RUNES are quite frequently mentioned in modern writings, usually imprecisely as a source of mystic knowledge, power or insight. This book sets the record straight. It shows runes working as a practical script for a variety of purposes in early English times, among both indigenous Anglo-Saxons and incoming Vikings. The author, widely regarded as the expert in this field, examines the introduction of the runic alphabet (the fuporc) to England in the fifth and sixth centuries, the forms and values of its letters, and the ways in which it developed, until its decline at the end of the Anglo-Saxon period. He discusses how runes were used for informal and day-to-day purposes, on formal monuments, as decorative letters in prestigious manuscripts, for owners' or makers' names on everyday objects, perhaps even in private letters. An Introduction to English Runes appeared originally twenty years ago. It has remained unsurpassed for its overview of the subject, but in the intervening years much new material has been discovered, and research has significantly expanded knowledge of how and why runes were used. Such advances are here in this new edition (the many runic finds include a range of inscriptions on bone, metal and stone, and even travellers' scratched signatures found on the pilgrimage routes through Italy); the extensive updating confirms it as the essential guide to runes, revealing the immense range of information on language and social history contained in these unique documents.