Runes, in all their varieties, may be regarded as the “national” script of the ancient North Germanic tribes. The origin of the name rune (or runic) is probably related to the fact that the ancient Germanic tribes, like many other peoples, attributed magic powers to the mysterious symbols scratched on armour, jewels, tombstones, and so forth. This is given credence by two related Germanic forms that mean “mystery, secret, secrecy”: the Old Germanic root ru- and the Gothic runa. The most interesting runic inscriptions are those that were cut for magical purposes and those that appeal to deities. The origin ...(100 of 9762 words)