Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions

This is a scholarly book, which means it has real, academic level information in it which was drawn from primary sources and careful research. This is not a New Age book, so if you're looking for silly make-belief you'll have to move on.I have one major complaint though, the author has a bad habit of stating obvious things and taking up a lot of space doing so. For example, the author might write something like "we don't know who wrote this inscription", as if anyone's going to assume otherwise when there's no reason to assume otherwise. Perhaps upwards of thirty pages could be cut without the book losing anything.

This is the book on runes that I have been waiting for, for years. Very detailed, with solid information. Not for the "fluffy bunny" audience; this is advanced material, written in a very readable style. Betsy van der Hoek did a wonderful job of translation from the Norwegian original, which was published as "I begynnelsen var futhark" (the th in futhark should be the letter thorn, but this program doesn't let me do that). Terje Spurkland has presented an incredibly well researched work, and I have been recommending it right and left to folks. Wish I could give it 6 stars.

Very Academic, good rune knowledge within. I got quite a bit out of this book, however going through every inscription reading wise got a bit daunting.

This book provides a balanced perspective on the runes within the their true archaeological, historical, and cultural framework. It provides detailed information on runic artifacts and extant contemporary documentation. It gives a very balanced view of the use of the runes - spiritual, magical, and the more mundane - and avoids the speculative propositions so common in books of this subject today.

Bingo!Great!

In this concise and readable survey, Spurkland addresses more than just the Norwegian runes his title promises. He covers the development of runes in Scandinavia from the Elder Futhark through their heyday in the Viking Age up to their later medieval appearances. His discussion of when, how, and why the runes were reduced from their original number of 24 down to the 16 of the Younger Futhark is especially helpful. He chooses a few key inscriptions to analyze in depth to illustrate historical changes and problems of interpretation. The whole work is informed, clear, and balanced.

So this book needs a "Look Inside" feature.

Interesting book, arrived in great condition.

L'evidenza riscontrabile col metodo comparativo della filologia a favore dell'affinità tra le antiche lingue europee, parlate da popoli geneticamente imparentati, è molto ridotta. L'assenza di base scientifica e documentale a favore della famiglia indo-europea è stata segnalata da molti autorevoli filologi contemporanei. Molte somiglianze grammaticali e lessicali tra greco e latino derivano da prestiti. Ma le antiche rune sono state scritte con alcuni caratteri greco-latini da chi non conosceva queste lingue. Nei corni dorati di Gallehus (Danimarca), risalenti al V secolo DC, all’inizio dell’età del ferro germanica, si legge la parola horna, che corrisponde al greco κéρας e al latino cornu. Fin dall’antichità latina questa radice greca denomina insieme a quella riν-, naso, una specie di mammifero: il rhinoceros. Io ho trovato due somiglianze solo tra latino e antiche lingue germaniche: vagare-wagen (olandese e tedesco), tango-taka (norreno; touch in inglese). in questi casi il lemma greco è diverso. E questa radice non è presente. I greci chiamavano il sole ήλιος e il giorno ημéρa. Ma le radici dies e sol sono entrambi presenti (diésis, sόlos, massa, particolarmente di ferro). Quindi nelle Lezioni americane date a Harvard nel 1984 Calvino sbaglia quando trova una somiglianza tra l'aggettivo italiano vago e il participio presente inglese wandering (Lezioni americane, p. 59). Ovviamente, io non ho bisogno di lezioni di filologia classica e germanica. Non sono professore o lettore nelle università.Roberto Fideli