Runoscript · Runes (academic)

Rune glossary

Q: What is the Elder Futhark?

The Elder Futhark is the oldest Germanic runic alphabet — 24 letters used roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century CE, named after its first six sounds (f-u-þ-a-r-k). Each rune is both a sound and a word (wealth, aurochs, a god, ice…). historical-fact. See [the 24 runes](/runes/).

Q: What is a bind rune?

A bind rune is two or more runes joined into a single sign on a shared vertical stave. As a writing device (ligatures, monograms) it is attested; as a magical sign for an intention it is a modern practice. See [bind runes](/bind-rune.html).

Q: What is a runescript?

A runescript is a short row of runes chosen to anchor one intention — the simple, sequential form of rune practice. Folded onto a shared stave it becomes a bind rune. practice-instruction.

Q: What is galdr?

Galdr is the practice of intoning or chanting rune names and sounds. The word is old (Old Norse galdr, "incantation"), but the modern system of a fixed sound per rune is a 20th-century reconstruction. practice-instruction.

Q: What is stadhagaldr (rune yoga)?

Stadhagaldr is holding the body in rune-shaped postures while chanting — "rune yoga". It was invented by Marby and Kummer in the 1920s–30s and labeled "stadhagaldr" by Thorsson in the 1980s; it is not ancient. See rune-yoga origins. revival-claim.

Q: What is a stadha?

A stadha (Old Norse "stance, position") is a single rune posture in stadhagaldr — the body shaped like the rune. The postures themselves are a modern construction. practice-instruction.

Q: What is an aett (aettir)?

An aett (plural aettir) is one of the three groups of eight into which the 24-rune Elder Futhark is divided. The three-fold division is attested epigraphically (e.g. the Vadstena bracteate). historical-fact.

Q: What is the blank rune?

The blank rune is a 25th, unmarked tile added to rune sets by Ralph Blum in 1982; it is absent from every historical inscription, rune poem and saga. See [the blank rune](/blank-rune.html). revival-claim (as to antiquity).

Short, self-contained definitions of the terms that come up in runology and rune practice — each one marked for what is genuinely ancient (historical-fact) and what is a modern revival (revival-claim) or a practice technique (practice-instruction).

What is the Elder Futhark?

The Elder Futhark is the oldest Germanic runic alphabet — 24 letters used roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century CE, named after its first six sounds (f-u-þ-a-r-k). Each rune is both a sound and a word (wealth, aurochs, a god, ice…). historical-fact. See the 24 runes.

What is a futhark?

A futhark is a runic alphabet, named — like "alphabet" from alpha-beta — after its opening letters f-u-þ-a-r-k. The main rows are the 24-rune Elder Futhark, the 16-rune Younger Futhark, and the ~30-rune Anglo-Saxon futhorc. historical-fact.

What is a bind rune?

A bind rune is two or more runes joined into a single sign on a shared vertical stave. As a writing device (ligatures, monograms) it is attested; as a magical sign for an intention it is a modern practice. See bind runes.

What is a runescript?

A runescript is a short row of runes chosen to anchor one intention — the simple, sequential form of rune practice. Folded onto a shared stave it becomes a bind rune. practice-instruction.

What is galdr?

Galdr is the practice of intoning or chanting rune names and sounds. The word is old (Old Norse galdr, "incantation"), but the modern system of a fixed sound per rune is a 20th-century reconstruction. practice-instruction.

What is stadhagaldr (rune yoga)?

Stadhagaldr is holding the body in rune-shaped postures while chanting — "rune yoga". It was invented by Marby and Kummer in the 1920s–30s and labeled "stadhagaldr" by Thorsson in the 1980s; it is not ancient. See rune-yoga origins. revival-claim.

What is a stadha?

A stadha (Old Norse "stance, position") is a single rune posture in stadhagaldr — the body shaped like the rune. The postures themselves are a modern construction. practice-instruction.

What does merkstave mean?

Merkstave ("dark stave") is the modern divinatory term for a rune drawn reversed or in a negative aspect. Reading reversed runes is a 20th-century convention, not an ancient rule. revival-claim.

What is an aett (aettir)?

An aett (plural aettir) is one of the three groups of eight into which the 24-rune Elder Futhark is divided. The three-fold division is attested epigraphically (e.g. the Vadstena bracteate). historical-fact.

What is the blank rune?

The blank rune is a 25th, unmarked tile added to rune sets by Ralph Blum in 1982; it is absent from every historical inscription, rune poem and saga. See the blank rune. revival-claim (as to antiquity).

What are the Armanen runes?

The Armanen runes are an 18-rune row invented by Guido von List in 1902 — an Ariosophic, völkisch construction, not a historical futhark. See the rune-revival timeline. revival-claim.

What is the Uthark?

The Uthark is an alternative rune order (beginning with Uruz) proposed by Sigurd Agrell in 1932 and rejected by academic runology. See the Uthark. revival-claim.

What is a galdrastav?

A galdrastav is a complex runescript woven into a single bound stave — the elaborate, crafted form of a bind rune. See galdrastav. practice-instruction.

What is a bracteate?

A bracteate is a thin, single-sided gold pendant (Migration Period, c. 5th–6th century) often bearing runic inscriptions — a key source for early rune-magic formula words like alu and laukaz. historical-fact.