1. Runes are the made up alphabet used by many of the ancient northern European tribes, such as the northern Celts, the Vikings, and ancient Germans.
2. The word rune is said to have it's origins in the Gothic word runa, which means secret, or mystery. It's may also come from the old German word raunan, which means to cut or to carve.
3.The Norse version of the alphabet, the Elder Futhark, is used today for fortune telling.
4.The Elder Futhark is the oldest Rune system
5.The name Futhark comes from the first 6 letters. also known as fuþark.
6.Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, Younger Futhark, Phoenician alphabet, Old Italic alphabet, cipher runes
7.The oldest known runic inscription is thought to be from ca. the 160s and is on a comb that was found on an island in Denmark. The inscription reads harja.


Part 2-
I know that I hung on a windy tree
nights all nine,
wounded with a spear and given to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run
No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,
downwards I peered,
I took up the runes,
screaming I took them,
then I fell back from there


Veit ec at ec hecc vindga meiði a
netr allar nío,
geiri vndaþr oc gefinn Oðni,
sialfr sialfom mer,
a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn.
Við hleifi mic seldo ne viþ hornigi,
nysta ec niþr,
nam ec vp rvnar,
opandi nam,
fell ec aptr þaðan.

Odin is given credit in Norse Mythology for creating Runes. In stanzas 138 and 139 of the Hávamál, Odin's self sacrafice and subsequent recieving of the Runes is described. This describes one theory of how runes were created. As with most things, there are many different theories.





In 1362 Swedish nobles in Finland took part in the election of a Swedish king, Haakon the VI, Haakon Magnusson. After he was elected he was hoisted up on the Mora stone so the electors could pay homage. The stone disappeared in the 15th century. The stone on the stamp is the artist's re-creation of the stone with two words.... MAUNU HAAK N which translates to....... Magnus and Haakon.




I used a couple different sources for this. Mainly wikipedia, but I also used http://www.danstopicals.com, and http://www.wejees.net/whatarerunes.html

Part One: Short Answer

1) What are runes? Runes are sets of symbols that are used for divination and magical purposes, functioning as a alphabet.
2) What does the word rune mean? According to Dictionary.com a rune is any of the characters of certain ancient alphabets as of a script used for writing the Germanic languages. Mainly from Scandinavia and Britain, they date usually from c200 to c1200, they are also used for Turkish inscriptions during the 6th to 8th centuries near Mongolia. A more general definition of a rune is something written or inscribed in such characters, or something written with mystical meaning or spell casting purposes. Runes come from the Gothic word runa, which originally meant a secret thing or a mystery.
3) Besides using runes for script what else can they be used for? They can be used in vision questing, dream recall and controlling your surroundings and environments, and divination
4) What is the oldest form of the Rune System? The oldest form of the rune alphabet is known as Elder Futhark, used by Germanic tribes where inscriptions have been found on jewelry, amulets, tools, weapons and stones.
5) Is there anything special about the first six runes? If so what? Elder Futhark is named for the first six runes theoretical representation of a sound as it translates into human language.
6) Name three other runic forms besides the one you gave me earlier? Anglo Saxon Futhark, Younger Futhark, and Anglo-Friesian or Anglo-Saxon.
7) When was the oldest known runic inscription created? The Vimose comb, circa 160, is considered to the oldest datable runic inscription, it is inscribed with the word harja.



Part Two: Long Answer

Við hleifi mic seldo
ne viþ hornigi,
nysta ec niþr,
nam ec vp rvnar,
opandi nam,
fæll ec aptr þatan.

Translation:
They did not gladden me with a loaf or a horn.
I peered down
I took up runes, screaming I took them,
Again I fell from there.

This is a verse taken from the Hávamál, on of the poems of the Poetic Edda. This particular verse is told from Odin’s perspective and tells how he obtained the runes. The verse I chose can be found in the Rúnatáls-tháttr-Odhins, translated it means Odins Rune Song. Hávamál translates into Sayings of Hár or Sayings of the High One, it is meant to be a set of guidelines for wise living and survival.

Part Three: Fun Part
My rune is a fairly simple one. The rune is known as Hilddiguth’s Stone. This pillow stone was discovered in 1833 in Harlepool, Co. Durham, England. The stone rests above a nun’s grave and simply bears her name. I was interested in finding a grave stone rune, or a bracelet with rune engravings, and this is what my search brought me to. The rune dates from around 650AD and only measures roughly 8ins x 6ins. The modern incarnation of the name Hilddiguth is Hilda.




Sources:
magick-whispers.com/glossarypqrs.htm
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/reader/runatal.html
www.runemaker.com/monument4.shtml

Part 1



1.
Runes are any of the letters
of any of several alphabets used by the Germanic people.



2.
Runes comes from the word in Finnish, runo it is of the Germanic
origin



3.
Runes can also be used for showing the future (type or rune
unknown)



4.
The [color=#0070C0]Elder Futhark (150–800) is the oldest rune
system[/color]



5.
Elder Futhark
is the name for the very first six runes



6.
[color=#0070C0]Old Italic alphabet, Northern Italic, and Lepontic[/color]



7.
It was done in ca. 150


Part 2


Þat
kann ec iþ tolpta,

ef ec se a tre vppi

vafa virgilná:

sva ec rist oc i rvnom fác,

at sa gengr gvmi

oc melir viþ mic.


A
twelfth [spell] I know;

when I see aloft upon a tree

A corpse swinging from a rope,

Then I cut and paint runes

So that the man walks

And speaks with me.


This was
taken from one of the sections of the [color=#0070C0]Havamal,
runes, which have been credited with a power to bring back a dead person to
life[/color]


Part 3





The Vaksala
Runestoneisn’t currently in Vaksala, although that’s where it is found.
It is by a parish by [color=#0070C0]Uppsala, Sweden. It is one of the rune stones
made by Carver Öpir.
He created these in Uppland in the in
the11 century. The rune stone say that Ingulfast
has made the rune stone on the request of the widow and her dead daughter.[/color]






I used Wikipedia, but I used another site, but I lost the name of it.

Part One: Short Answer

1. What are runes? Runes are letters previously used to write Germanic languages before and shortly after the Christianization of Scandinavia and the British Isles.
2. What does the word rune mean? A rune is any of the characters of any of several alphabets used by the Germanic peoples from about the 3rd to the 13th centuries. It came from the Old Norse and Old English word runa, meaning mystery. It is also similar to the Old High German word runa, which means secret discussion, or the Irish word rún, meaning mystery.
3. Besides using words for script, what else can they be used for? Runes are used in divination work, healing, protection, meditation and empowerment and used to learn lessons and gain knowledge and wisdom. They present signpost for the journey through life. Runes are also used for attracting good luck and engraving on jewelry.
4. What is the oldest form of the Rune System? The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Proto-Norse and other Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts and rune stones.
5. Is there anything special about the first six runes? If so, what? The Older Futhark is named after the initial phenome of the first six rune names, which is a theoretical representation of a sound in human language.
6. Name three other runic forms besides the one you gave me earlier. Three other runic forms are the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, Younger Futhark, and the Old Italic alphabet.
7. When was the oldest known runic inscription created? The oldest known runic inscription was created during the second century to the eighth century.

Part 2: Long Answer
Veit ec at ec hecc
Vindga meiði a
Nætr allar nio,
Geiri vndaþr
Oc gefinn Oðni
Sialfr sialfom mer,
A þeim meiþi,
Er mangi veit
Hvers hann af rótom renn

Translation: I know that I hung on a windy tree for all of nine nights, wounded with a spear, and given to Óðinn, myself to myself, on that tree, which no man knows, from what roots it runs.

This is a translation on the strophes of Hávamál called Rúnatal Óðins, where in the hero hung on a wind-swept gallows for nine long nights, offering himself to Odin.

Part 3: Fun Part

This is the Great Stone of Jelling, raised by King Harold Bluetooth to his parents in 895 AD. Jelling in North Jutland, Denmark, has a widespread complex of Runic remains. The inscription on the Great Stone reads: “King Haraldr ordered this monument to be made in memory of his father Gormr and his mother Thorvi. This was Haraldr who won all Denmark for himself and for Norway, and who made the Danes Christian.”

Sources:
http://www.ishtarhealer.com
http://www.m-w.com
http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/reader/runatal.html
http://www.runemaker.com/monument.shtml

Part One: Short Answer

1) What are runes? (3)
Runes are a set of alphabets that were used to write Germanic languages.

2) What does the word rune mean? (1)
Rune means "secret", or Finnish "poem".

3) Besides using runes for script what else can they be used for? (4)
Runes can be used in magic and divination and as decor on monuments.

4) What is the oldest form of the Rune System? (3)
The oldest form of the Rune System is Elder Futhark, ca. 150-800.

5) Is there anything special about the first six runes? If so what? (4)
The first six runes are used to make the name of the alphabet.

6) Name three other runic forms besides the one you gave me earlier? (3)
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, Younger Futhark, and the Swedish-Norwegian runic script.

7) When was the oldest known runic inscription created? (2)
Around ca. 150.

Total: 20 points

Part Two: Long Answer

Runes can be found just about anywhere, even in Mythology. I would like you to find one verse in

mythology where runes are being used. Give me the passage followed by the translation. Then proceed

to tell me how it involved Runes - what is it's link to them? (10)
RUNIC VERSE:
(Old Norse)

Veit ec at ec hecc vindga meiði a
netr allar nío,
geiri vndaþr oc gefinn Oðni,
sialfr sialfom mer,
a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn.

Við hleifi mic seldo ne viþ hornigi,
nysta ec niþr,
nam ec vp rvnar,
opandi nam,
fell ec aptr þaðan.

TRANSLATION:

I know that I hung on a windy tree
nights all nine,
wounded with a spear and given to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run

No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,
downwards I peered,
I took up the runes,
screaming I took them,
then I fell back from there

ANSWER:

The passage used runes to describe how the god Odin found the runes by commiting suicide, since the

runes themselves were held to be divine in origin. The god's name is spelled with runes, Oðni, which must

mean that he himself has sort of divine origin (being a god).


Total: 10 points

Part Three: Fun Part

Find one runic inscription, post the picture or text of it and then translate it for me. When you have

completed that write a short passage of how you came to your translations. (15)

HuæaR of kam hæráss á
hi á land gotna.
FiskR óR f(ir)na uim suim(m)ande,
fogl á f??????? galande.

Whom as came harrier-god
here to goð 's land?
Fishlike, out of river-fear swimming,
as fowl, out of f(?) crowing

My rune is from the Eggjum stone, a gravestone with a very long passage inscribed on it. The runic

inscription is in Old West Scandinavian, and was found in 1917. The second runic part of the stone is said

to contain one stanza from the Galdralag meter (the stanza above). The inscription could be an example

of a ritual verse chanted by cult leaders, shamans or oracles from Norse Scandinavia.

Sources:
http://www.search.com/reference/Eggjum_stone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runes

Total: 15 points

Bonus:

The person with the best homework will receive and extra 5 points

Assignment total: 50 points

Remember to Site your sources! Points will be deducted if no sources are provided.

1) Runes are used to create a runic alphabet that was used to write Germanic languages around 200 AD. They were written left to right or right to left and sometimes they were even written upside down and in mirror script. Runic alphabets, however, declined due to the introduction of the Latin alphabet and Christianity to the germanic tribes, by 1200 AD.

2) The word 'rune' is thought to have its origins in the Old English 'rūn' which means whisper or secret talk. Other sources believe the word to come from a Gothic word, runa, which has the same meaning. Currently the word rune means a character of an ancient alphabet used as a script for the writing of germanic languages. Also in Modern times, rune is used as a name for a poem, verse, or song.

3) Although runes were mainly used for script, they also had (and have) many magical uses. Runes were commonly used for charms and curses. Nowadays, the oldest runic language, Elder Futhark, is used for fortune telling.

4) Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the Rune System.

5) The first six runes of Elder Futhark make up the name ( f, u, þ, a, r, k ).

6) Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, Younger Fubark, Hrabanus Maurus

7) The oldest known rune inscription was discovered inscribed on a comb in Fuenen, Denmark. The inscription, dated to around the 160s, reads "harja".

PART II
Ljóðatal section of the Hávamál:

Þat kann ec iþ tolpta,
ef ec se a tre vppi
vafa virgilná:
sva ec rist oc i rvnom fác,
at sa gengr gvmi
oc melir viþ mic.

A twelfth [spell] I know;
when I see aloft upon a tree
A corpse swinging from a rope,
Then I cut and paint runes
So that the man walks
And speaks with me.

In this passage, runes are cited as a way to bring a dead man back to life. This goes back to the perception of runes containing magical properties and their usefulness in charms and curses.


Part III
The Rök Stone was carved in the 800s and is considered the first piece of Swedish literature. The first verse if the stone is as follows:
Eptir Vámóð standa rúnar þær. En Varinn fáði, faðir, eptir feigjan son.

Translation:
In memory of Vámóðr stand these runes.
And Varinn coloured them, the father,
in memory of his dead son.

To achieve this translation I first spotted the proper nouns such as Vámóð and Varinn (the fact that they are capitalized was my clue). Next I translated the few words that I could guess. Standa, I guessed, meant stand or stands. Clearly, I guessed that son was son, and finally I gathered that rúnar meant rune. Thusfar, I had Eptir Vámóð stand/stands rune þær. En Varinn fáði, faðir, eptir feigjan son. Now I wanted to figure out those proper nouns. Using the magical properties of google, I searched Vámóð and found that he is a mythological figure in Swedish lore, as isVarinn. I had translated Eptir Vámóð stand/stands rune þær. In Varinn fáði, faðir, eptir feigjan son. (From knowledge in Latin I deduced that En = in) Finally I had to look up the rest of the inscription and found the full meaning shown above.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_stone#Image_stones
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rune
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Futhark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runic_alphabet
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/vikings/write.html

Part One: Short Answer

1) What are runes? (3) A set of symbols that are used both in divination and magickal workings. There are several types of runes with different origins. A few are the Norse, Scandinavian and Germanic runes. Unlike the Tarot, they are an integral part of the magickal system with its own pantheon, should you care to use it. They can function as an alphabet and are useful in vision questing, dream recall and controlling your environment.
2) What does the word rune mean? (1) something written or inscribed in such characters.
3) Besides using runes for script what else can they be used for? (4)Runes were after used for divination , and rune magic
4) What is the oldest form of the Rune System? (3) Elder Futhark
5) Is there anything special about the first six runes? If so what? (4) Elder Futhark is named for the first six runes
6) Name three other runic forms besides the one you gave me earlier? (3)Younger Futhark, Angelo-Saxon Futhark, Etruscan alphabets, Latin alphabet, Faliscan, Mariliana, Messapic,
7) When was the oldest known runic inscription created? (2) The first use of runic monuments as historical sources was published in 1893 by the Danish scholar Ludvig Wimmer.2 References to the work of Worm and Wimmer permeate the modern runologic literature.

Total: 20 points[b]

[b]Part Two: Long Answer

Runes can be found just about anywhere, even in Mythology. I would like you to find one verse in mythology where runes are being used. Give me the passage followed by the translation. Then proceed to tell me how it involved Runes - what is it's link to them? (10)

Fimbvllióð nío
nam ec af enom fregia syni
Baulþors Bestlo faudvr;
oc ec dryc of gat
ens dyra miaðar
ausinn Oðreri.


From the son of Bolthorn, Bestla's father, I mastered mighty songs nine, and a drink I had of the dearest mead, got from out of Óthroerir.

This verse is just a short poem used in the days of runes it does not have a large rune purpose.

Total: 10 points

Part Three: Fun Part

Find one runic inscription, post the picture or text of it and then translate it for me. When you have completed that write a short passage of how you came to your translations. (15)



(ek þirbijaR ru)

It translates to “he who makes people powerless”
This inscription may have been written as a curse against to those who would interfere with his ownership of the isle.

Total: 15 points

Bonus:

The person with the best homework will receive and extra 5 points

Assignment total: 50 points

Sources:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&hs=lza&defl=en&q=define:Runes&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rune
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9529/runes.htm

Part One: Short Answer
1) What are runes? A set of symbols or drawings that are used as an alphabet, formerly used to write in Germanic languages and others.

2) What does the word rune mean? any of the characters of certain ancient alphabets, as of a script used for writing the Germanic languages, esp. of Scandinavia and Britain, from c200 to c1200, or a script used for inscriptions in a Turkic language of the 6th to 8th centuries from the area near the Orkhon River in Mongolia. (Dictionary.com)[/b

3) Besides using runes for script what else can they be used for? As we already know they can be used as alphabets. However in rural Sweden they were often used as decorations on calendars which they would call Runic Calendars. Thay can also be used in Mythological Ways, and also for Magic and Divination where the runes are attributed with the power to bring that which is dead to life. Some later runic finds are on monuments, which often contain solemn inscriptions about people who died or performed great deeds. In the later Middle Ages, runes were also used in the Clog almanacs of Sweden. And much more as well.

4) What is the oldest form of the Rune System? The oldest form is known to be used by Germanic Tribes, actually created by them, and they call it The Elder Futhark(ca. 150–800).

5) Is there anything special about the first six runes? If so what? The Younger Futhark is divided into the division between Danish and Norwegian-Swedish which poorly reflects geographic distribution. And Elder Futhark was named after the first six runes.

6) Name three other runic forms besides the one you gave me earlier? The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400–1100), The Younger Futhark (800–1100), The Medieval Runes (1100–1500).

7) When was the oldest known runic inscription created? It was created around ca. 150 or 160, and it is believed to be named Vimose Comb.


Part Two: Long Answer
Veit ec at ec hecc vindga meiði a
netr allar nío,
geiri vndaþr oc gefinn Oðni,
sialfr sialfom mer,
a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn.

Við hleifi mic seldo ne viþ hornigi,
nysta ec niþr,
nam ec vp rvnar,
opandi nam,
fell ec aptr þaðan.

I know that I hung on a windy tree
nights all nine,
wounded with a spear and given to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run

No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,
downwards I peered,
I took up the runes,
screaming I took them,
then I fell back from there.

In the passage up there we find that in old Scandinavian belief, the runes were of divine origin and this is attested as early as the 9th century on the Sparlösa Runestone (Ok rað runaR þaR rægi[n]kundu meaning "And interpret the runes of divine origin"). Their originator was held to be the god Odin, and the Hávamál describes how Odin receives the rune through his self-sacrifice.

Part Three: Fun Part

Codex Runicus, a vellum manuscript from c. 1300 containing one of the oldest and best preserved texts of the Scanian Law, written entirely in runes. A codex of 202 pages in a variant of the younger futhark runic alphabet written around the year 1300 which includes the oldest preserved Nordic provincial law, Scanian Law, originally pertaining to the Danish land Scania and later to a larger region of Denmark, including Zealand. Codex Runicus is one of the few runic texts found on parchment. The manuscript's initials are painted various colors and the rubrics are red. Each rune corresponds to a letter of the Latin alphabet.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runes
Dictionary.com
And used photobucket.com to get the link for my picture
Hope you like my Homework!