Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1998, Side 28

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
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Summary
Icelandic Runes in Nordic perspective
The present article discusses the development and use of runes in Iceland from the time
of the settlement to the end of the nineteenth century. It also compares the runic tra-
dition of Iceland with the use of runes in Scandinavia and tells the history of the runes,
the development of the runic alphabets and their use throughout the Migration Period,
Viking age, the Middle ages and up to the 19th century.
The runes are the oldest writing system of the Germanic peoples. Most of the oldest
inscriptions have been found in Denmark (Jutland, Sjælland, Skáne) and it seems likely
that they came into use in this area during the first centuries AD. The Danes had lively
connections with the Roman Empire and the runes are evidently based on the Roman
capital letters ofimperial times.At the end ofthe 6th century the runes were spread from
the Scandinavian countries in the north to Rumania in the south, from Poland in the
east to England in the west. While the runes fell out of use on the European mainland
and England during the 9th and lOth centuries their use in Scandinavia increased with
the development of the younger futharks in the 8th and 9th centuries.
The runes remained in use during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages but disap-
peared at the beginning of the 15th century in Denmark, Norway and in Sweden with
the exeption of Gotland where they were still in use in the 17th century and Dalecarlia
where the farmers used a peculiar form of the runic alphabet till the end of the 19th
century.
As for Iceland the evidence of the sagas shows that many of the settlers were skilled in
runic writing and runic lore, like Egill Skallagrímsson and his daughter Þorgerður,
though no Viking Age artefacts with runes have been preserved except a small wooden
tablet, probably from the llth century, found during recent excavations on Viðey. Un-
fortunately the inscription is badly damaged and cannot be interpreted, except maybe for
the word ást ’love’.
The wooden spade from Indriðastaðir and the famous carved church door fromVal-
þjófsstaðir from the end of the 12th century show that runes were used on both secular