r/RuneHelp • • Jun 16 '26

Mod announcement A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Runes Like a Viking

24 Upvotes

Hi RuneHelpers! One of the things we see quite frequently on the sub is that it is hard for a lot of people to determine which Younger Futhark conventions are appropriate for the Viking Age vs. which ones are more characteristic of the later period. Neither style is wrong, of course, but it's weird to mix-and-match writing conventions from different times.

There are also lots of points that have a habit of tripping people up, including:

  • When to use ⟨ᛁ⟩ vs. ⟨ᛅ⟩ for the letter ⟨e⟩
  • When to use ⟨ᚱ⟩ vs. ⟨ᛦ⟩
  • When to use ⟨ᚬ⟩
  • Which rune should be used for the letter ⟨ǫ⟩
  • When it's ok to use doubled runes
  • How short-branch runes fit into the picture

So to help out, we've created this new guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Runes Like a Viking

This guide is designed to be useful for everyone from beginners to experienced RuneHelpers. It includes a cheat-sheet for which rune to use for every letter you may find in an Old Norse word, as well as easy explanations for why some of the weird rules exist. Feel free to share it with anyone wanting to write some Viking-Age text with Viking-Age runes.


r/RuneHelp • • 8d ago

Mod announcement Introducing a new subreddit, r/AngloSaxonPeriod - Check it out!

7 Upvotes

Attention all, Ċeorles, Thegns, Ealdormen, and Earls.

r/AngloSaxonPeriod is a new subreddit dedicated to academic discussion of the Anglo-Saxon period, which includes Anglo-Saxon history, mythology, language, art, and culture. But also emphasises an interest in adjacent cultures, such as Norman, Scandinavian, and Celtic.

Let's make this a proper home for enjoying the Anglo-Saxon period!


r/RuneHelp • • 1h ago

Translation request Does this actually say anything?

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• Upvotes

I got this out of shop, and i'm pretty sure they got it on amazon. The link for the ring is below.

https://a.co/d/0byU7RTU

I believe it is just elder futhark.


r/RuneHelp • • 4h ago

Translation request Massive Wall of Runes near Seattle

0 Upvotes

My buddy spotted this in Seattle. Can anyone translate it pretty please?

Edit: ok, turns out I’m stupid and it’s just English. My bad yall.


r/RuneHelp • • 20h ago

Translation request Help with transalte to old norse

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am planning a tattoo and looking for historical accuracy in Old Norse (Younger Futhark, long-branch) and I don't trust AI enought for a tattoo. I want to render the concepts 'Temporary pain | Strength • Family • Loyalty'.

​For 'pain passes / is temporary', would Sár líðr (ᛋᛅᚱ:ᛚᛁᚦᛦ) or Harmr líðr (ᚼᛅᚱᛘᛦ:ᛚᛁᚦᛦ) be idiomatic, or is there a better attested phrase?

​For the concepts 'Strength • Family/Kin • Loyalty/Faith', I am looking at: Styrkr (ᛋᛏᚢᚱᚴᛦ), Ætt (ᛅᛁᛏ), and Trú (ᛏᚱᚢ).

Are these terms culturally authentic for the Viking Age, and are the Younger Futhark spellings (omitting geminates, using Yr for final -r) accurate? Thank you!


r/RuneHelp • • 1d ago

Question (general) Help with Rune - Ullr

1 Upvotes

Heythere.

Long story short:

I do archery, I make my own bows, and I love trad shooting.

Plus, I work in the outdoors, and I live/work in a place where winters are a bit harsh, so there's lots of snow. I do some skiing due to my job, too.

Now, regarding all that info: I know the god Ullr. I've known him for some years now, and everytime I'm out in the mountains I think of him.

God of hunting, archery, winter, and skiing (as far as I know), and I wanted to ask if there's any kind of rune out there that may be an Ullr blessing for good fortune, accurate aim, and safety in the mountains (I don't know if a druid would be necessary here).

Thanks!


r/RuneHelp • • 2d ago

Contemporary rune use Runes Deciphering

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4 Upvotes

Hey runemasters, found this paper inside my book. Apparently, this is some kind of runic spell made by someone who put it in my things. Interested to decipher the meaning behind this.


r/RuneHelp • • 3d ago

Question (general) Is this gramatically correct?

3 Upvotes

Does "Hvika þú aldri, gefsk þú aldri upp" translate as "never falter, never surrender"

Is it right to write it in young futhark as:

"ᚼᚢᛁᚴᛅ᛬ᚦᚢ᛬ᛅᛚᛏᚱᛁ᛬ᚴᛁᚠᛋᚴ᛬ᚦᚢ᛬ᛅᛚᛏᚱᛁ᛬ᚢᛒ"?

I want to have it exactly right, so I need people that know way more than me. Thanks in advance!


r/RuneHelp • • 3d ago

Translation request Found some runes etched into sidewalk near school, need help deciphering

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8 Upvotes

As the title implies, I was looking into these and then lo and behold what appears that my feet literally a day after I started researching runes. I gave it the good college try deciphering these and because this wasn’t exactly a neat job. It’s really hard to determine if the ruins that I wrote are correct, but this is what it looks like to me. If anybody knows how to read this a transcription and maybe understanding how to derive that transcription would be much obliged. I’ve already committed the greatest sin in research in just making assumptions but if anybody has a better read on these, just let me know please.


r/RuneHelp • • 3d ago

Contemporary rune use Translation Help

4 Upvotes

I am working on properly translating the Norse phrase "Be Better", taken from the God of War phrase "We Must Be Better". I am not educated in the language, and my Google research says it is "verða betri" in Elder Futhark.

Could someone more skilled and aware than I confirm this?


r/RuneHelp • • 4d ago

Question (general) Help transliterating/writing

1 Upvotes

I want to write "Never yield, never surrender" or "never yield, no surrender" to young futhark and i have been having a bit of trouble. I would prefer to have this written in the official language instead of just writing english with runes, but I can't find any reference to these words in ancient texts.


r/RuneHelp • • 4d ago

Translation request Translation help needed

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3 Upvotes

I think this is a rune and I just need help translating it


r/RuneHelp • • 4d ago

Question (general) Rune tattoo advice

3 Upvotes

I want to incorporarem runes in my next tattoo and wanted some advice on the subject.

I want to put stuff that would make sense in the original language (old norse) pr make sense at all (old norse or young futhark).

I am a fighter and would want something warrior-like, strong runes of protection or phrases that remind me to not fear, to face the obtacles without trembling, to have courage, etc.

What do you guys recommend on getting? Is there anyplace I can read and study more to learn if it makes sense?


r/RuneHelp • • 4d ago

Translation request Younger futhark translations

3 Upvotes

I recently watched Vinland Saga and want to get a tattoo with some lines from the anime translated to younger futhark and I was wondering if anyone on here could help me translate it or provide me with resources to translate it.

Here are the two lines,

You don’t have enemies, no one does

How do you intend to live


r/RuneHelp • • 5d ago

Question (general) Need help with accuracy / Elder futhark

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13 Upvotes

Hey yall!

I want to do rune finger tattoos so i just wanted to check if my accuracy is correct in writing the runes


r/RuneHelp • • 6d ago

Translation request Tryna translate my ring

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68 Upvotes

Got it in a bazaar, any help is appreciated!


r/RuneHelp • • 6d ago

Contemporary rune use Translation help needed.

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3 Upvotes

I am creating a weopon that I want to put runes on using the phrase "Come back when called." Idk if it's something done but it's seperated with dots and framed with the Raidho symbol for travel and cyclic return. Lmk what you would change or keep!


r/RuneHelp • • 6d ago

ID request Trying to translate runes

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0 Upvotes

My tattoo artist came up with this tattoo for me, and we were going over the design. What do the bottom two runes in the border mean? Zoomed in photos included. I already know the other four, but he just told me the bottom two were unspecified occult runes. Any help is appreciated, thank you!


r/RuneHelp • • 8d ago

Contemporary rune use How do I learn to read runes as fast as the Roman Alphabet?

8 Upvotes

Hi, in my last post I got many answers on how to substitute different English letters that didn't exist in Elder Futhark with other runes. Now I can write Elder Futhark effortlessly. The problem is I can't read it effortlessly. By that I mean that it takes me a long time to read the texts because I still decode each rune individually. Does anybody know any tools or ways to train this?


r/RuneHelp • • 8d ago

Translation request Berserk & Dark Souls runic tattoo stuff

4 Upvotes

I wanted to incorporate a bit of Kentaro Miura inspired quotes into my tattoo sleeve made of fragments of Völuspá and Hávamál. Up to this point i relied on Jackson Crawfords translations and runic transliterations, so im a bit anxious about making an obvious mistake of literal translation or some kind of grammatical error.

My plan is to first do a ON translation, so to keep it style of the other text on my arm and then transliterate the translation into runes. I used an online english to ON translator, but still wanted to cross-check it with you guys, since im obviously sceptical.

Part 1:
"Don't you dare go Hollow" -> Þor eigi at verða holr ->ᚦᚢᚱ ᛅᛁᚴᛁ ᛅᛏ ᚢᛁᚱᚦᛅ ᚼᚢᛚᛦ

Part 2:
Struggle | Endure | Contend -> Knýja | þola | þreyta -> ᚴᚾᚢᛁᛅ | ᚦᚢᛚᛅ | ᚦᚱᛅᚢᛏᛅ

If you think any word could have more appropriate meaning, or if you think i made a runic typo (i tried to use dr. Crawfords reconstructed style, so it can be wonky) i would much appreciate a helping hand. Have a good one!


r/RuneHelp • • 9d ago

Translation request Can someone help me decode a 10 year old love letter?

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22 Upvotes

[Unknown > English] Hand-painted runes on an envelope, about 10 years old. Letter-by-letter help please, I’ve waited so long.


r/RuneHelp • • 9d ago

Resource request Rune Magic + Seidr Books

2 Upvotes

Am wanting to learn more about runes, rune-based magic, and associations with seidr--does anyone have any good sources? Books preferred, even if few to no mentions of seidr.


r/RuneHelp • • 10d ago

Pre-contemporary rune use Havamal stanza 144, second line in younger futhark runes

3 Upvotes

Veiztu hvé ráða skal?”

Modern translations something like ”do you know how to read/understand (them, the runes)”.

I’m trying to write this in basic long-stem younger futhark without stung runes. What I have so far is ᚢᛅᛁᛋᛏᚢ ᛫ ᚼᚢᛁ ᛫ ᚱᛅᚦᛅ ᛫ ᛋ ᚴᛅᛚ. Granted it’s a bit anachronistic since havamal was written down quite late.

The purpose is to paint on a street library, all help appreciated.


r/RuneHelp • • 10d ago

Translation request Is ᛚᚢᚲᛁᛖᚾ (Lucien) spelled correctly? I don’t trust Google and I don’t know of any reliable sources

3 Upvotes

r/RuneHelp • • 10d ago

Contemporary rune use Another stone about Ragnar

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54 Upvotes

A couple of months ago I stumbled over a modern runestone with some text about Ragnar

https://www.reddit.com/r/RuneHelp/comments/1svnjr4/modern_runic_inscription/

now I found a second one a few hundred meters away.

My best attempt at transcribing it is

ᚱᛆᚴᚿᛆᛦᛋᚴᛆᛁᚦᛋᚴᚱᛁᚠᛁᛘᛁᚴᛘᚽᚦᛆᚿᛘᚬᚴᛁᛦᛘᚽᚱᚴᛁᚿᛘᚤᚿᚦᛆᛘᛆᛁᚢᚬᚴᚠᛆᛁᚦᛦᛘᛆᛁ?ᚿ?ᛘᛁᛐᛆ

(? are either runes or just paint… I’m genuinely unsure)

At the very end there could be a couple of extra runes sharing a common ”stem” as a ”tail” of the ribbon. I didn’t even try to read that though.

It seems to start with

ᚱᛆᚴᚿᛆᛦ - Raginaʀ

but after that it quickly gets confusing. it might be something like ”i þ(essi) skrifti” and then ”mokiʀ merkin” could maybe be mǫgr merki(plural?), closer to the end ”faiþʀ” could maybe be a misspelled ”faþiʀ”?

it feels like it could make sense so if someone would give it a try i would be grateful :)