Runes of the Valiant

Runes of the Valiant is a book devoted to the theory and practice of the Younger Futhark, the sixteen runes of the Viking Age.When beginning to work with the Younger Futhark, the runic Initiate is faced with a number of questions, all of which need to be answered before any real progress can be made: Why was the 24 rune Elder Futhark reduced to the 16 rune Younger Futhark?What became of the 'missing' eight runes? Are they to be ignored, or were they combined with other runes?How did the ancient runemasters decide which eight runes to condense?Why sixteen runes specifically? Why not some other number?Have the meanings of the remaining runes changed to accommodate the reduction of the rune row?Only when we can intuit an answer to these questions and determine the precise, positive reason which underlay the transition from the Elder to the Younger Futhark, can we understand how and why the Younger runes are to be used.And once that vital spirit which fuelled and catalysed the change is grasped and understood on an internal level, the runes themselves will blaze with white heat in the crucible of our understanding, and we may forge ahead, using them in new and dynamic ways - living ways - resonant with the spirit of their creation.Michael Kelly is a Runemaster in the Rune-Gild, and a proud Manxman, seeking to recover the Mysteries of the Younger Futhark used by his forefathers.