Dalrunornas utveckling

Abstract

The Dalecarlian runes appear to represent an unbroken tradition from the Vi­king Age until the beginning of the 20th century. During this entire period, runes were continuously known and used in Upper Dalecarlia. Some archaic features that were lost in other parts of Sweden in the Middle Ages remained in use in runic inscriptions in Upper Dalecarlia. Firstly, the Viking Age ortho­graphic practice of using the same rune for both voiced and voiceless con­sonants with the same place and manner of articulation was maintained in Dale­carlian inscriptions until the late 16th century. This accords well with the fact that the dotted k-rune was not used during the Viking Age across a large north­ern area comprising central and northern Västmanland, Gästrikland, Häl­sing­land and Jämtland. Dalecarlia was probably also a part of that area. Secondly, the use of dotted u for ǫ that is known from Viking Age runic in­scrip­tions in eastern Västmanland and western Uppland can also be found in Dale­carlian inscriptions from the Middle Ages and the early 16th century. Since there is a clear similarity between the medieval and the 16th century runes in Dalecarlia, the term Dalecarlian runes (Swedish dalrunor) ought to be used for runes from c. 1200 onwards.