ABSTRACT
The Vikings had a unique form of writing, called runes. They had no books, and the runes were usually carved on wood or stone, so each letter was made up of straight lines. These are much easier to carve than curves. The Viking alphabet (shown here) is called the Futhark, after the first seven letters in it. Runes were mostly used for very short messages or for special charms. These charms were believed to have magical powers, and only some Vikings knew them. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203819548/7003a071-4fb6-4040-ba15-be8652b99178/content/fig53.tif"/>
