Runes: Literacy in the Germanic Iron Age

The fuþark or runic alphabet has been studied for several centuries. Scholarly opinion about the origins and purposes of the writing ranges from the purely pragmatic to the highly symbolic, with a great deal of speculative fringe literature.

This new survey takes into account recent finds from Britain, Scandinavia and the Continent together with new interpretations of old finds. It investigates the reasons for the creation of the script.

The culture that devised the runes must have been familiar with one or more existing alphabet. What combination of factors impelled the script's creation? How was it transmitted from generation to generation? Who used it, when and how?

The author divides the thousand-year history from inception to widespread adoption into phases, each with its own characteristic usages. The study traces the runes' transition from 'hieratic' to 'demotic', from the secret of a closed social class to the common property of entire societies.