# Runic Letters explained — Bulfinch’s Mythology

> Chapter companion for Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

## What happens

This chapter describes the Runic letters found on stones in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, their straight-line forms, their use in divination and magic, and their later use for inscriptions in the Norse language. It also references Gray's ode on the Descent of Odin.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cultural Transmission and Education

The chapter discusses the transmission of Runic writing and its evolution from magical use to historical inscriptions, reflecting the preservation of cultural knowledge.

## Character check-ins

### Odin

Referenced in Gray's ode on the Descent of Odin, which describes the use of Runic letters for incantation.

## Key lines

> Facing to the northern clime, Thrice he traced the Runic rhyme; Thrice pronounced, in accents dread, The thrilling verse that wakes the dead, Till from out the hollow ground Slowly breathed a sullen sound.

Odin faces north, traces the Runic rhyme three times, and chants a terrifying verse that raises the dead, causing a hollow sound to emerge from the ground.

_This passage from Gray's ode illustrates the use of Runic letters for necromancy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/runic-letters
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters