The Runes that Shaped the North

Runes are among the most powerful symbols of the Nordic heritage. They were not only used to carve names and messages into stone, wood, and metal, but also as a way to interpret and understand the world.

The Younger Futhark emerged around the 8th century and became the runic alphabet of the Viking Age. It consisted of 16 runes – fewer than the 24 characters of the Elder Futhark – yet each rune carried deeper meaning. Through these symbols, memories, laws, and stories were carved, many of which can still be read on runestones across Scandinavia.

For the Vikings, runes were more than letters. They were symbols of gods, things, and more. The runes were also used in Runic Calendars (runstav or primstav in Old Norse), a perpetual calendar used to keep track on solstices, equinoxes and seasonal celebrations. Here, they represented the Golden Numbers of the Metonic Cycle, on which the Runic Calendar was based. In this way, the runes became a bridge between the human world, time, and the cosmic rhythm of the universe.

As Christianity spread across the North from the 11th century onward, the runes gradually began to fade. The Latin alphabet, brought by the Church and its written tradition, became the dominant writing system. Over time, the runes vanished from daily use, yet their presence remains etched in stone, in folklore – and in the symbolic soul of the North.

At Rúna Sigrlinn, we honor this legacy by replacing modern numerals with runes on our dials. Each watch carries the imprint of an ancient language, reimagined for the present day.