The people living deep in the Swedish mountains used Rune characters and their own language "Elfdalian" 100 years ago

Often seen as being closely related to magic and rituals, it has a mysterious imageRunesIt was thought that it was disappeared at the last time that it was used in the medieval Northern Europe. But old material found in Sweden revealed that this ancient character was used until the beginning of the 20th century.

Isolated people in Sweden only stopped using runes 100 years ago | ScienceNordic
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Rune characters were born in the 1st century, and were used as a character for writing Germanic languages ​​on a daily basis in their lives. Although it was Rune characters which became obsolete as the Latin letters spread afterwards, it was thought that it was used until the medieval period in Northern Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula, then it was obsolete.

Although it is a rune character which is a lost character, its influence may glimpse in modern times. That mark that shows Bluetooth that is widely used in smartphones and others is actually designed based on Danish Rune characters.

Bluetooth · USB · Commands from key design such as command key of Mac · Summary from design - GIGAZINE


Although it is a rune which was thought to have disappeared from the world, people living in the area called Ä lvdalen (Elb dahlen) located in the western part of Sweden, even in the other parts of Scandinavia, rancen for centuries I knew that I kept using it for a while. Elba Dahlen is an area located in the deep inner part of Sweden's forest, continuing to use Rune characters until the beginning of the 20th century and further using the original language "Elfdalian language", research into the language of Scandinavia It seems that it is perceived as a "jewelry box" for a person.


University of CopenhagenDepartment of Nordic ResearchAssociate Professor Michael Lerche Nielsen of the Faculty of Scandinavian Studies ("Scandinavian Studies") says, "Elba Dahlen is a very special place, firstly there, using the ancient Scandinavian language, and using the ancient Rune characters up to just 100 years ago Because it continued, this is a very attractive thing. "

In Denmark and the Scandinavian Peninsula region, the Rune characters have been used as the main characters until Christianity is brought about in the 9th and 10th centuries, and at the same time the alphabet spreads. By the fifteenth century Rune characters will be superseded by the alphabet, but Elba Dahlen only keeps using Rune characters without being affected, and in letters written in 1906 it is partially It is discovered by Swedish linguist Henrik Rosenkvist that Rune characters are used in.

Rosenkvist says, "Traces of the use of Rune characters discovered in Elb-Dahlen are probably the newest evidence we know, in other worlds the use of Rune characters has been discontinued in the Middle Ages, so it was used in modern times It is very unusual for me. "

Examples of Rune characters found in Elb-Dahlen are as follows, which are considered to be changed under the influence of the alphabet, and those that were used at the beginning of the 20th century are described in this image Thing.


Associate Professor Nielsen also agreed, "In Scandinavia it was thought that the use of Rune characters gradually ceased in the mid-15th century, in part, Sweden'sGotland IslandAnd some areas like Iceland that used Rune characters until the 17th century, Elven Dahlen was widely used until the beginning of the 20th century, "Rune said.

According to Nielsen Associate Professor, there are many Rune characters inscribed in the buildings and furniture of the house at Elb Darren. Furthermore, in addition to this, letters were engraved on wooden bars called "message blades" and they were exchanged among farmers in the area. About this, Associate Professor Nielsen thinks "People who kept cows in the mountain area seem to have done message exchange with Rune characters".


In addition, the geographical factors of Elba Dahlen isolated from other places by mountains, forests and lakes also have a big influence on the reason why Rune characters have been used continuously. "Elba Dahlen was in the depths of the deep forest of Sweden and it was necessary for us to go over the Dah River by boat and go back more than 100 kilometers to get there, once visiting the area was also like adventure," Associate professor Nielsen talks about the reason for its identity.

Mr. Rosenkvist said, "The people of Elb-Dalen are considered to be strongly conservative in a good sense," and that Sweden's unique society is behind it and "as another important reason Is that it was not obligatory to let the children go to school in Sweden until 1900. Many children did not attend school until mid- 19th century, so people continued using Rune characters as writing letters However, from the time the children changed to go to school, alphabets gradually began to be used, and Rune characters are not being used, "explains the background.