Old Norse mythology is filled with fascinating symbolism, and the runic alphabets of Germanic Europe have told numerous tales of heroic deeds and tragic deaths over the years. Having worked with graphic design for most of my adult life, I’m a huge fan of typography and symbolism, and also a huge history nerd. So I’ve spent a lot of time studying and appreciating the Viking symbols left behind on runestones, jewelry, weapons, armor, and other items from the Viking Age.
But the world of Norse symbols is not without its controversies and misconceptions; from extremist groups trying to hijack the symbols to serve their agendas, to magical sigils with questionable historical accuracy spreading like wildfire among millennials (I’m looking at you Vegvisir).
So let’s clear some things up and go through the facts and myths surrounding Norse runes and symbols, how they look, and what we know about their meaning.
Hopefully, you’ll find this as fascinating as I did, and learn a thing or two along the way.
ℹ️ For the past 10 years, I’ve studied Nordic symbolism of all kinds, with a specific focus on the Norse world during the Viking age. In this article, I’ve listed Norse runes and symbols that have been found in Scandinavia and dated back to the Viking age. I’ve specified the source of each symbol, such as a specific runestone or piece of jewelry, so you can look into it further if you feel like it.
For the sake of clearing up common misconceptions regarding Viking symbols, I’ve also included some symbols that are commonly and mistakenly thought to be connected to the Vikings, and explained why these symbols are not linked to the Norse people or culture.
Let’s start by looking at the Runes, the letters of the Old Norse language the Vikings spoke, after which we will look at some of the symbols from the Viking Age specifically.
Germanic and Norse Runes in Scandinavia: A Timeline
Elder Futhark Eunes
Younger Futhark Runes
Medieval Runes
200–800 CE
Elder Futhark Runic Alphabet (the Germanic Runes)
The first runic alphabet in Scandinavia.
600–1100 CE
Younger Futhark Runic Alphabet (the Viking Runes)
A runic alphabet adjusted for the Old Norse language of the Vikings. Overlapped for a few centuries with Elder Futhark, but eventually replaced it altogether
1100–1600 CE
Medieval Runic Alphabet
As Christianity and the influence of the Latin alphabet spread across Scandinavia, the runes were adjusted to include new sounds and letters. Stunged or dotted runes were used to pronounce in a different way.
1500–1900 CE
Dalecarlian Runic Alphabet
As the Runic alphabet gradually disappeared in Scandinavia, it held strong in the Dalarna and Gotland regions of Sweden in the form of the Dalecarlian runes..
When tales were told of Viking adventures, they were generally written down in Old Norse on runestones using the Younger Futhark runic alphabet (used in Scandinavia during the Viking Age).
The Scandinavian Younger Futhark is a simplified version of the Germanic Elder Futhark, with 16 (instead of 19) characters specifically tailored for the Old Norse language. And as the Vikings gradually turned into god-fearing christians, a medieval runic alphabet was adopted.
Still, let’s start by looking at when people in Scandinavia started using runes, which takes us all the way back to the Iron Age.
Germanic Runes and Their Meanings (Elder Futhark)
The Elder Futhark Runic alphabet consists of 24 runes, and was in use across all Germanic cultures since the Iron Age (starting around 200 CE), and in Scandinavia specifically deep into the Viking Age. In other words, this is the first runic alphabet the Norse people (a.k.a. the Vikings) started using on their runestones, weapons, jewelry, etc.
It started being replaced by Younger Futhark around 700-800 CE, and was no longer in use by the 10th century CE, when the Viking Age was at its height.
The Elder Futhark started being used in Scandinavia around 600 years before the Viking Age started, but was still used by Vikings early on, before Younger Futhark took over completely.
The Proto-Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia and Northern Germany spread across Europe with the Germanic migrations that spurred on the fall of the roman Empire, and the Germanic Runes could be found across most of the European continent during the Iron Age.
Here’s how the Germanic language and runes spread across Europe and the extent of the Germanic migrations around the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Elder Futhark runic symbols were usually written as a rune row divided into three ætts (meaning “eights”, with eight runes in each ætt). The first ætt is Frey’s, the second is Hagal’s, and the third is Tyr’s (the names of the first letters of each ætt).
Below this is visualized in three rows:
| Frey | ᚠ – f | ᚢ – u | ᚦ – þ | ᚨ – a | ᚱ – r | ᚲ – k | ᚷ – g | ᚹ – w |
| Hagal | ᚺ – h | ᚾ – n | ᛁ – i | ᛃ – j | ᛇ – ï | ᛈ – p | ᛉ – z | ᛊ – s |
| Tyr | ᛏ – t | ᛒ – b | ᛖ – e | ᛗ – m | ᛚ – l | ᛜ – ŋ | ᛟ – d | ᛞ – o |
The Meaning Attached to Elder Futhark Runes
As they both stem from the Nordic Bronze Age culture and language, the Germanic and the Scandinavian runes have the same meanings and origins. However, due to differences in pronunciation and style in the Proto-Germanic and Proto-Norse languages, the names and sounds are slightly different (and there are of course 3 more runes).
| Rune | Latin Letter | Germanic Name — Origianal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 ᚠ | F | Fehu — Beast, cattle, wealth |
 ᚢ | U | Uruz — Clock, aurochs, primordial power |
 ᚦ | Þ | þurisaz — Thurs/Thunraz(god of thunder, one of the more prominent Æsir, origin of “Thursday”), giant, troll |
 ᚨ | A | Ansuz — A Norse god, an Æsir |
 ᚱ | R | Raido — Ride, journey, wagon |
 ᚲ | K | Kaunan — Wound, ulcer, fire |
 ᚷ | G | Gebö — Gift |
 ᚹ | W | Wunjo — Joy |
 ᚺ | H | Hagalaz — Hail (as in “it’s hailing outside”) |
 ᚾ | N | Naudiz — Need, force |
 ᛁ | I | Isaz — Ice |
 ᛃ | J | Jera — Year, good year, harvest |
 ᛇ | Æ | Ihwaz — Yew-tree, evergreen tree |
 ᛈ | P | Perþ — Cliff, earth, rock* |
 ᛉ | Z | Algiz — Elk, protection, defense |
 ᛋ | S | Sowila, Sol — Sun |
 ᛏ | T | Tiwaz, Tyr — God of war and justice, origin of “Tuesday” |
 ᛒ | B | Berkana — Birch |
 ᛖ | E | Ehwaz — Horse |
 ᛗ | M | Mannaz — Man, human |
 ᛚ | L | Laguz — Water, lake |
 ᛝ | Ŋ | Ingwaz/Ing/Frey — God of fertility, Frey is the origin of “Friday” |
 ᛟ | O | Oþilaz, Oþala — Dynasty, heritage, estate, possession |
 ᛞ | D | Dagaz — Day |
Viking Age Scandinavian Runes & Their Meanings (Younger Futhark)
By the time the Viking Age took off around 800 CE, Scandinavians had started using the Younger Futhark runic alphabet, which was specifically tailored for the Old Norse language.
I’ve listed all the Old Norse runes as well as their Latin letter equivalent below:
Each rune is a letter in the Old Norse alphabet, and as such they all represent a sound. They also carry names that can sometimes be construed as a meaning associated with the rune. However, each individual rune may not have necessarily carried much meaning on top of the sound it makes and the words it creates with other runes.
| Rune | Latin Letter | Norse Name — Meaning or Explanation |
|---|---|---|
 | F | Fé — Beast, cattle, wealth |
 | U | Úr — Clock, aurochs, primordial power |
 | TH | Thurs — Thor (Norse god of thunder, one of the more prominent Æsir, origin of “Thursday”), giant, troll |
 | Ą / O | As / Oss — Æsir, i.e. a Norse god |
 | R | Reið — Ride, journey, wagon |
 | K | Kaun — Wound, ulcer, fire |
 | H | Hagall — Hail (as in “it’s hailing outside”) |
 | N | Nauðr — Need, force, danger |
 | I | Íss — Ice |
 | A / Æ | Ár — Plenty |
 | S | Sól — Sun |
 | T | Tyr — Norse god of war and justice, origin of “Tuesday” |
 | B | Bjarkan — Birch |
 | M | Maðr — Man, human |
 | L | Lögr — Water, Sea |
 | ʀ / Y | Yr — Yew (a tree with an especially long life) |
The Younger Futhark runes were also divided into two different styles: Long-branch runes and Short-twig runes.
Some argue that they were used depending on location; with Long-branch runes primarily used in Denmark, and short-twig runes primarily used in Sweden and Norway.
Others believe that their usage was a practical matter: If you wanted to write on stone, you used Long-branch runes, and if you wanted to write on wood, you used Short-twig runes.
| Long-branch runes | ᚠ | ᚢ | ᚦ | ᚬ | ᚱ | ᚴ | ᚼ | ᚾ | ᛁ | ᛅ | ᛋ | ᛏ | ᛒ | ᛘ | ᛚ | ᛦ |
| Short-twig runes | ᚠ | ᚢ | ᚦ | ᚭ | ᚱ | ᚴ | ᚽ | ᚿ | ᛁ | ᛆ | ᛌ | ᛐ | ᛓ | ᛙ | ᛚ | ᛧ |
| Latin letters | f | u | th | a | r | k | h | n | i | a | s | t | b | m | l | ʀ |
I’ve seen many runestones in Sweden with Long-branch runes, so I am partial to the practical divide theory. For instance, here is a runestone I came across in Uppsala, Sweden that features long-branch runes:
What Do Upside-Down Runes Mean?
Since runes are equivalents to our modern day alphabetical letters, writing them upside down doesn’t change the sound they are attached to. This is especially relevant in many of the runestones where the runes are written in circles and other irregular patterns, instead of on a straight line as we tend to do today.
Later Scandinavian Runes: the Futhork & Dalecarlian Alphabets
The Viking Age is generally agreed by historians to have ended with the successful invasion of England by William the Conqueror (who was a Norman of Viking descent ironically), specifically the decisive Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Scandinavia slowly started getting Christianized around the same time, and as continental European influence grew in the region, the language slowly expanded.
The Old Norse language started including sounds from the Latin alphabet, and the use of stung or dotted runes to indicate alternate sounds for specific runes started to become more and more common.
Despite the strong influence of the Latin alphabet, the people of Scandinavia did not stop writing in runic script. Instead, the Younger Futhark runes that had been in use during the Viking Age were expanded into a new runic alphabet that included ways to write out all the sounds of the Latin alphabet.
The Medieval Runic Alphabet: Futhork
The Medieval runic alphabet also had 16 runes, just like Younger Futhark, but each rune had variations that could form all the sounds latin letters could.
Interestingly, one of the oldest books preserved written with medieval runes is this copy of the Scanian law book, which is from the region I live in:
Dalecarlian Runes (late 1500s to 1900s)
The Runic alphabets had disappeared from Scandinavia almost completely by the 1500s, but the Swedish regions of Dalarna and Gotland people kept the runic alphabets alive, in Dalarna specifically all the way into the early 1900s.
Here’s how the Early Dalecarlian Runes looked like:
Here’s how the late Dalecarlian Runes looked like:
Viking Age Symbols: Separating Fact From Fiction
The Old Norse culture was rich in symbolism, and there were many inscriptions, ornaments, pendants, pins, and other accessories left behind for us to get an insight into the popular symbols of the Viking Age.
But there is also a lot of misconceptions floating around on the interwebs, so I’d like to try to separate fact from fiction by grouping the symbols we for sure know are from the Viking Age apart from the ones we have not been able to link to Viking Age Scandinavia.
Authentic Norse symbols dating back to the Viking Age
Here are some of the more famous symbols that have actually been found on objects dating back to the Viking Age in or around Scandinavia (meaning they are as authentic as can be):
Mjölnir
Yggdrasil
Hrafnsmerki
Dragon’s head
Valknut
Triskele
Trikvetra
Sleipner
The Longship
Jörmungandr
Kraken / Hafgufa
Fenrir
Read more about Fenrir
Odin’s head
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr
Bear’s Head
Those are a few of the most famous Viking Age symbols we’ve found so far, but there are of course countless more depicted on all the runestones, jewelry, weapons, armor, and other objects from the Viking Age.
If all you’re interested in are historically accurate Norse symbols and runes, this is a good place to conclude your reading.
For those who are interested in finding out more about symbols that are not actually linked to Vikings and the Norse culture, but are commonly referred to as such anyway, let’s keep going to the murkier waters of Norse symbolism: the ahistorical symbols.
Nordic Symbols Commonly (But Likely Mistakenly) Linked to Norse Mythology
There are a whole bunch of symbols in use today that are assumed to be linked to the Vikings, but in reality have not been seen on any item found from the Viking age.
They may be designed in a style befitting of the era, and they sure look cool — but you should know that there is very little that points to the symbols below actually being used by the Norse people who came from Scandinavia during the Viking age.
Nonetheless, here are some of the more popular ahistorical symbols:
Vegvisir
Ægishjalmr
Herðslustafir
Svefnthorn
If you want to learn more about why these symbols may not date back to or be linked to the Viking Age, here’s Jackson Crawford’s (Old Norse specialist with a Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies) very informative takes on the Ægishjalmur and Vegvísir respectively:
Dr. Crawford taught courses in Norse language, myth, and sagas at UCLA, UC Berkeley, and University of Colorado over the years 2011-2020, and is currently on a mission to teach full-time through YouTube & Patreon.
His videos are always informative, based on actual evidence, very thorough, and well worth a watch if you’re interested in the Old Norse world.
More Ahistorical Symbols: Rudolphs Koch’s Symbols in The Book of Signs
German typographer Rudolph Koch published a book in 1930 with 493 classified and documented illustrations – collected, drawn, and explained by himself.
Koch doesn’t really provide any sources for these symbols, but he does include most of the Younger Futhark runes, and somehow attributes the symbols below to either Nordic, Pagan, or Germanic origins:
Triceps
Sunwheel / The Cross of Wotan
The Dragon’s Eye
Eight-angled figure
The Eye of Fire
The Eight-spoked Wheel
None of these symbols have been found to have any type of connection to the Norse people of Scandinavia, nor even the Germanic people of Iron Age Europe, and to illustrate this we can look at how vaguely Koch describes his sources:
On many of the signs illustrated in this book the Nordic influence can be clearly traced, but the basic forms, with their wealth of significance and symbolism, undoubtedly take us back to the dim, remote and unfathomed ages of Mankind in the far Eastern countries of this World.
Rudolph Koch, The Book of Signs p. 104
In other words, take these meanings with a grain of salt (to say the least)!
By the way, if you'd like to connect to your inner Viking and spruce up your walls at the same time, I've created a full set of stylish and minimal rune poster printables that include their names, meanings, and equivalent modern letters. You can write your own name in Younger Futhark, display the runes that mean something to you personally, or why not hang up all 16 runes in an epic Old Norse wall gallery!
Get in to the Viking spirit at home
Full set of 16 + 1 Old Norse runes (a.k.a. Younger Futhark) printables. Learn the Viking ways with these beautiful prints that you can hang on your walls or use digitally.
Get Them Now
Sources:
https://www.raa.se/kulturarv/runor-och-runstenar/att-lasa-runor-och-runinskrifter/
http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/csg/0878/1
https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/runes
https://www.raa.se/kulturarv/runor-och-runstenar/digitala-sveriges-runinskrifter/
https://litteraturbanken.se/presentationer/specialomraden/RunornasLitteratur.html
https://manuscript.ku.dk/manuscript_types/law_manuscripts/
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Book_of_Signs.html?id=dsuuKUag8EkC&redir_esc=y
https://jacksonwcrawford.com/list-of-videos/
Show more +
Swedish Vikings: A Guide To Viking Age Swedes & Their Journeys
Leif Erikson: The Full Story (History, Facts & Timeline)
Vegvisir: A Complete Guide (Origins, Meaning & Accuracy)
Nordic vs. Germanic vs. Celtic: Differences & Links Explained (+ Maps)
Hi Karl,
I am curious about the following symbol: it looks like an arrow pointing upward, with a leaflike body drawn over the arrow and a bird head on the top where the arrow head would be. It comes up if you google norse friendship symbol. Do you have any ideas around this one? Cheers, Christina
Hi Christina!
I haven’t seen that symbol but it looks really cool. I believe it’s a combination of 4 different symbols illustrated by an Estonian clothing/accessory brand:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Z8YJvHolc/
https://valhyr.com/pages/about-us
I really like the look of their symbols, but they aren’t necessarily all based on historical symbols (though certainly inspired by Norse rune art, and really nice too!).
Hi Karl,
I’ve seen images of the “protects against poison” apparently a Norse symbol flying around the internet but can’t find any history behind it, wondering if you have any info on the symbol? It’s a long jagged X.
Best
Johan