This document discusses Viking language and writing systems. It describes the Elder Futhark, Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, and Younger Futhark runic alphabets used between 150-1100 CE. Runes were used for magical, practical, and monumental purposes. Oral storytelling was also important for passing down tales, with poets known as skalds using poetic language and kennings. In the 12th-14th centuries, these stories were recorded as sagas in written form in Iceland and Norway, preserving history and culture, though their reliability as historical sources is debated.

1. Viking Language &
Writing

4. Runes in Viking Times
• Elder Futhark (150-800CE)
• Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400-
1100CE)
• Younger Futhark (800-1100CE)

5. Elder Futhark (approx 150-800CE)

6. Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400-1100CE)

7. Younger Futhark (800-1100CE)
• Swedish and Norwegen
• Danish

8. Uses of Runes
• Magical - for fortune telling or creating spells
or charms
• Practical - for sending messages or indicating
ownership
• Monumental - for commemorating people,
actions, events
• Graffiti – e.g. at Hagia Sophia

13. What does the Runestone say?
• Latin transliteration:
faþiR : lit : hukua : runaR : þisi : uftiR : osur :
bruþur : sin : is : nur : uarþ : tuþr : i : uikiku :
• Old Norse transcription:
FaþiR let hoggwa runaR þæssi æftiR Azur,
broþur sin, æs nor warþ døþr i wikingu.
• English translation:
"Faðir had these runes cut in memory of
Ôzurr, his brother, who died in the north on a
viking raid."

18. Oral Storytelling
• Stories passes down generation to generation
• Poets and storytellers known as ‘skalds’
• Tales of gods, heroes, kings or great deeds
– Viking leaders wanted deeds immortalised and family history
to be proud of
– Language was poetic and used ‘kennings’ to paint word
pictures
• Corpse beer = blood
• Winter’s blanket = snow
• Giant’s back scratcher = 2 handed axe
• War needles = arrows
• Whale road = the sea

19. The Sagas
• Sagas – stories in written form
• Recorded in Iceland and Norway in 12th-14th
centuries
• Fate, luck, honour, the supernatural and
character
• Literary merit
• Preserved in manuscripts made from vellum
(polished leather)

21. The Sagas as an historical source
• How reliable are The Sagas as a source of Viking life?