Inscriptions: Runic

Fuþarks and fuþorcs (Kylver Stone, Rök Stone, Thames scramasax)

Standard runic sequences are known as fuþarks (when referring to the common Germanic usage, or the usage found in non-OE texts) or as fuþorcs (when referring to the OE sequence). The name derives from the first six letters in the sequence, just as the term alphabet, used for the Greek-/Latin-based sequence, derives from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta). A fair number of such sequences survive; ‘runemasters’ seem to have liked making such lists, either because of the decorative possibilities of the sequence or for some other purpose – perhaps magical or (a more pedestrian explanation) for mnemonic or pedagogic purposes.

The earliest Germanic fuþark is that on the Kylver stone, Gotland, which is usually dated to the early fifth century. Gotland, as its name suggests, was the Gothic Heimat, from where the Goths spread down the Vistula to the Black Sea and Mediterranean. It may be taken as an example of the application of the runes to Gothic. The Rök inscription from Östergötland, Sweden, dates from c. 800 AD and is the longest runic inscription recorded, with over 700 characters; it records a North Germanic usage. The Thames inscription is on a scramasax, or single-sided sword, found in 1857 in the River Thames; it is now in the British Museum.