Viking Runes - The Elder Futhark How the Vikings Recorded Things

The Vikings didn't start writing things down in books until the thirteenth century, with books like the Snorri Sturluson Prose Edda, the stories of the Viking gods. However, the Vikings did leave Jellingstenen or Jelling stones in memory of people, like a modern-day monument or a gravestone nowhere near a grave.

On the Jellingstenene was an engraved history of the person, written in nordic letters or FUTHARK. It was believed that Óðinn discovered the alphabet after hanging down from the tree of Yggdrasil for nine days. On the ninth day he discovered the runes, which were not just for writing, but also for magic. There are 24 phonemes in the FUÞARK and it gets its name from the first six F-U-Þ(th)-A-R-K.

As a quick aside you will have seen two letters already you may not recognise they are Þ(þ) and Ð(ð) these are both a TH sound. Properly Thor is written Þórr and Odin is really Óðinn (Oh-thin).

On the next page you’ll find a Viking Alphabet Sheet.

Task One Can you translate the following If you can read this you are a real ukŊ Thæ would be honoured to have you on their crew

Task Two Can you write your own message in FUÞARK.

Task Three Each Rune had its own name and meaning. Go and research them and complete the alphabet sheet on the other side.

© THOSE HISTORY PEOPLE 1 Norse Order English Order Name Meaning

F F A A

Vu U or V Æ Æ

t T B B

A A D D

R R E E

K K or C F F

G G G G

W W H H

H H I I

N N ING Ŋ

I I J J

J J K or C K

Æ Æ L L

P P M M

Z Z N N

S S O O

T T P P

B B R R

E E S S

M M T T

L L T T

Ŋ Ŋ (ING) U or V U

O O W W

D D Z Z

© THOSE HISTORY PEOPLE 2 Answer To decipher the runes you should have the following sentences: If you can read this you are a real uikŊ Thæ would be honoured to have you on their crew

If you can read this you are a real vikŊ (Viking) Thæ (they) would be honoured to have you on their crew

© THOSE HISTORY PEOPLE 3