Runes

R unes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets, which were used to
write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialised
purposes thereafter. Te Scandinavian variants are also known as futhark or fuþark (derived
from their frst six letters of the alphabet: F, U, Þ, A, R, and K); the Anglo-Saxon variant is futhorc or
fuþorc (due to sound-changes undergone in Old English by the names of those six letters).
Te earliest runic inscriptions date from around 150 AD. Te characters were generally replaced by
the Latin alphabet as the cultures that had used runes underwent Christianisation, by approximately
700 AD in central Europe and 1100 AD in northern Europe. However, the use of runes persisted for
specialized purposes in northern Europe. Until the early 20th century, runes were used in rural Sweden
for decorative purposes in Dalarna and on Runic calendars.
One of the earliest examples of runic writing can be found on the Te Golden Horns of Gallehus.
Tis inscription is among the earliest inscriptions in the Elder Futhark that record a full sentence, and
the earliest preserving a line of alliterative verse. Tese two horns were made of sheet gold and were
discovered in Gallehus, in Denmark. Te horns dated to the early 5th century.Te horns were found in
1639 and in 1734, respectively, at locations only some 15–20 metres apart. Tey were composed of
segments of double sheet gold. Te original horns were stolen and melted down in 1802. Casts made of
the horns in the late 18th century were also lost. Replicas of the horns must thus rely on 17th and 18th-
century drawings exclusively and are accordingly fraught with uncertainty. Nevertheless, replicas of the
original horns were produced and are exhibited at the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen,
and the Moesgaard Museum, near Aarhus, Denmark. Tese replicas also have a history of having been
stolen and retrieved twice, in 1993 and in 2007.
Te Original Text:

ᛖᚲᚺ ᛚᛖᚹ ᚨᚷᚨᛊᛏᛁᛉ ᛬ᚺ ᛟ ᛚᛏᛁᛃᚨᛉ ᛬ᚺ ᛟ ᚱᚾᚨ᛬ᛏᚨᚹ ᛁᛞ ᛟ ᛬

Transliteration: ek hlewagastiz: holtijaz: horna: tawido

Translation: I Hlewagastiz Holtijaz made the horn
Te meaning of the given name Hlewagastiz is debated: it may mean either "lee guest" or "fame guest".
Holtijaz may either be a patronymic, "son (or descendant) of Holt", or express a characteristic such as
"of the wood"