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The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries.
The reduction, somewhat paradoxically, happened at the same time as phonetic changes that led to a greater number of different phonemes in the spoken language, when Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse. Also, the writing custom avoided carving the same rune consecutively for the same sound, so the spoken distinction between long and short vowels was lost in writing. Thus, the language included distinct sounds and minimal pairs that were written the same.
The Younger Futhark is divided into long-branch (Danish) and short-twig (Swedish and Norwegian) runes; in the 10th century, it was further expanded by the "Hälsinge Runes" or staveless runes.
The lifetime of the Younger Futhark corresponds roughly to the Viking Age. Their use declined after the Christianization of Scandinavia; most writing in Scandinavia from the 12th century was in the Latin alphabet, but the runic scripts survived in marginal use in the form of the medieval runes (in use ca. 1100–1500) and the Latinised Dalecarlian runes (ca. 1500–1910).
instead of runes. The YoungerFuthark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters...
Elhaz) is the name conventionally given to the "z-rune" ᛉ of the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. Its transliteration is z, understood as a phoneme of the...
symbols instead of runes. The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic...
alphabets are the Elder Futhark (c. AD 150–800), the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400–1100), and the YoungerFuthark (800–1100). The YoungerFuthark is divided further...
Futhark (some 350 items, dating to between the 2nd and 8th centuries AD), Anglo-Frisian Futhorc (some 100 items, 5th to 11th centuries) and Younger Futhark...
question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of runes. The k-rune ᚲ (YoungerFuthark ᚴ, Anglo-Saxon futhorc ᚳ) is called Kaun in both the Norwegian and...
(or Armanen Futharkh) are 18 pseudo-runes, inspired by the historic YoungerFuthark runes, invented by Austrian mysticist and Germanic revivalist Guido...
"heritage; inheritance, inherited estate". As it does not occur in YoungerFuthark, it disappears from the Scandinavian record around the 8th century...
reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the i-rune ᛁ, meaning "ice". In the YoungerFuthark, it is called íss in Old Norse. As a rune of the Anglo-Saxon futhorc...
majority of runestones date to the Viking Age. There is only a handful Elder Futhark (pre-Viking-Age) runestones (about eight, counting the transitional specimens...
the m-rune ᛗ of the Elder Futhark. It is derived from the reconstructed Common Germanic word for "man", *mannaz. YoungerFuthark ᛘ is maðr ("man"). It took...
under a ship on DR 220 in Sønder Kirkeby, Denmark. Examples found in Elder Futhark inscriptions include: Stacked Tiwaz runes: Kylver Stone, Seeland-II-C Gebô...
"leek". In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called lagu "ocean". In the YoungerFuthark, the rune is called lögr "waterfall" in Icelandic and logr "water"...
continued as hægl, and, in the YoungerFuthark, as ᚼ hagall. The corresponding Gothic letter is 𐌷 h, named hagl. The Elder Futhark letter has two variants,...
— Translation slightly modified from Dickins (1915) It is not continued in the YoungerFuthark, but in the Gothic alphabet the letter 𐍅 w is called winja, allowing...
the futhork, was a Scandinavian runic alphabet that evolved from the YoungerFuthark after the introduction of stung (or dotted) runes at the end of the...
reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the b rune ᛒ, meaning "birch". In the YoungerFuthark it is called Bjarkan in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems. In...
journey" is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the r- rune of the Elder Futhark ᚱ. The name is attested for the same rune in all three rune poems, Old...
on the Snoldelev Stone shows an early version of the YoungerFuthark. Like the late Elder Futhark Björketorp Runestone, it uses an a-rune which has the...
recorded in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, since the rune was lost in the YoungerFuthark: On runic inscription Ög 43 in Ingelstad, one Dagaz rune is translated...
fingernail." The rune is recorded in all three rune poems: Elder FutharkYoungerFuthark Rune poem Original poems and translation from the Rune Poem Page...
left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the YoungerFuthark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous...
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