What are runes?
Runes are a Germanic writing systemwhich was developed from the Mediterranean alphabets in the centuryredafter the birth of Christ. The rune alphabet is called the „futharken“ because it is named after the first 6 characters f-u-þ-a-r-k. The strange rune þ stands for a breathing sound right on the teeth, like in the English „throw“ or „thing“.
Runes were used as a writing system in the Iron Age, Viking Age and Middle Ages. Both the language and the runes changedredover the more than 1000 years of writing with runes. Writing in runes did not stop until well into the Middle Ages, perhaps in the 15th century, but runes have been used ever since, both as cryptographic writing and as a curiosity.
