How to Write in Old Norse With Futhark Runes: The Ultimate Guide

Old Norse runic inscriptionI often receive requests to write in runes an Old Norse word or phrase. People naturally tend to expect that nothing could be easier, since runes were initially created for the Old Norse language. There should be rules as for how to write with runes in that language. There should be some kind of table. However, tables that give Younger Futhark runes along with letters, usually do the opposite: they explain how to transform runes into letters. Those tables are of no use if you are interested in the reverse process.

Moreover, a mere table would not be enough to write in Old Norse with runes, it takes a whole tutorial to learn how to do that the way it might have been done on a Viking Age runestone ca. AD 1000.

1. Have Your Text in Old Norse

The first step is to make sure your text is in Old Norse. Note that modern Icelandic is very close to Old Norse. Icelanders usually have no difficulty in understanding texts that were written a thousand years ago, because their language changed very little since the time. Also note that a lot of Old Norse texts are available online in modern Icelandic orthography. Thus we have to make sure which of the three possible options we actually have:

  • Modern Icelandic text
  • Old Norse text in modern Icelandic orthography
  • Old Norse text in Old Norse orthography

It is important to know if we want to do the inscription the way it might have been done in the Viking Age. A simple rule of thumb is as follows:

  • If you see words ég (‘I’) and og (‘and’), it’s modern Icelandic.
  • If you see ek and ok instead, but also words að (‘to’) and það (‘that’), and the letter ö in any word, it’s Old Norse in modern Icelandic orthography.
  • If you see ek, ok, at, and þat, and also letters ø or ǫ, it’s Old Norse in Old Norse orthography.

2. Choose Your Version of the Futhark Runic Alphabet

People sometimes want to write in Old Norse with the Elder Futhark runes, simply because they are visually more appealing. Why not. However, the standard runic alphabet for the Viking Age runic inscriptions was the Younger Futhark. It had three variants:

  • Long Branch: Danish runes (also often considered as the standard Younger Futhark set).
  • Short Twig: Norwegian-Swedish or Rök runes (more minimalistic variant).
  • Staveless or Hålsinge runes (triumph of minimalism).

Long Branch runes originated in Denmark but eventually were used more or less throughout Scandinavia (and wherever Vikings pillaged, traded and drank). Staveless runes were used only locally. (By the way, if you wish to emphasize your Norwegian or Swedish descent, I don’t think your choice is limited by the Short Twig option alone.)

3. Discriminate Between the Runes Where Necessary

3.1. Use of either reið or ýr rune for r.

In Proto-Norse and Old Norse (up to a certain time) there were two phonemes for r: /r/ (reið rune) and /R/ (ýr rune). The first one had always been /r/, since the Indo-European times. The second one, /R/, had been /s/ in Indo-European, and then /z/ in Proto-Germanic. Viking Age runic inscriptions differentiate between the two. Old Norse literature written down in the 13th century (and Old Norse orthography, which is based on it) does not. Bad news: we are to know the etymology of the word in order to write it in Viking Age runes correctly. Good news: there is a rule of thumb that covers most cases. It is enough to make an authentic runic inscription, since Viking Age runecarvers were not ideal at differentiating between the two: they often put ýr where reið was needed and vice versa.

Rule of thumb: Nearly any r that is in a case and number ending (for nouns) or in a person and number ending (for regular verbs) is /R/, not /r/.

Examples:

kallar ‘he calls’ (present indicative 3rd person singular) -r < -R < -z

armr ‘hand’ (nominative singular): -r < -aR < -az

skildir ‘shields’ (nominative plural): -ir < -juR < -juz < -iwiz

heiðar ‘of the wasteland’ (genitive singular): -ar < -ioR < -ioz

Note, however, that r at the end of the words faðir ‘father’, bróðir ‘brother’, móðir ‘mother’, dóttir ‘daughter’ and systir ‘sister’ belongs to the stem and not the ending, so all these words have reið rune at the end.

The word Thor also has reið, since r + R gave r: Þórr (þur) < Þonar < ÞunraR < Þunraz

3.2. Use of either ár or ą́ss rune for a.

The rune ą́ss < ansuz was used for a nasalized /ã/, that is for groups an + consonant in standard Old Norse orthography. Example: England was spelt ikląt in runic inscriptions:

The rune ár was used for a and á in all other positions (but sometimes for /ã/, too).

3.3. Use of either nauð rune or nothing for n; maðr rune or nothing for m

All the other nasalized vowels did not have special runes for them, so whenever you have a group of vowel + n + g, d, render it as vowel + g, d (without nauð rune). Use nauð for n in all other cases. Example: konung was spelt kunukR in runic inscriptions:

The same applies to groups vowel + m + b: render it as vowel + b (without maðr rune). Use maðr for m in all other cases.

3.4. Use of either fé or úr rune for v.

Before vowels v was spelt with úr rune. Example: viking (in the sense of raid, not person) was spelt uikik in runic inscriptions:

The rune fé was used for v in all other positions.

3.5. Use of either úr or ár + úr for o.

O and ó are usually spelt as úr in runic inscriptions and only occasionally as ár+úr. Note, however, that ok ‘and’ was nearly always spelt auk:

4. Refer to This General Table

Rune variants that go first appear more frequently in the Viking Age runic inscriptions. If there is a reference to a paragraph above, the use of variants depends on a rule.

a, á or (3.2) p, b, mb
b, mb, p r or (3.1)
d, nd, t s
e, é or , rarely

t, d, nd
f, v u, ú
g, ng, k v or (3.4)
h x
i , í y, ý or
j z
k, g, ng ø, ǿ (œ) or
l ǫ, ǫ́ or , rarely

m æ , rarely
n ei
o, ó or

(3.5)
þ, ð

5. Do Not Use Double Runes

Viking Age runic inscriptions normally do not have two identical runes in a row. This is valid even for two runes that belong to two different words, one at the end of a previous one, the other at the beginning of a following one (if no separators are used). Cf. raþu for rað þu below.

6. Use Dots or x Signs as Spaces

Viking Age runic inscriptions either do not have separators between words at all, or use dots, combinations of dots or x signs as separators.

7. (Optional) Begin Your Inscription With a Traditional Formula

Some runestone inscriptions begin with words Rað þu (Interpret!) or Rað þu runar (Interpret the runes!):

Runic inscription U 29 (Hillersjö stone) has the word raþu in the eye of a dragon (see the image above left).

This tutorial is © copyright. No part of it may be copied or reproduced.

258 comments… add one
  • Brad

    Can you clarify rule 3.2? Specifically, “The rune ą́ss < ansuz was used for a nasalized /ã/, that is for groups an + consonant in standard Old Norse orthography." I don't understand the "an + consonant" part.

  • Carlo Romeo

    Hello everyone!!! I have fallen in love with Futhark, but having just started a few days ago I have no skills but rather open questions….

    As a starting point, I want to translate the word “brother” into Younger Futhark (long twig), so first I turned the word into its Old Norse version bróðir.

    Now comes the pain: many references address the vowel “o” with different runes, so the end result is completely different.

    One of the proposed runes are ᛒᚱᚬᚦᛁᛦ . Are they even remotely correct? Could you propose the version (and your motivations) that you think is most appropriate? Thank you very much

  • Church

    Hello! My name is Church, and i am going to college for the study of mythology and ancient languages. I have always been interested in this subject considering one of my descendants was a rower alongside of Eric The Red. This is all brand new to me and i was wondering if you could recommend me some useful resources to further my education?
    ᛏᚼᛅᚾᚴ ᛁᚬᚢ ᚠᚱᚬᛘ ᛅᛘᛁᚱᛁᚴᛅ ᛁᚬᚢᚱ ᚠᚱᛁᛁᚾᛏ, ᚴᚼᚢᚱᚴᚼ (i also don’t know if that’s correct, but it seemed fitting:))

  • Chris

    Hello and thank you very much for the time and knowledge you give us! A truly remarkable work.

    I’m trying to translate in Younger Futhark a sentence from Heilung Traust song.

    In Modern Icelandic:
    Fjón þvæ ég af mér fjanda minna rán og reiði ríkra manna

    In Older norse:
    Fjón þvæ ég af méR fjanda mina rán og reiði ríkra mana

    In younger Futhark:
    ᚠᛁᚢᚿ:ᚦᚠᛅ:ᛁᚴ:ᛅᚠ:ᛘᛁᛦ:ᚠᛁᛅᚾᛏᛅ:ᛘᛁᚾᛅ:ᚱᛅᚾ:ᛅᚢᚴ:ᚱᛅᛁᚦᛁ:ᚱᛁᚴᚱᛅ:ᛘᛅᚾᛅ

    Does it seem globally correct to you?
    Should Fjanda be written ᚠᛁᛅᚾᛏᛅ or ᚠᛁᚬᛏᛅ following rule 3.2?
    Thank you very much for your time!

  • Nörko G. Ársheimersson

    Exquisite!
    You have my eternal gratitude for this splendid explanation of how exactly the runes of Younger Fuþark work. I’ve been trying to find a proper list that would include all the rules for quite some time and this is most surely the best one I’ve encountered so far.
    ᚴᛅᚱᛅᚱ:ᚦᛅᚴᛁᛦ

  • Tom

    Hello, i would like to translate these 4 sentences into runes.
    Away from man
    Beneath the trees
    Facing the ocean
    I found peace
    I translated them in icelandic and old norse (i guess) and i would like to know if my translation is correct
    Away from man
    Icelandic : Burt frá manni
    Old norse : Burt frá mani
    Runes : ᛒᛦᛏ : ᚠᚱᚬ : ᛘᛅᚾ

    Beneath the trees
    Icelandic : undir trjánum
    Old norse : undr trjánum
    Runes : ᚢᛏᛦ : ᛏᚱᛁᚬᚾᚢᛘ

    Facing the ocean
    Icelandic : Frammi fyrir hafinu
    Old norse : Frami fyrir hafinu
    Runes : ᚠᚱᛅᛘᛁ : ᚠᚢᚱᛦ : ᚼᛅᚠᛁᚾᚢ

    I found peace
    Icelandic : ég fann frið
    Old norse : ég fan frið
    Runes : ᛅᚴ : ᚠᛅᚾ : ᚠᚱᛁᚦ

  • Dakota Stevens

    I realized I didn’t include the translation in Modern Icelandic:
    Aðeins dauður fiskur fylgir straumnum

    How would that be translated into Younger Futhark (short-twig preferably).

    Thank you!

  • yvonne marshall

    Hi
    I’ve discovered I’m of Viking descendants from Lincolnshire: Ive lived on a boat for 4 yrs never quite knowing how I got here ! But have since found out my great great grandfathers were boat men too! Am I able to spell out great granddaughter and their names ? To stencil around my boat as I’m painting The exterior of my boat called Eric ( my fathers name ) . Also are their any boating sayings from the vikings per chance ?
    Thank you for wonderful website hope you can help me
    Yvonne

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