The Younger Futhork By the time of the Vikings the “Elder Futhark” had been trimmed down in Denmark to just 16 runes (the top row). In Sweden and Norway there was a slight variation sometimes called the “Short Twig Runes” (the runes between the * * replacing the their counterparts from the top row). These futhorks were added to around the tenth century with 4 new runes (those between the # #) giving extra sound values. The “Short Twig Runes” dropped out of use at this time presumably because of similarities with the new runes causing confusion. Compare these runes with the “Anglo-Saxon Futhorc”. Back to Runes page. |