A set of symbols often known as runes served a number of functions all through historical past, appearing as an alphabet, a device for divination, and a system imbued with magical significance. These symbols, etched onto objects like stones, wooden, and metallic, have been employed by Germanic peoples, primarily throughout the Migration Interval and the Viking Age. Runic inscriptions provide insights into the beliefs, practices, and each day lives of those cultures. As an example, an inscription on a comb would possibly provide a easy dedication, whereas one on a rune stone would possibly commemorate a major occasion or particular person.
As a writing system, runes supplied a method of communication and record-keeping. Their symbolic nature additionally lent them to divinatory practices, the place castings of marked stones have been interpreted to supply steerage or predict the longer term. This follow intertwined with the broader cultural context, linking the runes to Norse mythology and its pantheon of gods and goddesses. The examine of those symbols presents useful historic information, shedding gentle on historic Germanic language, tradition, and perception methods.
