Origin from 150
The Elder Futhark is the earliest standardized runic alphabet, 24 runes arranged in three groups of eight, used to write Proto-Norse and other early Germanic languages. Its formation was complete by the early fifth century, and the earliest secure runic inscriptions date to no later than about AD 150. Early runes probably developed from an Old Italic alphabet, though scholars disagree on which one: Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan and Old Latin have all been proposed as candidates, and Scandinavian scholars tend to favor derivation from the Latin alphabet itself over the Rhaetic candidates.
Facts
DirectionalityNo single fixed direction: left to right, boustrophedon (alternating direction line by line) and bidirectional text were all used. 1 In Use Since (Year)The earliest secure runic inscriptions date from at latest AD 150; the alphabet's formation was complete by the early fifth century. Runic Alphabet (Elder Futhark)
Filter Results2 entries
Connections
Ancestor Of
Source Wikipedia: Younger Futhark
Held Differently
Latin Script, Scripts Why this is disputed. Early runes are generally agreed to derive from an Old Italic alphabet, but which one is disputed: Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan and Old Latin have all been proposed; Scandinavian scholars tend to favor Latin itself over the Rhaetic candidates.
Source Wikipedia: Runes (Elder Futhark)
Script Of
Old Norse, Languages Why this is disputed. This entity records the Elder Futhark. Old Norse proper was chiefly written in the later Younger Futhark, a reduced descendant of Elder Futhark not yet a separate entity on this atlas (see the entity request filed alongside this batch); the association is real but the direct ancestor-script link is the more precise claim once Younger Futhark exists.
Source Wikipedia: Old Norse
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Runes (Elder Futhark)
Origin section
The earliest secure runic inscriptions date from at latest AD 150.
Lead section
Futhark is a collective term in runology used to describe all runic alphabets.
View the SourceWikipedia: Old Norse
Wikipedia: Younger Futhark
WikipediaAncestor Of: Younger FutharkQuote, Ancestor Of: Younger Futhark
a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.