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Writing systems:
abjads |
alphabets |
syllabic alphabets |
syllabaries |
semanto-phonetic scripts
undeciphered scripts |
alternative scripts |
your con-scripts |
A-Z index |
Direction index
Old Norse, the language of the Vikings, is a North Germanic language once spoken in Scandinavia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and in parts of Russia, France and the British Isles. The modern language most closely related to Old Norse is Icelandic, the written form of which has changed little over the years, while the spoken form has undergone significant changes.
The earliest known inscriptions in Scandinavia date from the the 2nd century AD and were written in Runes mainly on stone, or on personal artifacts such as brooches and swords. The majority of these inscription have been found in Denmark and Sweden, and they are written in a dialect much more archaic than Old Norse itself.
Most Old Norse literature was written in Iceland and includes the Eddas, poems about gods and mythic origins, or the heroes of an earlier age; Scaldic poetry, which was concerned with extolling the virtues and telling tales of the notable exploits of kings and other patrons; and the Sagas, stories of historical figures or groups intended as entertainment.
Between 800 and 1050 AD a division began to appear between East Norse, which developed into Swedish and Danish, and West Norse, which developed into Norwegian, Faroese, Icelandic and Norn, an extinct language once spoken in Shetland, Orkney, and northern parts of Scotland.
Þórr heitir áss, ok er sterkr mjök ok oft reiðr. Hann á hamar góðan. Þórr ferr oft til Jötunheima ok vegr þar marga jötna með hamrinum. Þórr á ok vagn er flýgr. Hann ekr vagninum um himininn. Þar er Þórr ekr, er stormr.
A god is named Thor. He is very strong and often angry. He has a good hammer. Thor often goes to Gianthome and slays many giants there with the hammer. Thor also has a carriage that flies. He drives the carriage through the sky. Where Thor drives there is storm.
Faðer uor som ast i himlüm, halgað warðe þit nama. Tilkomme þit rikie. Skie þin uilie so som i himmalan so oh bo iordanne. Wort dahliha broð gif os i dah. Oh forlat os uora skuldar so som oh ui forlate þem os skuüldihi are. Oh inleð os ikkie i frestalsan utan frels os ifra ondo. Tü rikiað ar þit oh mahtan oh harlihheten i ewihhet. Aman.
Online Old Norse lessons
http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/
http://hem.passagen.se/peter9/gram/
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/lrc/eieol/norol-TC-X.html
Online Old Norse texts and manuscripts
http://www.svenska.gu.se/~svekgj/wormianus.html
http://www.snerpa.is/net/
http://www.sagnanet.is
http://etext.old.no
A guide to Old Norse names
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.htm
ALPHABETUM is a Unicode font specifically designed for ancient languages that includes
Medieval Nordic (Old Norse and Old Icelandic) and many other ancient scripts
http://guindo.pntic.mec.es/~jmag0042/alphabet.html
Afrikaans, Alsatian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, English, Faroese, Frisian, German, Icelandic, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Old English, Old Norse, Scots, Swedish
Other languages written with the Latin alphabet
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