c. 700-1200 CE, peaking in the 11th centuryReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Runestones record the last generation of Viking travelers

The only Viking Age writing that survives in the Vikings' own words, carved rather than copied

On the timeline · around c. 700-1200 CE, peaking in the 11th century · Kings, Christianity, and the End

Quick facts

Script: Younger Futhark (16 characters)
In use: c. 700-1200 CE
Peak period: 11th century
Significance: Only contemporary written source in Old Norse

What happened

From around 700 CE the older Elder Futhark runic alphabet was adapted into Younger Futhark, a simplified 16-character script used to write Old Norse across Scandinavia and everywhere Viking Age travelers reached. Runestones raised in this script, most heavily concentrated in the 11th century, commemorate dead relatives, record journeys, and occasionally name specific destinations: raiding parties in England, trading voyages east to Byzantium and the Caliphate, and men who died in Serkland, the Norse name for the Muslim world. Unlike the sagas, which were composed centuries after the Viking Age in Iceland, runestones are physical objects carved during the period itself, making them the only contemporary written source in the Vikings' own language.

Why it matters

Runestones let historians check claims about Viking activity against inscriptions carved by the people who were actually there, rather than relying only on outside chroniclers or later saga writers. Their geographic spread, from Scandinavia through the British Isles to the eastern trade routes, maps the real reach of Viking Age travel independently of any single narrative source.

How we know

Runologists have catalogued and translated thousands of surviving runestones across Scandinavia; their contemporary carving dates them far more reliably than any literary source from the period.

Sources

World History Encyclopedia. Runes · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
PBS NOVA. Viking Runes Through Time · Reputable sourcepbs.org · The domain "pbs.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)

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