Bind rune

A boat whose mast is formed with the bind runes þ=r=u=t=a=ʀ= =þ=i=a=k=n, on the runestone Sö 158 at Ärsta, Södermanland, Sweden. The bind runes tell that the deceased was a strong thegn.

A bind rune or bindrune (Icelandic: bandrún) is a Migration Period Germanic ligature of two or more runes. They are extremely rare in Viking Age inscriptions, but are common in earlier (Proto-Norse) and later (medieval) inscriptions.[1]

On some runestones, bind runes may have been ornamental and used to highlight the name of the carver.[2]

  1. ^ Enoksen, Lars Magnar (1998). Runor: historia, tydning, tolkning, p. 84. Historiska Media, Falun. ISBN 91-88930-32-7
  2. ^ MacLeod, Mindy (2006), "Ligatures in Early Runic and Roman Inscriptions", in Stocklund, Marie; et al. (eds.), Runes and Their Secrets: Studies in Runology, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, p. 194, ISBN 87-635-0428-6