Runes and Roman: Germanic Literacy and the Significance of Runic Writing

Abstract

This article examines the ideologies and motivations that made runes appear on Scandinavian and English presses until the end of eighteenth century, as well as the difficulties involved in printing a non-roman script. I will consider especially the contributions of the Danish scholar Ole Worm, whose works on runes have been little discussed in English-language criticism despite their widespread and long-lasting influence throughout Europe, and the English antiquarian Thomas Percy, whose ideas were deeply inspired by Worm's theories. Percy's studies of runes have not been generally noted despite the fact that they define an important moment in the rediscovery of Britain's vernacular past.