The Elder Futhark: the 24 Germanic Runes and Their History
2026-07-22
The Elder Futhark runes are, first and foremost, a historical writing system, used by Germanic peoples over several centuries — their association with divination, so common today, is a later layer over a foundation that began as a functional alphabet.
What the Elder Futhark is
The Elder Futhark is the oldest known Germanic runic alphabet, used in inscriptions dated from the 2nd to the 8th century CE across regions of Scandinavia and continental northern Europe. Its name derives from the first six runes of the alphabet — F, U, Þ (th), A, R, K — the same way "alphabet" derives from alpha and beta, the first two Greek letters.
The 24 runes and the three aettir
The Elder Futhark is composed of 24 runes, traditionally divided into three groups of eight, called aettir (singular: aett). This division into three groups of eight is already documented in some of the oldest known runic inscriptions, suggesting the aettir organization is not a modern invention, but part of the system's own historical structure.
Archaeological evidence: the Kylver Stone
One of the most important archaeological pieces of evidence for the complete Elder Futhark is the Kylver Stone, found on the island of Gotland, Sweden, dated to approximately 400 CE — one of the earliest known inscriptions to present the complete sequence of all 24 runes in order, making it a central reference for reconstructing the alphabet's original form and order.
From writing system to modern divinatory use
The best-documented historical use of Elder Futhark runes is as a writing system — in memorial inscriptions, ownership markings, and brief ritual texts. Ancient references to using runes for divinatory purposes are scarce and indirect; the Roman historian Tacitus, in his work Germania (1st century CE), mentions Germanic peoples casting marked pieces of wood for purposes of luck, an account sometimes cited as a precedent, although Tacitus does not mention runes specifically by name. The modern practice of rune divination, as it's widely known today, was consolidated mainly over the course of the 20th century.