Younger Futhark Runes’ Meaning Explained: The Written Language of the Viking Age

The history of medieval runes is a fascinating one. In the case of Norse runes, they give use the only indication of the Viking point of view in the Old Norse language! Known today as younger futhark, these runic inscriptions are key to understanding the way the Vikings saw themselves and their world. So let’s dive into the world of younger futhark runes to figure out what these interesting carvings are all about!

An Evolution from Elder Futhark Runes

Younger futhark runes had evolved from the older, pan-Germanic elder futhark by the eighth-century. The elder futhark runes had been used across the lands of Germanic tribes, including what is today Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Russia, and England. Younger futhark, however, was Scandinavian in origin and was used primarily in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Researchers working on younger futhark named this new runic alphabet in the same way they named its predecessor, based on the sounds that the first six runes symbolized: “f”, “u”, “th”, “a”, “r”, “k”. Despite this similarity, younger futhark was much more pared down than elder futhark. The older script contained 24 runes, while the younger futhark contained 16.¹ This lowering of the available number of runic symbols to use has made it harder for modern scholars to interpret younger futhark. But, based on the sheer number of these runes present in Scandinavia, it didn’t seem to be an impediment to the Norse.

Interestingly, the emergence and use of this new runic alphabet coincided almost exactly with the dates of the Viking Age (c. 800-1100). And we actually have evidence of the Vikings taking their writing system with them on their travels. For example, runestones (giant rocks or boulders with runes carved into them) bearing younger futhark have been found on the Isle of Man in the British Isles!²

The Younger Futhark Runic Alphabets

The evolution of younger futhark did not stop there! In fact, this runic script took on two distinctive forms: long branch runes (also called Danish runes) and short twig runes (also called Swedo-Norwegian runes or Rök runes). Despite these geographically inspired names, these different types of younger futhark were not limited to any particular Scandinavian area. And, to make it even more confusing, there are examples of the two types being blended together!³

Long Branch Runes

Rune	Sound(s)	Meaning/Word	Translation/Interpretation
ᚠ	f/v, fé	fé	“wealth”, “cattle”
ᚢ	u/w, y, o, ø	úr	“slag from iron production”, “rain(storm)”
ᚦ	ᚦ, ð (‘th’)	ᚦurs (‘thurs’)	“giant”
ᚭ	o, æ	áss/óss	“Æsir”, “estuary”
ᚱ	r	reið	“ride”, “vehicle”
ᚴ	k, g	kaun	“ulcer”, “boil”
ᚼ	h	hagall	“hail”
ᚾ	n	nauðr	“need”, “threat”, “emergency”
ᛁ	I, e	ísa/íss	“ice”
ᛅ	a, æ	ár	“year”, “good year”, “good harvest”
ᛋ	s	sól	“sun”
ᛏ	t, d	Týr	“Týr” (the god), also used for any god
ᛒ	b, p	björk/bjarkan/bjarken	“birch”
ᛘ	m	maðr	“man”, “person”
ᛚ	l	lǫgr (lögr)	“lake” or “small body of water”
ᛦ	z	yr	“yew” (yew tree), or maybe “elm”

Short Twig Runes

Rune	Sound(s)	Meaning/Word	Translation/Interpretation
ᚠ	f/v, fé	fé	“wealth”, “cattle”
ᚢ	u/w, y, o, ø	úr	“slag from iron production”, “rain(storm)”
ᚦ	ᚦ, ð (‘th’)	ᚦurs (‘thurs’)	“giant”
ᚭ	o, æ	áss/óss	“Æsir”, “estuary”
ᚱ	r	reið	“ride”, “vehicle”
ᚴ	k, g	kaun	“ulcer”, “boil”
ᚽ	h	hagall	“hail”
ᚾ	n	nauðr	“need”, “threat”, “emergency”
ᛁ	I, e	ísa/íss	“ice”
ᛆ	a, æ	ár	“year”, “good year”, “good harvest”
ᛌ	s	sól	“sun”
ᛐ	t, d	Týr	“Týr” (the god), also used for any god
ᛓ	b, p	björk/bjarkan/bjarken	“birch”
ᛙ	m	maðr	“man”, “person”
ᛚ	l	lǫgr (lögr)	“lake” or “small body of water”
ᛧ	z	yr	“yew” (yew tree), or maybe “elm”

Staveless Runes, aka Hälsinge Runes

Toward the end of the Viking Age, the simplification of Norse runes continued with the invention of staveless runes. Also known as the Hälsinge runes because they were found on a runestone in Hälsinge, Sweden, these runes were only in use from about the late tenth-century through the twelfth-century. What sets these runes apart is the lack of the “staves,” the little sticks that jut out from the center of the rune.⁴

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a detailed enough source on these runes to create a chart like the ones above. But I hope the above image of a staveless rune line gives you some idea of what these runes looked like. 

How Younger Futhark Was Used

While runic scripts were a form of writing, they were not designed to function like the writing systems we use today. Someone during the Viking Age, for instance, would not have sat down by a fjord in Sweden to write an epic poem in runes. Instead, they were used for shorter, practical messages: instructions, labels of ownership, or symbols with divine or magical significance (similar to how Christians later carved crosses into wood and stone).⁵

As we mentioned earlier, younger futhark was developed for carving into surfaces, primarily wood. This alphabet, with fewer characters than the elder futhark, was crafted using simple, straight lines and sharp angles. The design of the script was well-suited to the medium of wood carving, which was a common practice in the Viking Age. Most people of the time carried a knife, which made inscribing runes on wooden sticks or bone easy and efficient. Wood, as one of the most readily available natural resources, was an ideal material for these inscriptions. For formal messages, such as decrees from a king or lord to their subjects, the writing might be carved onto a larger piece of wood, though even this would have been far easier to produce than parchment or paper.

While most of the wood used to transmit younger futhark has perished in the millennium since its use, more timeless examples of this writing system still exist in runestones. Quite often, runestones were created in honor of a person, either living or dead. The runes on these stones were often painted and found both by themselves or accompanied by an intricate design.⁶

Sources on Younger Futhark

1. Emma Groeneveld, “Runes,” https://www.worldhistory.org/runes/
2. R.I. Page, Reading the Past: Runes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 21
3. Page, Reading the Past: Runes, 20-21
4. Michael P. Barnes, Runes: A Handbook (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 2012), 64, access via google.com/books
5. Groeneveld, “Runes,” https://www.worldhistory.org
6. Page, Reading the Past: Runes, 43.