Writing before the Elder Futhark was largely confined to the Latin alphabet, but there are a few notable examples of Germanic runes being used for inscriptions. The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the Germanic runic alphabet, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. The tablets and books used by scholars at the time to translate between all 4 alphabets are why we know as much about them as we do now!

The elder futhark, futhorc and younger futhark all existed at the same time until they were replaced by the latin alphabet as most of Europe became Christianized from the 10th to the 12 centuries. The elder futhark continued in use particularly in Scandinavia, but was eventually replaced by the simplified Younger Futhark, with only 16 runes instead of 24, and simpler line structure. As Saxons invaded the British Isles the Futhorc became the main written language in much of Europe. In addition, the futhorc was better suited to writing on parchment, as it made use of straight lines and easy-to-write letters. The extra letters in the futhorc were used to represent sounds that did not exist in Old English, such as th and ng. The elder futhark consists of 24 letters, while the futhorc has 26. The elder futhark developed alongside another, younger runic alphabet used by the Saxons in the 5th century, the Futhorc alphabet. Today, the elder futhark is still used by some people for a variety of purposes, including writing inscriptions, creating artwork, and casting spells. The elder futhark fell out of use around the 8th century AD, but it was later reintroduced and adapted by various groups, including the Vikings. The elder futhark was used primarily for writing inscriptions on stone and wood, but it was also sometimes used for magical or divinatory purposes. The elder futhark consists of 24 runes, which represent the sound values of the Proto-Germanic languages that were spoken at the time. The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the European runic alphabet, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD.

Elder futhark rune circle