The Viking Age · c. 950–1100
Mixed runes
Also called de eldre norske runene (the older Norwegian runes)
As the Viking Age went on, rune carvers in Norway began to mix long-branch and short-twig forms in the same inscription. The mixed runes are the link between the runes of the Viking Age and those of the Middle Ages.
- ᚠffécattle, wealth
- ᚢuúrdross, drizzle
- ᚦþþursgiant, ogre
- ᚭąóssriver mouth
- ᚱrreiðriding, journey
- ᚴkkaunulcer, sore
- ᚼhhagallhail
- ᚿnnauðrneed, constraint
- ᛁiíssice
- ᛆaárgood year, harvest
- ᛌssólsun
- ᛏttýrthe god Týr
- ᛒbbjarkanbirch
- ᛘmmaðrhuman being
- ᛚllǫgrwater, sea
- ᛦRýryew
Highlighted: different from long-branch. Tap a rune to read more about it.
What the rune names mean
The runes were letters, but each had a name that was an ordinary word. The meanings below are those of the names, as the Norwegian rune poem describes them.
- fé · Cattle, and so wealth: livestock was the oldest form of riches.
- úr · Dross from the forge in the Norwegian rune poem, drizzle in the Icelandic one.
- þurs · The thurses were the giants, the forces of chaos outside the ordered world.
- óss · The river mouth, where the journey begins. In Iceland the rune was read as áss, god.
- reið · Riding and travelling: the journey on horseback.
- kaun · An inflamed sore, and one of the darkest verses in the rune poem.
- hagall · Hail, “the coldest of grains”, which could ruin the harvest.
- nauðr · Need and constraint: the situation where the choices run out.
- íss · Ice, which was also winter’s bridge over water and bog.
- ár · A good year: a rich harvest, peace and plenty.
- sól · The sun, “the light of the lands”.
- týr · The god Týr, who sacrificed his hand to bind the wolf Fenrir.
- bjarkan · The birch, the first tree to turn green in spring.
- maðr · Man, who in the end becomes earth again.
- lǫgr · Water and sea, and the waterfall dropping from the mountain.
- ýr · The yew, the tree that is greenest in winter.
Features
One carver might use the short-twig forms of a and s but the long-branch forms of h and m, and another carver did it slightly differently. There was no fixed standard.
The forms we show are therefore a typical selection, not the only correct mix: the short-twig forms of a, n, ą and s, and the long-branch forms of h, m, t, b and R.
Where and when
The mixed forms are typical of Norwegian runestones from the late 900s and the 1000s. The same mix is found on the runestones of the Isle of Man, which points to contact with south-western Norway.
The Norwegian name “de eldre norske runene” (the older Norwegian runes) must not be confused with the Elder Futhark: these are the oldest of the distinctly Norwegian rune forms.
What came next
The mix became the starting point for the runes of the Middle Ages. From the 1100s the runes in Norway gained more characters, among them dotted runes, where a dot distinguishes sounds such as e from i.
Interested in runes and Norse mythology?
Get the rune of the day, new articles and news from Norse mythology straight to your inbox. Free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.