how do runes work?

Question

how do they work and function?where did they come from?

Answer 1

RUNE - is the characters within an early Germanic writing system. The runic alphabet, also called futhark, is attested in northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to the 16th or 17th century AD. The Goths may have developed it from the Etruscan alphabet of northern Italy. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manuscripts are extant. Approximately 2,500 of these come from Sweden, the remainder being from Norway, Denmark, Britain, Iceland, and various islands off the coast of Britain and Scandinavia, as well as France, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.

HISTORY fo RUNE is Among early peoples writing was a serious thing, full of magical power. In its only reference to writing, the Iliad calls it “baneful signs.” The Germanic peoples used a runic alphabet as their form of writing, using it to identify combs or helmets, make calendars, encode secret messages, and mark funeral monuments. Runes were also employed in casting spells, as to gain a kiss from a sweetheart or to make an enemy's gut burst. In casting a spell the writing of the runes was accompanied by a mumbled or chanted prayer or curse, also called a rune, to make the magic work. These two meanings also appear in Old English rūn, the ancestor of our word. The direct descendants of Old English rūn are the archaic verb round, “whisper, talk in secret,” and the obsolete noun roun, “whispering, secret talk.” The use of the word to refer to inscribed runic characters apparently disappeared in the late 14th or early 15th century but was revived by Danish writers on Germanic antiquities, who adopted it from Old Norse toward the end of the 17th century. Appropriately enough, this sense of rune, which had faded away like a whisper, reappeared from the mists of the past.-

Answer 2

runes are a ancient germanic alphabet. they were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the british isles and Iceland from 'bout 100 B.C.E to 1600 C.E. they were used for writing, a divination tool and for magick. runes are an oracle from one who seeks advice, they give hints for anwers. rune divination or 'rune casting' is not 'fortune-telling' in the sense that one actually sees the future. the futur isn't fixed. rune- meaning, sercret or whisper or mystery. i hope this helps.

Answer 3

a rune is an anciet type of germanic written languege it is featured in many types of games and was used for a very long time also it was the scandianaiviens that used it the most

Answer 4

Please go here:
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forrunv.html

This will give you a better explanation than brief paragraphs. A shorter version of this article also appeared in "Realms of Fantasy" magazine.