Futhark
As Futhark or FUTHARK is called the Common Germanic runes and emerged from their variations. Since the order of the runes has been handed down in the form since the earliest records and differs from the order of the alphabet (ABC), the first six runes ( ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲ , F – U – Þ – A – R – K) traditionally serve as names for the Runic series.
The elder Futhark
The first row of runes is called the Elder Futhark. It consists of 24 characters, each of which is assigned a single sound, as in the Latin alphabet. This Futhark was used in the same form by all Germanic tribes until around 750 AD. It is therefore also called common Germanic Futhark. From when it was used is still a matter of discussion today. The first reliable evidence of a runic inscription is the crest of Vimose (160 AD). The Meldor Primer (approx. 50 AD) is even older , but this inscription consists only of runes, which can also be Latin characters. The first complete series of runes can be found on the Gotlandic Kylverstein from around 450 AD.
The special thing about the common Germanic runes is their unusual order. Many of the characters resemble Latin (or Etruscan ) or Greek letters. The Futhark must therefore have had a southern European model. The order of the letters has, however, been completely unique since ancient times, while other alphabets always adapt to their original alphabet. The Latin alphabet, for example, has the same order of letters as the Greek alphabet from which it emerged. The special runic order is also the reason why the Futhark is called runic series instead of runic alphabet in research.
Another special feature is that the older Futhark contains letters for all sounds of the Germanic languages of the time. The Latin alphabet had no characters for the sounds U, W and J (therefore V = U, VV = W and I = J). The Futhark, however, knew these sounds and also had a letter for the "th" ( Þ ). This letter, which is only used in Iceland today, is actually a rune. In the Middle Ages used next to the W-Rune to W to write (z. B. in Hildebrandslied in row 59 "of you nu ƿiges ƿarne").
The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
In England and Friesland, an extended series of runes developed, which were used from the late 5th century (bracteate from Udley) until the 11th century. Characteristic of this Futhark is the addition of new runes to express the umlauts æ, y and œ, which had developed in the Germanic languages in the meantime. Because the name of the older A-rune Ansuz developed into Ōs in Anglo-Saxon (and therefore also changed the old value of the rune), the Anglo-Saxon rune series is also called Futhorc. Some of the new characters were also used in Friesland. The Anglo-Saxon runes are therefore also called Anglo-Frisian Futhark. In total, the rune series is expanded to up to 33 characters until the 9th century.
The younger Futhark
The younger Futhark is also a further development of the common Germanic rune series. However, the number of characters was reduced to 16. The result was that one and the same character had to reproduce several sounds. At the end of the 10th century this loss was compensated for by the introduction of dots. The younger Futhark was used for most of the Viking Age and therefore forms the largest inscription corpus of the approximately 6000 runic inscriptions that have survived. In older runology , it was assumed that the younger Futhark preceded the older, as there was no explanation why one should remove letters instead of adding them.
Other series of runes
The upper three rows of runes represent somewhat fixed standards. The older Futhark was hardly varied. The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc developed slowly, so that the character set can vary from inscription to inscription. The same goes for the younger Futhark. The series of 16 characters was varied many times. The resulting rune rows are usually named after the region or inscription in which they were used. For example, there is a Greenland Futhark or a Rök-Futhark ( Rökstein ) and many more.
The so-called Armanen-Futhark by the Austrian esotericist Guido von List (1848-1919) should also be mentioned here . This rune series of 18 characters is loosely based on the younger Futhark and List claimed it had been used since ancient times by the so-called "Ariogermanen", a race of blond and blue-eyed people led by the Armanic priesthood . Allegedly he received it, like the knowledge associated with it, through visions. Together with other contents of its ariosophy , the Armanen-Futhark found its way into the Völkisch movement .
Division into ættir
The older Futhark can be divided into three groups of eight runes each. These groups are called (pl.) Ættir, (sg.) Ætt 'gender, family'. The individual ættir are named after the gods Freys ætt , Hagals ætt and Týrs ætt . This name only dates back to the 17th century, which is why the grouping was questioned in earlier times. However, their early appearance in epigraphic tradition (e.g. on bracteates) and the existence of secret runes speak for the age of the groups . Secret runes are encrypted rune signs that refer to a coordinate system based on the ættir :
| 1 | t | b | m | l | R. | Týrs ætt | |
| 2 | H | n | i | a | s | Hagals ætt | |
| 3 | f | u | þ | á | r | k | Freys ætt |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th |
A secret rune with the sound value k would consist of a stick with three branches to the left (for the third ætt ) and six branches to the right (for the sixth place in ætt ). This secret rune language would be inconceivable without a previous division of the older Futhark into ættir , since the runes also keep their place in the rows of eight in the younger Futhark.
literature
- John Ole Askedal, Harald Bjorvand, James E. Knirk (eds.): Central problems in researching the older runes. Files from an international conference at the Norwegian Academy of Sciences in autumn 2004 (= Oslo Contributions to German Studies, Volume 41). Peter Lang, Frankfurt / a. M. 2010, ISBN 978-3-631-60414-4 . In this:
- Wilhelm Heizmann : On the origin of the runic script. Pp. 9-32.
- Raymond Ian Page : The Poisition of Old English Runes in the Runic Tradition. Pp. 137-150.
- Michael Schulte: The problem area of transitional inscriptions in the light of recent research contributions. Pp. 163-189.
- Marie Stocklund: The Danish Inscriptions of the Early Viking Age and the Transition to the Younger Futhark. Pp. 237-252.
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Alfred Bammesberger , Gaby Waxenberg (ed.): The Fuþark and its individual language developments. (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes , volume 51). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2006, ISBN 3-11-019008-7 . In this:
- Alfred Bammesberger: The "futhark" and its further development in the Anglo-Frisian tradition. Pp. 171-187.
- Heinrich Beck : The "futhark" and problems of writing / writing down. Pp. 61-79.
- Klaus Düwel , Wilhelm Heizmann: The older Fuþark - tradition and possible effects of the rune series. Pp. 3-60.
- Elmar Seebold : The "futhark" on the bracteate inscriptions. Pp. 157-168.
- Alfred Bammesberger, Karin Fjellhammer Seim, David Parsons: Rune rows. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 25, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-017733-1 , pp. 562-571.
- Thomas Birkmann : From Ågedal to Malt. The Scandinavian runic inscriptions from the end of the 5th to the end of the 9th century. (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes . Volume 12). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1995, ISBN 3-11-014510-3 .
- Klaus Düwel: Futhark. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 10, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015102-2 , pp. 273-276.
- Klaus Düwel: Runic lore. (= Metzler Collection. Volume 72). 4th, revised and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-476-14072-2 .
- Wolfgang Krause , Herbert Jankuhn : The runic inscriptions in the older Futhark. I. text; II. Panels. (= Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Philological-Historical Class. 3rd Series, No. 65). V&R, Göttingen 1966.
- Stephan Opitz: South Germanic runic inscriptions in the older Futhark from the Merovingian period. (= University productions German studies, linguistics, literary studies. 3). Kirchzarten. Kirchzarten 1977.
- Terje Spurkland: I begynnelsen var ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲ . Norske Runer and Runeinnskrifter. 2nd Edition. Cappelen, Oslo 2005, ISBN 82-02-19680-9 .
