The Viking Rune: All Things Norse

Want to learn more about Norse Vikings? We provide information and insight for people interested in Viking Age Scandinavia. The present web site is a dynamic resource that treats on current and past issues related to Norse cultural heritage. The Viking Rune offers unique online features: free Rune Converter and Motto Generator. We are committed to greater access to knowledge about the Vikings, which is the only way to dispel the myth about Norse warriors as cruel and bloodthirsty raiders who did nothing but kill, pillage and rape. The Viking Rune is always up-to-date with the latest developments in North Germanic studies, including hot archeological finds in Scandinavia and elsewhere.

Thor’s Hammer – A Norse Viking Symbol

August 21, 2009 Germanic Symbols

Mjöllnir or Thor’s hammer is the weapon of the Norse god of thunder. Initially, Thor’s hammer was thought of as made of stone, but in the Eddaic tradition it is an iron weapon forged by Svartálfar (black elves, correlated with the dvergar, dwarves) named Sindri and Brokkr. In the Norse myths Thor’s hammer is often [...]

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More on Max Payne Tattoos

August 12, 2009 Norse Mythology

For quite a long time I have been wondering what kind of a book the tattoo artist (Stephen R. Hart) shows to Max (Mark Wahlberg) and Mona (Mila Kunis) in Max Payne movie. Now I have the answer: no such book ever existed. The page to the left is numbered 290, and the page to [...]

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Norse Rune Symbols and the Third Reich

July 31, 2009 Germanic Symbols

Some of the symbols treated in this article may be interpreted as pointing to Nazi ideology in certain contexts. Their use in the present article has nothing to do with it. Any such connotations are a recent development as compared to the long history of the most of these signs. Below both their original meaning [...]

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Norse Heathen Symbols Are Not Hate Symbols

July 30, 2009 Germanic Symbols

What would you feel if you saw a guy with a runic tattoo? Many would probably feel uneasiness, including myself. The question is why. I perfectly know that ancient Germanic peoples used the Elder Futhark not because they were white supremacists. I realize that vikings used the Younger Futhark not because they were racist skinheads. [...]

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Create Life Mottos in Old Norse Online

July 20, 2009 Old Norse

Just added a new feature: the Old Norse motto generator. This allows to create viking mottos or slogans online through a user friendly interface according to five grammatical patterns. The first one is «(noun) and (noun)». Choosing words in drop down menus allows to create such Old Norse phrases as «blood and death», or «sword [...]

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Rune Stone Used as Parking Lot Border

May 20, 2009 Rune Stones

Last fall an area near a church outside Stockholm, Sweden was excavated in order to lay some cables. The workers dug out some rocks, which were left on the plot. One of these rocks covered with mud and earth was thought to be quite fitting for use as a church parking lot border. Week after [...]

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Viking Ship Found in Lake Vänern

May 18, 2009 Viking Ships

Early this month a team of divers discovered a wreck of a 20-metre long Viking ship at the bottom of Lake Vänern, Sweden’s largest lake. Several Viking ships had been unearthed in Sweden before, but all of them on dry land. This is the first find of such type in Swedish waters. One of the [...]

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Top Ten Viking Hoaxes

May 13, 2009 Vikings

1. Vinland Map. The so called Vinland Map is a medieval style map of the old world. It is said to date to the 15th century, when it was purportedly redrawn from a 13th century original. In the western Atlantic it has a large island identified as Vinland, which is the name given to an [...]

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