A group of symbols generally known as runes served a number of functions all through historical past, performing as an alphabet, a device for divination, and a system imbued with magical significance. These symbols, etched onto objects like stones, wooden, and steel, have been employed by Germanic peoples, primarily in the course of the Migration Interval and the Viking Age. Runic inscriptions provide insights into the beliefs, practices, and day by day lives of those cultures. As an illustration, an inscription on a comb may provide a easy dedication, whereas one on a rune stone may commemorate a major occasion or particular person.
As a writing system, runes supplied a method of communication and record-keeping. Their symbolic nature additionally lent them to divinatory practices, the place castings of marked stones have been interpreted to supply steering or predict the longer term. This apply intertwined with the broader cultural context, linking the runes to Norse mythology and its pantheon of gods and goddesses. The research of those symbols affords beneficial historic knowledge, shedding gentle on historic Germanic language, tradition, and perception methods.
