Viking Runes Fact Sheet The Vikings and the Anglo Saxons before them, had a written language. Their way of writing was called Runes. Runic writing has been found on everything from giant stones to tiny pieces of horn, metal jewellery, and weapons. Runestones were large stones carved with pictures and writing in runes. These stones were placed so that people could admire them and learn about the bravery of a person who had died. Household items like a wooden comb had the owner's name written on it in rune. Each rune, or letter in the Viking alphabet, was made up of a series of straight lines, because they were carved on objects. It took time to carve each rune, or letter, so not much was written down. For hundreds of years the Vikings rarely wrote stories down. Instead, they sang songs about their great battles and victories in war and told stories about their gods and goddesses. After Viking times some of these story songs, called sagas, were written down so the stories could be saved. The Vikings believed that their alphabet was made up of more than letters. They believed each letter, or rune, had magical powers. As well as telling you who a thing belonged to Viking might carve a rune on their knife or dagger to give their weapon strength. We know that Vikings were great craftsmen and made strong armour and weapons. They wrote in runes on their shields and sword to bring them good luck. The shields often had lovely patterns on too Using evidence from archaeologists who dug up artefacts at places like Jorvik we know what the alphabet was. You can try writing in Runes. Have a look at your activities on the Interdisciplinary Learning Channel. Viking Rune Writer Elder Futhark Runes f u th a r c-k g w h n i j ae p z s t b e m l ng o d Use the runes to write your name. Use the runes to write a secret message to your friend. visit twinkl.com .