Abstract
This thesis gathers and examines the rich literary evidence for the runic script. The contents of such runic sequences are analysed through the prism of the preserved runic epigraphic material from about the same period and area. The concept of a two-script culture, that uses both Latin and runic script, opens for a comparison between the types of runic inscriptions, or the material used, as presented in written and epigraphic sources respectively.
Chapter 1 introduces the subject matter and the sources, and formulates the hypothesis and aims. Chapter 2 surveys the selected methods and theories. Chapter 3 provides the previous research and the views on the source material prevailing in it. Chapter 4 employs my own investigation of the literary evidence for the runes in the respective genres, taking into account the terminological variation and the subject matter of each reference. Chapter 5 gathers some of the themes present in the corpus, summarizes the results of the analysis and evaluates the pre assumptions and the proposed hypothesis. The appended catalogue of runic sequences is compiled on the basis of already existing editions.