Re: Runes and their representation

From: Andrew Larsen <aelarsen_at_BhRe3u2uX2VmiGnqUYEcPlk4CODto1-yn9IeTE3N0b8fk07i3_0RdPN93PzEKpd0Saz>
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:06:40 -0500


This raises a question for me.
Historically Germanic runes were a
form of alphabet, with each
character having both a phonetic
value and a function as a word and
sometime a name. T means 't', "sword"
and the name of the god Tyr.

   Do Gloranthan runes have a
phonetic value? Do they ever act as
names? For example, does the
Earth rune mean 'Ernalda'? Does it
carry the phonetic value 'E'?

     Obviously there are way too many
minor runes to form an alphabet, but
the major (Rq 2) runes are just about
the right number to be a basic
Alphabet

Andrew E. Larsen

On Aug 29, 2011, at 12:48 PM, Jeff <richaje_at_qfNaODfvdjPCG3lTmyMJuzbmplU5z-kDb_jEdG-A18IzKQ-pKsTJGO5Nk9cpCtaqmdXyuk_4L_R1.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

> > Hi All,
> > In my reading of Gloranthan material thus far, which has consisted mainly of the Hero Quest second edition rules and Sartar: Kingdom of Hero's, I've noticed a lot of runes showing up. These seem to be depicted by use of letters, and I was curious if this was because of the way the letters look visually? As a blind person, I find it a bit strange to see "w" and think "mastery rune", when I have no idea what a W actually looks like. I know its appearance in Braille, but that is of no relation whatsoever to its printed form. In all honesty it throws me off a bit.
>
> I have wondered how Braille deals with unusual fonts, and now I know. OK, each one of the runes are "keyed" to a particular letter so I can put them in a document, but in truth they do not particularly look like those letters. For example, the Air Rune, which is typed with the letter "g" in my Runic font package, looks like a spiral. The Mastery Rune actually looks like a three-pronged crown. The Movement Rune, typed with the letter "s" is a three-legged triskelion. The Earth Rune, typed with the letter "d" is a square. And so forth.
>
> If someone would like to describe the runes better, I'd appreciate that!
>
> > THoughts? This is coming from the perspective of someone who has yet to play in any Gloranthan game, aside from King of Dragon Pass by proxy. I'd love to, though…
>
> I know groups in Berlin, London, Berkeley, Biddulph, and Seattle...
>
> Jeff
>
>

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