Ancient Runes

Runes Is the study of an ancient
Germanic alphabet, used for writing,
divination and magick. They were
used throughout northern Europe,
Scandinavia, the British Isles, and
Iceland from about 100 B.C.E. to
1600 C.E. Runic inscriptions of
great age have even been found in
North America.
 

Since ancient times, runes have been used
for divination and magic, in addition to
writing. The word "rune" actually means
mystery, secret or whisper. Each rune
has esoteric meanings and properties
associated with it, beyond its mundane
meaning and phonetic value. Each translates
into a word or a phrase signifying concepts
important to the early peoples who used
them, representing the forces of nature
and mind. Each rune has a story attached
to it, a relationship to a Norse God.
 

Runic alphabets first appeared among
German tribes in central and eastern
Europe. Some runes symbols are likely
to have been acquired from other
alphabets, such as the Greek, Etruscan,
and the Early Roman. The runes were
made of straight lines to make the
characters suitable for cutting into
wood or stone. The earliest runic
inscriptions on stone are dated to
the late 3rd century AD, although it is
probable that runic alphabets had
been in use for some centuries before.

classwork/homework includes plenty
of practice interpreting runes.

The textbook for this class is ancient
runes made easy.   various rune dictionaries
are also needed for translating
runes.  These books can be purchased
at flourish and blotts in diagon alley.