Norse Runes

Timeline

1. c. 750–820Denmark · southern Scandinavia · DenmarkThe 24-character Elder Futhark was reduced to the 16-character Younger Futhark, with a single rune often representing several vowels or consonants, adapting to Old Norse sound changes; inscriptions increased markedly in Denmark and southern Sweden.
2. c. 800–900Sweden · Uppsala · SwedenYounger Futhark was widely used on memorial stones, bridge stones, and tomb inscriptions, recording expeditions, inheritances, and Christian conversions; monuments such as the Jelling Great Rune Stone became stone declarations of royal power and family lineage, with rune forms splitting into Danish and Swedish-Norwegian variants.
3. c. 900–1000Norway · Iceland · IcelandAfter the Scandinavian kingdoms converted to Christianity, runes were still used for divination on wood chips (such as Icelandic Hvamr) and in some inscriptions, but the Latin alphabet gradually dominated ecclesiastical and administrative writing, with runes relegated to ceremonial and commemorative occasions.