History of Runic Alphabets
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History of runic alphabets
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
History of runic alphabets
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