Compare

Compare the runic alphabets

There is no single runic alphabet. There are four, separated by centuries and countries, and picking the wrong one is the commonest mistake in this subject.

At a glance

Elder Futharkc. AD 150 – 800 · 24 runes Younger Futharkc. AD 800 – 1100 · 16 runes Anglo-Saxon Futhorcc. AD 400 – 1100 · 29–33 runes Medieval runesc. AD 1100 – 1500

Detailed comparisons

Elder Futhark vs Younger FutharkThe single most consequential fact about runes: the alphabet shrank from 24 characters to 16 just as the Viking Age began. Almost everything people get wrong about runes follows from not knowing that.Younger Futhark vs Anglo-Saxon FuthorcTwo branches of the same alphabet, developing at the same time, in opposite directions. Scandinavia cut its runes down to 16; England expanded to 29 and beyond.Elder Futhark vs Anglo-Saxon FuthorcThe futhorc is the Elder Futhark plus five centuries of English sound change. Comparing them shows exactly how a writing system adapts to a language moving under it.Long-branch vs short-twig runesThese are not two alphabets. They are two ways of writing the same sixteen Younger Futhark runes: roughly the difference between a formal hand and a quick one.All runic alphabets comparedThirteen centuries of runic writing in one table. Which alphabet, when, where, how many runes, and what each one could and could not write.