Many theories have been proposed about who created the runes. Some of these theories have more supporters than others, but they all share one thing in common: none of them can be proven with complete certainty. No runic inscriptions, as we recognize the runes today, can be dated with certainty to a time before 200 AD.

I choose to follow the theory that the runes were created around 100–200 AD among the Goths or other Germanic tribes living in an area north of the Black Sea. The runes may have been influenced by the Greek and Latin alphabets. There are many arguments that support this theory.

Later, the runes spread throughout central and northern Europe as these tribes migrated. They were used by the Goths, Herulers, Germans, and Frisians in southern and central Europe, as well as by the Angles and Saxons in the west. In the north, they were used by the Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish people, as well as their counterparts in Iceland and Greenland and the Sami of Lapland (northwestern Russia and northern Sweden, Norway, and Finland).

By around 300 AD, the runic alphabet was the only alphabet used in Scandinavia. However, in central Europe, the runes gradually fell out of use because of the growing popularity of the Latin alphabet, which spread along with Christianity.

Runes could be written from left to right or from right to left. They could also be written with the first sentence going from right to left and the second sentence from left to right, a style known as boustphedon. In addition, runes were sometimes written as a mirror image („venderuner“), upside down („stupruner“), or joined together („bindrunes“), such as the Norwegian Æ (A+E).

A single rune could also represent two runes. For example, the rune „FE“ could represent „FE + FE“. Runes were often written as one continuous line of text, without spaces between words or sentences. If the rune master wanted to separate words or sentences, he used a symbol similar to the letter X, or one, two, or three dots placed above one another. For example, when using two dots, he might write: „I:MAKE:SPACE:WITH:TWO:POINTS“.

There were no lowercase runes; only uppercase runes existed. There were also no strict limits on the format in which runes could be written. They could be written in many different directions and on almost any type of common material. They could be used as beautiful decorations or as hidden magical formulas.

When runes were carved into stone, the rune master created the lines by carving many individual points close together until a complete line was formed.

Four other theories about the runes

1) The Crete Theory

According to the first theory, the runes were introduced to Scandinavia during the same period when the well-known spiral ornaments were introduced from Crete, approximately 1800–400 BC. This theory suggests that the Goths were already familiar with the art of runes before they left Scandinavia, sometime between 200 BC and 200 AD. However, this theory is not as widely accepted.

2) Kjell Aartun’s Theory

Kjell Aartun is a doctor of philosophy and language researcher. In his book RUNER i kulturhistorisk sammenheng, En fruktbarhetskultisk tradisjon (Pax Forlag, Oslo 1994), he writes that he has proven that the runes were not inspired by the Greek and Latin alphabets.

Instead, he argues that the opposite is true. According to his theory, the Norwegian runes are identical to runes that were used in Semitic language areas, such as Trojan Asia Minor and Canaan (Palestine), as far back as 2000 BC.

In Aartun’s view, the runes were one of several oriental writing systems that formed the basic foundation from which the Greek and Latin alphabets later developed. He also writes that he can prove that the earliest Norwegian runic inscriptions were written in a Semitic language. He refers to known cult-based erotic texts, many of which contained sacred depictions of the act of making love.

According to Aartun, new archaeological discoveries show that many people from the Mediterranean region, especially the Cretans (who were Semitic), frequently traveled north on trading journeys. He argues that during the Migration Period, many Semitic-speaking people came to Norway.

Aartun writes that this conclusion is supported by actual facts referred to by Snorri when he says: „these Asians was called aeser(…) in the northern countries the Asians spread so much that their language was the common language in all these countries.“

Kjell Aartun’s theories are not accepted by authoritative Norwegian rune-ologists. However, his theory does have supporters, including some on the Internet site about Blekinge’s Most Ancient Runic Inscriptions.

3) Turgay Kürüm’s Theory

Turgay Kürüm of Turkey writes on his webpage that the purpose of his article is to draw readers‘ attention to the idea that the Futhark alphabet has the very same origin as the ancient Turkish inscriptions of the Gokturk alphabet.

4) The South-Scandinavian Theory

The fourth theory states that the runes created in South Scandinavia during the 300s AD were inspired by the Latin alphabet, but were adapted to a Scandinavian cultural context.

South Scandinavia was a center of runic activity in ancient times.