn’t lost in the course of time, even when Latin alphabet became dominating
one in Europe. For instance, runes were used in calendars till the end of the
18-th c.
Modern linguists think that runes
posses another kind of meaning, which we cannot find in ideograms, hieroglyphs
or in modern exotic alphabets – this meaning exists in subconsciousness level.
Runes were the personification of the surrounding world, essence of outlook.
With the help of special links between runes a man could express nearly
everything, compiling them (so called combined runes). In different times runes
could change their meaning, so we can say this adjusting system created dozens
of meanings of one and the same symbol. (Linguists find confirmation of this
theory in the following example – every rune in different languages had
separate and original meaning, which didn’t fully coincide with another one in
the second language.
Like all others components of
language, runes endured numerous changes: in form, style of writing, system of
sounds and letters, which expressed them. We can say, that these alphabets took
wide spreading not only among Scandinavian and German tribes, but we can also
trace its penetration in Celtic and Slavonic languages. Now runes keep their
main original meaning - in the beginning they were the symbols of
fortunetelling lore with sacred sense and mystic signs (The general matter why
they didn’t get wide diffusion before AD). Even the word “rune” corresponds as
“secret” (compare old Celtic “run”, middle welsh “rown”, modern German
“raunen”). The last 1000 years in Iceland runes have been used for divination.
In Anglo-Saxon England the hours of king council were called “runes”.
The most important sources about
runic history are ancient texts of Scandinavian pagan religion – Old Edda by
Brynolf Swesson and Lesser Edda by Snorri Sturlusson. They were two
missionaries who discovered these manuscripts in the time of Christian
expansion. Another documents containing the information about runes origin are
Northern king sagas “Red leather” and Icelandic kin chronicles. Tombstones,
altars, pagan pillars called “runic stones” played quite catholic role in
scientific researches - usually they are found dappled with miscellaneous
writings (Gothland, Upland, Norway). The most famous is Cilwer stone, which
dates from the 5-th c. So we can find a lot of writings on jewels and weapon,
for barbarians believed things had to posses their own names (breakteats).
German and Slavonic runic writing
was the letter system of peculiar look, accounted by the writing technique on
bone, wood and metal. Nowadays we have the main runic alphabet, consisting of
24 signs, may be more, but another ones are regarded as variants or combined
runes. Letters of any language can have several sources of origin, for a taste
Greek language, which gave the birth to North Italian writing, had a good many
of meaning for every sign. This tradition was inherited by Etruscan alphabet
and later by runic one. However, Christian chronicles of 9-12c, known as
«songs», revealed information about rune names and their meanings. Every rune
in it conforms to one strophe, which begins with this rune and its name. In its
turn, the name begins with its sound. The whole system is divided into 2 parts
– futarks (arises from the first symbols – F, U, Th, A, R, K: Old futark (runes
of Old German origin – o.f.) and Late futark (modifications of o.f. in
Northumbrian, Frisian and Anglo-Saxon alphabets). 24 signs traditionally
gradate into 3 groups of 8 symbols called atts (“part of land “ or “kin”
compare Scot. "airt”, Ireland “aird).
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