The Elder Futhark is the earliest widely attested runic alphabet: twenty-four characters used for writing Germanic languages during the first millennium CE.
An alphabet before a divination system
Its name comes from the first six runes. Surviving inscriptions appear on stone, metal, wood and personal objects. They record names, ownership, memorials and short formulas; evidence for magical use exists, but it does not turn every inscription into a spell.
Rune names are reconstructed from later poems and related alphabets because no Elder Futhark handbook survives from its period of use. Sound values are better established than a single universal symbolic meaning.
What changed later
The Younger Futhark reduced the row to sixteen characters in Scandinavia, while the Anglo-Saxon futhorc expanded it. A book that mixes all three without dates creates a system that never existed in one place or period.
How to choose a reference
Look for transliteration tables, dated inscriptions, photographs or drawings of objects and clear separation between linguistic evidence and modern practice. A bibliography that points to runology matters more than atmospheric design.
