A New Look at Old English Runes and Runelore - online with Steve Pollington

Title-picture above: the gold ring inscribed with Old English runes from Kingmoor, Cumberland, now in the British Museum (drawing ©Lindsay Kerr ); and picture of the replica in Tullie House Museum, Carlisle (©Sam Newton 27th April 2010).

A New Look at Old English Runes and Runelore.

An online study-day with author and polymath Stephen Pollington looking at Anglo-Scandinavian runic inscriptions, including recent discoveries, and how they provide authentic insights into the world of the early English-speaking peoples.

Provisional Timetable

10.15–11.15: The Story So Far - an outline of the basics of runic writing and some very early texts.

11.15-11.45: coffee break

11-45-12.45: "The Hunter is Woden's Man" - Anglo-Scandinavian runic systems.

12.45-13.45: lunch break

13.45-14.45: Recent English Finds - a look at three amuletic finger rings, the Deben Valley Tag, and the Galloway Hoard.

About Stephen Pollington

Steve Pollington has many published titles on the Old English language, military culture, healing and herblore, runes, and feasting in the ‘meadhall’, as well as a double CD of readings in Old English. He has lectured widely on aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture since 1991, from local history to the details of verse metre, from theories of the origins of the Germanic runes to the handling of Anglo-Saxon weaponry. His linguistic skills have been utilised for many television and radio programmes, especially by Michael Wood. His latest book is entitled Runes: A Guide to their History and Usage (Chesterwell Press 2024).

e has just published an overview of the god Woden from earliest references through to the medieval Scandinavian evidence. His current project is a study of goddesses in early Germanic culture.

Some Suggestions for Optional Background Reading, Research, and Reference

• Bammesberger, A., & Wollmann, A., (eds.) Britain 400-600: Language and History, Anglistische Forschungen (Heidelberg, 1990).
• Bammesberger, A., (ed.) Old English Runes and Their Continental Background (Heidelberg 1991).
• Elliott, R.W.V., Runes. An Introduction (Manchester 1958).
• Findell, M., Runes (London 2014).
• Green, D.H., Language and History in the Early Germanic World (Cambridge 1998).
• Halsall, M., The Old English Rune Poem: A Critical Edition (Toronto 1981).
• Hines, J., The Scandinavian Character of Anglian England in the pre-Viking Period B.A.R. British Series, (Oxford 1984).
• Jansson, S.B.F., Runes in Sweden (Stockholm 1987).
• Looijenga, T., Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions (Leiden 2003).
• MacLeod, M., & Mees, B., Runic Amulets and Magic Objects (Woodbridge 2006).
• Pollington, S., Woden - A Historical Companion (Uppsala Books 2024).
• Pollington, S., Runes: A Guide to their History and Usage (Chesterwell Press 2024).

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