Definition:
Runic writing is the name of the script used by the Scandinavian Vikings by the end of the 11th century AD, on monoliths and rock faces. The inscriptions are mostly stories of exploits or expeditions or tales of warriors or other famous people.
The alphabet itself (called futhark) was used by a number of Germanic peoples, but it was the Vikings who took it with them as they colonized much of Europe. It was not, however, the Vikings who brought it to Minnesota, where the famously fake Kensington Rune Stone was found.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com Guide to the Vikings, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Examples:
Jelling, Denmark
