A Sample
Younger Futhark Runic Dictionary
Runes to English and English to Runes
Have you ever come across a runic inscription from the Viking age and wanted to know what it meant - in English? There's no easy solution, even with a readily available dictionary. Let's assume that the dictionary below includes your runic inscription. To provide a translation, a runic dictionary should show the runic inscription you want translated, followed by the Old Norse meaning of those runes - transliterated into the Latin alphabet - and then the English definition of the Old Norse word(s).  If you are at all unfamiliar with the runes- and their usual "alphabetical" order - you would not find the search easy.

The 16 runes of the Viking Age, or younger, futhark were used in Scandinavia for three centuries after c. 700 AD.  This limited set of glyphs meant that many of the runes were forced to represent several phonemes.  Add the lack of a "published" standard set of runes and it meant that runic inscriptions were only an approximation of the Old Norse words they stood for.  Further, misspellings were rampant.

The table below provides just a limited sample of what such a dictionary would look like.  Given a runic inscription you might want to translate, you would have to match those runes with the runic entries in the left columns below. The sample demonstrates the challenges involved and shows that a dictionary with thousands of entries would be only marginally useful.  It would probably be easier to learn Old Norse...
Younger Futhark Runes to English

Runes Old Norse English
fuÞark Futhark, a runic alphabet
fultars Foldarr, a male name
fôður father
uritar do wrong (probably), incorrect
ok and
uis knows
viking Viking, a raid
ve(n)tr winter
utar Óttarr, a male name
þur uiki May Thor Hallow (Thor rules, maybe?)
tore Tore, a male name
þruþar Þrud, a goddess
rúnar runes
rit wrote
reisti raised
kuinnk woman & protection, safe conduct, mercy, quarter, pardon, promise of peace
kunukR king
kirkiu church
horna horn
haraltr Harold, a male name
niþar Nidaros, A Viking town now called Trondheim
ek I, myself
ept after
auþun Audun, a male name
auja luck
aiftir after, in memory of
æirikar Eirik, a male name
alauin Alawin, a male name
sverð sword
skálpr scabbard
skera to cut (vt)
stein stone
starkr strong
tólf twelve
brøÞr brother
bjôrn Bjorn, a male name
muþur mother
mér me
maÞr man
litil little

A Sample
Younger Futhark Runic Dictionary
This is just a small sampling of English words translated into Old Norse and that translation converted to the appropriate Younger Futhark runes. We will be adding to this list frequently. Don't see the word you're looking for on the list? Let us know at info@vikingsofbjornstad.com.
English to Younger Futhark Runes

English Old Norse Runes
cut (vt)skera
eightátta
fivefimm
fourfjórir
hornhorna
I, myself ek
kingkunukR
knowsuis
littlelitil
luckauja
manmaÞr
May Thor Hallow (Thor rules, maybe?)þur uiki
memér
mothermuþur
Nidaros, A Viking town now called Trondheimniþar
nineníu
oneeinn
Óttarr, a male nameutar
raisedreisti
runesrúnar
scabbardskálpr
sevensjau
sixsex
stonestein
strongstarkr
swordsverð
tentíu
Þrud, a goddessþruþar
threeþrír
Tore, a male nametore
twelvetólf
twotveir
Viking, a raidviking
winterve(n)tr
woman & protection, safe conduct, mercy, quarter, pardon, promise of peacekuinnk
do wrong (probably), incorrecturitar
wroterit

Primary translation source: Primary rune source:
Others:

  © For information contact Jack Garrett at info@vikingsofbjornstad.com