Bind rune
Encyclopedia
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
. They are extremely rare in Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
inscriptions, but are common in pre-Viking Age (Proto-Norse) and in post-Viking Age (medieval) inscriptions.
In some names on runestones, such as the name of the carver of the runes, bind runes may have been ornamental and used to highlight the name.
Description
There are two types of bind runes. Normal bind runes are formed of two (or rarely three) adjacent runes which are joined together to form a single conjoined glyphGlyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
, usually sharing a common vertical stroke (see Hadda example below). Another type of bind rune called a same-stave rune, which is common in Scandinavian runic inscriptions but does not occur at all in Anglo-Saxon runic inscriptions, is formed by several runic letters written sequentially along a long common stemline (see þ=r=u=t=a=R= =þ=i=a=k=n example shown above). In the latter cases the long bind rune stemline may be incorporated into an image on the rune stone, for example as a ship's mast on runestones Sö 158
Södermanland Runic Inscription 158
Södermanland Runic Inscription 158 or Sö 158 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Österberga, which is one kilometer southwest of Ärsta and three kilometers southwest of Runtuna, Södermanland, Sweden...
at Ärsta and Sö 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352 or Sö 352 is a Viking Age memorial runestone located at Linga, which is about two kilometers south of Järna, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Södermanland...
in Linga, Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
, or as the waves under a ship on DR 220
Sønder Kirkeby Runestone
The Sønder Kirkeby Runestone, listed as runic inscription DR 220 in the Rundata catalog, is a Viking Age memorial runestone that was discovered in Sønder Kirkeby, which is located about 5 kilometers east of Nykøbing Falster, Denmark.-Description:...
in Sønder Kirkeby, Denmark.
Elder futhark
Examples found in Elder FutharkElder Futhark
The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Northwest Germanic and Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts such as jewellery, amulets, tools, weapons and runestones...
inscriptions include:
- Stacked Tiwaz runeTiwaz runeThe t-rune is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz.-Rune poems:Tiwaz is mentioned in all three rune poems...
s: Kylver StoneKylver StoneThe Kylver stone, listed in the Rundata catalog as runic inscription G 88, is a Swedish runestone which dates from about 400 CE notable for its listing of each of the runes in the elder futhark.-Description:...
, Seeland-II-CSeeland-II-CSeeland-II-C is a Scandinavian bracteate from Zealand, Denmark dating to the Migration period . The bracteate bears an Elder Futhark inscription which reads as:The final ttt is a triple-stacked Tiwaz rune... - Gebô runes combined with vowels: Kragehul IKragehul IKragehul I is a migration period lance-shaft found in Fyn, Denmark. It is now in the collection of the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark. The spear shaft was found in 1877 during the excavation of the classic war booty sacrificial site Kragehul on southern Funen. The site holds five...
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
Bind runes are not common in Anglo-Saxon inscriptions, but double ligatures do sometimes occur, and triple ligatures may rarely occur. The following are examples of bind-runes that have been identified in Anglo-Saxon runic inscriptions:- The word gebiddaþ is written with a ligatured double (dd) on the Thornhill III rune-stone
- The name Hadda is written with a ligatured double (dd) on the Derbyshire bone plate
- The word broþer is written with a ligatured and (er) on some Northumbrian stycas
- The Latin word meus is written as mæus with a ligatured and (mæ) on the Whitby comb
- The inscription [h]ring ic hatt[æ] ("ring I am called") is written with a ligatured and (ha) on the Wheatley Hill finger-ring
- The names of the evangelists, Mat(t)[h](eus) and Marcus are both written with a ligatured and (ma) on St Cuthbert's coffin
- The name Dering may be written with a triple ligatured , and (der') on the Thornhill III rune-stone (this reading is not certain)
- The word sefa is written with a ligatured and (fa) on the right side of the Franks CasketFranks CasketThe Franks Casket is a small Anglo-Saxon whalebone chest from the seventh century, now in the British Museum. The casket is densely decorated with knife-cut narrative scenes in flat two-dimensional low-relief and with inscriptions mostly in Anglo-Saxon runes...
- Ligatured ligatured runes (er), (ha) and (dæ) occur in the cryptic runic inscription on a silver knife mount at the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
- The word gægogæ on the Undley bracteateUndley bracteateThe Undley bracteate is a 5th century bracteate found in Undley Common, near Lakenheath, Suffolk. It bears the earliest known inscription that can be argued to be in Anglo-Frisian Futhorc ....
is written with ligatured and (gæ) and and (go) - A ligatured and (nt) occurs in the word glæstæpontol on a cryptic inscription on a silver ring from Bramham Moor in West Yorkshire
Modern use
- The BluetoothBluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
logo merges the runes analogous to the modern Latin alphabetLatin alphabetThe Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
letters h and b; (HagallHaglaz*Haglaz or *Hagalaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the h-rune , meaning "hail" .In the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, it is continued as haegl and in the Younger Futhark as hagall The corresponding Gothic letter is h, named hagl.The Elder Futhark letter has two variants, single-barred and...
) and
(BerkananBerkanan*Berkanan is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the b rune , meaning "birch". In the Younger Futhark it is called Bjarken in the Icelandic rune poem and Bjarkan in the Norwegian rune poem. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem it is called beorc...
) together, forming a bind rune. The two letters form the intials 'H B', alluding to the Danish king and vikingVikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raider Harald Bluetooth.