Runes 101 - Runes in History - Runemasters

Earlier this month, I was doing some research looking for information around what a runemaster was and came across a quote that I had not seen before.  This quote turned up in a few places and it's as if the phrase and the wording around it were just copied and pasted onto multiple websites:

Let no man carve runes to cast a spell, save first he learn to read them well.

I couldn't find the original source, though every website where I found this quote credited a "viking poet".  I wanted some context for it.  While I recognize that many ancient authors (writers of all kinds) are unknown, what I was searching for was the rest of the poem or the item on which it was carved, anything that would offer more insight into this statement.

I was intrigued by the wording, because it appears to address what it meant to be a rune master - one must know how to read the runes well first.  Once they master that, then they may carve runes.  Perhaps the most interesting part is the bit about casting spells.  This implies that runemasters did spell work, but Wikipedia, for example, states that "a runemaster is someone who specializes in making runestones".  It did not include spell work or casting runes.

Who were the ancient runemasters?  Were they stonemasons, poets, spell casters, healers, readers of the Runes or some combination of these roles?

Were they men or women or both?  Many of the websites I investigated said that runemasters were usually women (but they provided no citation). Tacitus, on the other hand, claimed it was the local priest (chieftain) or the father of the family who read the runes, and other sites state that with few exceptions (e.g., seidr witches), men dominated rune magic.

The term runemaster seems to be a moderately new addition to our language, according to Webster's Dictionary, where a runemaster is defined as a maker of runes, a magician, with Odin being the greatest runemaster of the ancient Germanic world.  Webster also says that the first known use of the term was in 1869.

Confused?  Let me summarize what I believe to be the most accurate or likely interpretation.  If you read my blog with any regularity, you know that I lean strongly toward factual information when it comes to understanding the history in which Runes were used.  For that reason and because of my own research into what life was like before and during the Viking Age, I believe that men did dominate rune work/magic/runestones.  I don't believe they were called runemasters.  I'm not sure we can ever know who or what a runemaster really was or was called a thousand year ago.

This little foray into the term runemaster opens the door for more posts on the subject.  Look for one or two of those later this year.

Runes 101 - Runes in History - Blekinge Sweden

Of all the places in Sweden that have Runestones, why should I choose Blekinge, in the southeastern part of the country on the Baltic sea?  I mean it has only three Runestones of the roughly 2,000 that are in Sweden.  However, these three share a few similarities.  The are all dated to between the years 500-790; they were all carved in a Proto-Norse version of Runes, which were used during the transition from the Elder to Younger Futhark; and, they are linked to the same tribe.  I believe they are all also designated to the same clan.

Blekinge used to have four Runestones, but one - the Gummarp Runestone - was destroyed in the 1728 Copenhagen Fire that burned almost half of the older section of the city.  The interpretation of these Runes comes down to two options - Haþuwulfar carves them for himself or they were carved in his memory.  Either way, three staves were carved for him - fff.

Fehu, Fehu, Fehu - wealth, wealth, wealth

Istaby Runestone

Haþuwulfar also appears on the Istaby Runestone.  Here, Haþuwulfar refers to himself as Heruwulfar's son and he is paying tribute in memory of Hariwulfar.

The names are what make this Runstone so interesting.  As you may have surmised, 'wulf' means 'wolf'.  'Hari' and 'Haþu' mean 'warrior' and 'battle' respectively.  The warrior wolf and battle wolf are part of a larger clan that may have incorporated wolves or the idea that wolves are a pack or family into rituals and religious ceremonies to initiate young warriors into the fold.

To see this Runestone, you need to visit Stockholm as it resides in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.

The Third Runestone is where things start to get really interesting, because this is where the curses come in.  Lying face down, surrounded by five other stones that formed a pentagon, the Stentoften Runestone was discovered in 1823.  In 1864, it was moved to the church of Sölvesborg.

Stentoften Runestone

The carving on this stone talks about how dwellers and guests [of]  Haþuwulfar had a bountiful harvest.  In part, this carving uses the Younger Futhark version of Jera to represent the harvest.  There are other Runes on this stone, like Kenaz, that are in the transitional form from the Elder to Younger Futhark.

An animal sacrifice occurred either to help with the good bounty or to give thanks for it.  This part is unclear.

You should also be warned that, "I, master of the runes(?) conceal here, runes of power, incessantly (plagued by) maleficence, (doomed to) insidious death (is) he who this breaks."  So, I highly advise that you don't break it.

Björketorp Runestone

The only one of Blekinge's Runestones that still resides in its original location is the Björketorp Runestone, located east of Ronneby off of E22.  One of the tallest Runestones in the world, it forms a circle with two other large stones called menhirs, because nothing is carved on them.

One of the lines on the stone matches almost exactly, in words, the line from Stentoften.  However, scholars say that the two stones were not carved by the same runemaster.  It says, "I, master of the runes(?) conceal here runes of power. Incessantly (plagued by) maleficence, (doomed to) insidious death (is) he who breaks this (monument)."  This stone, however, goes one step further, including a prophesy of destruction.

Scholars have put forth a host of potential meanings for these stones.  The one I like is the notion that these Runestones marked a border between different clans, possibly Swedes and Danes.

Runes 101 - Runes in History - The Vang Stone

Image from Wikipedia

The Vang Stone is a Runestone located in the central part of southern Norway. Although its runic inscription follows a fairly standard wording – someone has erected the stone in honor or memory of someone else – I am not sure if the stone was erected for the carvers' nephew or cousin.  In my research, I found both. The actual wording is interpreted as:  Gasa's sons erected (cut or carved) this stone in memory of Gunnar, their nephew/cousin.  But, this is only one aspect of the Vang Stone.

Vang Stone inscription

Of the roughly 3,000 Runestones in Scandinavia, Sweden hosts the vast majority of them.  There are none in Iceland, around 250 in Denmark, and Norway comes in with 50. Of course, other areas of the world also tout a runestone or runic carving (for example, Italy has the Pireaus Lion, there are some in the UK, including the Manx Crosses on the Isle of Man, even Greenland has one.)  So, this special stone is one of Norway's 50 and what makes it interesting is that the Vang Stone has some really fascinating features all based on location.

Changing location.  The Vang Stone was erected right around the time of the conversion to Christianity in Scandinavia (around the year 1000) and located originally near a stave church; and there it sat for more than 800 years.  When the stave church was taken apart and reassembled in Germany in 1844, the Vang Stone was also moved to the Vang Church and it still resides there.

Geographic location. On a larger scale, the Vang Stone lies just to the north of the Ringerike District of Norway, the area which is responsible for the ornate carving style on the Vang Stone's face, called the Ringerike style.  The design is topped off by a stylized lion with two small shells at the bottom.  In between are gently-curved swirls that crisscross in the middle. The top part of the crisscross appears a bit more symmetrical, though not entirely, than the lower portion.

Inscription location.  On a much smaller scale, the stone itself is different from most other stones, because its runic engraving runs along the side of the stone.  It is not above, below or integrated into the picture and design on the stone's face.  I tried to highlight (in the image to the left) the cut Runes that run along right side of the stone as you look at its face, but if you want a better view, I did find a reasonable image online. (Click to see the Vang Stone image.)  The location of the Runes on the stone is quite intriguing to me.  I can't help but wonder if carving them on the side was an intentional piece of the stone design so as not to take away from the carving on the front or if Gasa's sons simply forgot to leave space, so had no choice but to cut the Runes along the stone's side.

The Vang Stone is a good example of the importance of location, location, location.

The Ogham Alphabet

Ogham, Image credit:
vrindavana / 123RF Stock Photo

Today is March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland, which got me thinking about their ancient alphabet, Ogham.  I didn't know much about it before I researched it for this post, but it does seem to share more similarities with Runes than the Theban Alphabet does. However, what makes this alphabet most interesting to me is its link to trees.

Just as Berkana represents the birch, so too does the 'b' in Ogham.  In contrast, while Isa, the 'i' Rune represents ice, the Ogham's 'i' is the yew tree, which is Eihwaz in Runes.  For a full listing of Ogham names, you can check out this link.  I should also mention that the use of Ogham for divination purposes relates primarily to these meanings and is referred to as the 'tree Ogham'.

With potential origins ranging from being a secret code used by Irish Christians to an invention of Druids in Gaul, the Ogham's origins are shrouded in uncertainties. It is believed that Ogham was modeled after another script, with the Runes listed as one potential source, but Latin and Greek are also listed as possibilities.

Another uncertainty is the timing of its onset.  The range I found begins with the Gaulish Druids around 600 BCE through the 4th Century, although the earliest inscriptions that remain date to the end of that time frame - the 3rd or 4th centuries.

Whereas 'Runes' tend to be related to similar meanings, such as 'whisper' or 'secret', Ogham's potential meanings present another similarity to them.  They include a reference to the Irish god Ogma and an Irish phrase that means point seam, which is the seam made by a sharp weapon.  Both of these do have potential.  As much as the Runes are associated with Odin during his famous sacrifice hanging on the tree for nine days, before snatching them up, so too, in Irish Mythology, Ogma is credited with creating the alphabet named after him.  However, the idea of the seam carved by a weapon carries equal if not more weight given that (as we shall see shortly) Ogham is written along seams on stones.

Both Runes and Ogham are carved into natural fibers, such as wood and stone.  Moreover, just as many Runestones are carved in honor or memory of someone and establish lineage, so too do Ogham inscriptions, with most having a formula like - X son of Y.  Although Runic inscriptions are found in a larger geographical area, from Italy to Greenland and Sweden to Russia and Romania, they share ground with Ogham inscriptions in Scotland, England, and on the Isle of Man and Ireland, the latter being where Ogham dominates.  Within these countries, nearly 400 Ogham inscriptions have been found.

However, where Runes are carved on the face and/or sides of stones, Ogham is carved at the edge; this relates to the 'weapon seam' noted above.  For example, the figure to the right, shows what my name would look like carved or written in Ogham.  On a stone, it would be carved vertically along the edge from bottom to top.  In a manuscript, it would be horizontal from left to right.  The vertical version would have been carved into stones and is referred to as the orthodox version.  Due to its manuscript format, the horizontal depiction is called the scholastic version.

As we celebrate St.Patrick's Day today, it should be noted that while the earlier Orthodox version of Ogham would have no longer been used in Saint Patrick's time, the Scholastic Ogham would have.  In fact, it was used until the 16th century.

Runes 101 - Runes in History 8

In the last Runes 101 post, I wrote about the 1955 Bergen fire.  This time, while I complete etching the Runes on my wooden staves, I thought I would figuratively head to the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and write about the Manx Crosses in general, and one in particular.

The Manx Crosses are actually Runestones, displaying both Celtic and Norse roots and blending early Christian imagery with Celtic/Norse ones.  This group of more than two dozen stones, dates back primarily to the 10th century, the height of the Viking Age.  There had been a long Celtic tradition of raising crosses to the dead (nearly 200 such stones have been found), prior to the Norse influx, but it is with their arrival that the two cultures merged to create some very interesting and artistic works.  For example, where the earlier crosses had wonderful Celtic knots carved into them in a variety of styles, the later ones build on that idea, twisting animals around each other in a similar fashion.

Another interesting aspect to these crosses is that there are multiple styles of Runes used on them.  There are Anglo-Saxon, elder Futhark, and short-twig or staveless Runes found on different crosses, though none together on the same cross, as far as I can tell.  In addition to Runic inscriptions, the first half of the Ogham alphabet appears on one and Ogham letters are visible on both sides of another.

Most of the Manx crosses are carved in memory to someone, a father, a wife, a son or daughter.  Some are dedicated to the person who raised the cross, while others are simply illegible.  At least one cross records a betrayal.

The Manx Cross that interests me the most is one from the Jurby parish in the northwest part of the island.  It is ornately carved (images above and to the right) and includes other ornamentation along with an Old Norse runic inscription:

"[s]on sinn en annan reisti/retti [hann] eptir Thorb" 

The inscription translates into something like the Rune carver has raised a stone for his son and raised another in memory of someone whose name began with Thor - Thorbjorn, Thorvald, etc.

I confess that it is not the inscription that intrigues me about this cross, rather the fact that this cross includes an image of Heimdall, the Norse gods' sentry, who happens to be the main historical character in my novel, The Son of Nine Sisters.   Although Heimdall is carved on this cross, no evidence exists to support the idea that there was ever a culture, tribe or group that worshiped or sacrificed to him.

I believe this image actually supports that idea and represents the call to the beginning of Ragnarök, the final battle of the Norse gods, rather than highlighting Heimdall as a deity.  As you can see in the enlarged image (left), Heimdall is clearly blowing Gjallarhorn to signal the battle's onset.

Across the Irish Sea, in Cumbria, England, another cross (The Gosforth Cross) depicts another Norse image of a god, which has been identified mistakenly as Heimdall, because he holds a horn in one hand while fighting a beast in the other.  I do not believe this is Heimdall, rather, if it is a god, it is Thor killing the Midgard serpent.  That aligns better with the final battle and Thor's own personality as being able to drink enough mead to lower sea level.  Besides, there is no record or story of Heimdall battling anything other than Loki.

Getting back to the Manx Crosses, The Isle of Man Manx National Heritage Museum is a great resource for learning more about these fascinating stones, including having replicas of some of the stones and a database of illustrated images of all the Manx Crosses.

Long ago, I added the Isle of Man to my places to visit.  How about you?  Have you traveled to the Isle of Man?  Did you see any of these crosses?  If so, please share your experience with us.

Defining Runestones and Runes

Last week, I found a book chapter online, whose broad topic I'd like to share with you today.  It discusses Rune carvers of today.  Actually, let me clarify that and say runestone carvers of today.  The article does two main things; it interviews two present-day runestone carvers and defines three types of modern runestones.  It is the latter which I found most interesting and want to focus on here, because I see clear links to how we perceive the magic of Runes.

The three types of contemporary runestone carvings highlighted in the article are those that are "exact copies of existing stones", "explicitly contemporary", and "new, but with Old Norse".

Exact copies of old stones is self-explanatory and they can serve as a tool for people who study the past. The replica of the Gimsøy runestone, in Norway, is an example of this. Stones like this, that are copies of Viking Age stones, can be displayed only with the permission of the authorities.

Runestones that are explicitly contemporary relates purely to when they were carved and the language used.  In this category, while the writing is in Runes, the language is Swedish or Norwegian, for example.  In other words, the modern language is simply written in Runes.  This makes determining the status of the stone (Viking Age or contemporary) easy.  The picture above is an explicitly modern runestone that was carved at the Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg in Lofoten, Norway.  The museum representative told me that she was unsure what was carved on it, but it was likely a modern phrase.

Finally, there are new Runes written in Old Norse, the language of Viking Age Scandinavia.  It is important to be able to discern these stones from Viking Age runestones.  In fact, one of the runestone carvers, interviewed in the article, has documented all of the stones he's carved with the National Museum in Copenhagen, because he uses Old Norse on all his stones.

Now, how do these categories apply to the way we use Runes as an oracle today, the magic?  For starters, we don't have to worry about "exact copies of existing stones".  One of the conundrums of reading runes is that we really do not know how Runes were used historically, so we cannot copy, exactly, the process or magic.  In fact, as I have mentioned before, I am not aware of any set of Runes found at any Viking Age archeological site.

However, because we lack the details of their original use, two camps have developed - the purely new age group and the group seeking to be as historically accurate as possible, based on the what we do know about Runes and their meanings.

I do not deny that I began my pursuit of the Runes through a contemporary source, but one that, despite its new age origins, remained reasonably accurate, though sometimes broad, in its interpretation of individual Runes.  As I learned more about the historical meanings of the Runes through the Runes poems, my position has shifted and I now fall within the second group of people, who try to be as historically accurate with our interpretations as our insight provides.  

What about you?  Which category do you fall into?  Do you think the categories work for Runes?

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_11501705_carved-viking-stone-at-borg-museum-lofoten-norway.html'>merial1 / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Runes 101 - Runes in History 4

During the Viking Age, the Norse expanded the known world westward, first with the settlement of Iceland, then Greenland and even to the east coast of North America.  Although no legitimate Runestones or runic inscriptions have been found in North America, Greenland hosts more than 100 runic inscriptions, including a single Runestone.  The Runestone was discovered in 1824 on the tiny island of Kingittorsuaq, which is roughly 500 kilometers north of where the Norse western settlement had been.

 

 The inscription says that two men, Erlingur and Thordars, raised a mound on washing day (Saturday).  It also lists their fathers, but doesn't say why they raised the mound or for whom.  In fact, the last few Runes may be considered "gibberish", they don't mean anything.  If you'd like to see this stone, it is housed in Copenhagen, at the National Museum.

While the Runestone is unique in that it is the only stone in Greenland, perhaps the most fascinating Runic inscription from Greenland was written on wax tablets.  Around the year 1189, an Icelandic priest named Ingimund Thorgeirsson set sail from Bergen Norway, on the ship Stangarfóli, bound for his homeland.  He never arrived.  Instead, twelve years later, the wrecked ship was found on the coast of Greenland.  Ingimund's body was nearby, frozen. With his frozen corpse the six skeletons of his shipmates were discovered along with the wax tablets, which lay next to Ingimund.

On these tablets, in Runes, Ingimund had written the harrowing tale of how he starved to death.  Sadly, I couldn't find any other details about his journey, the shipwreck or what he may have tried to prevent starvation.  My contact at the National Museum in Copenhagen assured me that the tablets no longer exist, so those details will remain a mystery.

Still, the fact that he recorded this story is amazing.  That he carved it in Runes instead of the Roman alphabet is absolutely intriguing.  The use of Runes in Iceland and Greenland continued for more than a century after their conversions to Christianity.  However, Ingimund was not the average Greenlander or Icelander, he was a priest in the Roman catholic church.  At one point, Norway's archbishop offered him the position of bishop at Gardar in Greenland.  Regardless of his reasons for choosing Runes to tell the tale of his demise, the fact that a priest was writing about his own death in Runes makes that inscription Greenland's most interesting Runic inscription.