Rudiments of Runelore

This book is not completely without merit but it is not all that good either. The author is not a terribly good writer, and the publication is put together in a rather b-grade way. The whole thing comes across as somewhat amateurish and gives one only a smattering of information here and there that could actually give one an insight as to how runes were used/what they signified to medieval Germanic people (incl. Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons). It is probably worth noting that the perspective of this title is largely Anglo-centric - which is rather a bore when you have Scandinavian ancestry and are looking at runes from a perspective that is not focused on the UK. To be fair though, the author does try to give a "balanced" perspective of runology (divorced from new age sentiment and yet obviously sympathetic to new age perspectives) - it's just that he doesn't really pull it off, mostly because he is not a gifted writer and he tends to drone on and on about specifics that could only be interesting to someone already linguistically familiar with Old English (and how small is that audience?).

What I like best in this book is its unpretentious approach to the topic. The market is flooded with authors who will sell you their home brewed fantasies and interpretations based on very skimpy evidence if any as pure truth.
I really like that the author is honest enough to say in some places that we simply don't know exactly instead of satisfying the craving of many westerners for a magical heritage of their own with fairy tale theories. Nothing wrong with fairy tales, they should just be labeled as such.
But this book still leaves it open for the reader to make up their own mind about it and will provide you with enough solid historic evidence and leads without going overboard there either. It delivers a solid basic understanding from which you can research more into the direction you feel drawn to, be that magic or archeology.
So all in all I'd say along with Sweyn Plowright's Runic Primer an excellent foundation for beginners and for those who have had an overdose of loony new-age hodge-podge authors a great grounding read!

This book is well worth the price. It includes a basic interpretation of the Runestaves and monuments based upon philology and archeology. Hence whether one is interested in Runology for academic or occult reasons, this book is well worth the read.

One point that the other commentators haven't made a big deal is the addition of facing page translations for the rune poems and other texts. This makes the work quite a bit more valuable.

In short this is one more book that anyone interested in the subject should add to his/her library :-)

First, for any of the new-comers to the subject of Runelore that has been looking for a concise, readable, and well set book? Look no farther! Mr. Pollington has contributed and not over exhausted, the fundamentals for what this study is meant to be: the understanding of runes used in everyday life from our past kindreds, and the mysteries from past scalds - leaving a little of them left behind in this lost tradition.

Introductions as this balanced in such a comprehensive guide, can be nothing less than beneficial to wanting to explore this subject. The author goes through some of the basics for the origins, to follow with some basic understanding of the names used in the runic poems - the names have a function as an ideograph - and without such definitions of these simple words to the general reader. Then the poems itself may become confusing for the new comer? Which IMO, this was a brilliant submission to gain the interest of others and to go further with this book. Which interesting enough, the author carries on to elaborate on some of the "Runic Traditions" from England and Scandinavia, which his approach via sound values, uses for runes, pseudo runes, bind runes, runic cryptography, and the four rune poems; as such covers a lot of ground for a rudimentary book.

Now not to give everything away for this is a review, however, I feel if some time has been given with what has been mentioned above in this book, then the following chapters will come alive when the author starts to demonstrate the actual uses for the runes. Some examples as the signatures of Cynewulf in his poetic tradition; Solomon and Saturn; two riddles from the Exeter book, and it gets better. The author then explains some of his re-examinations for the three runic finds from Brandon, Suffolk. Then to follow with a most impressive re-interpretation of the Norfolk 'tiw' runes, which his examinations establish some curiosity and one for the record book.

At the end he gives us a handy Appendix; analysis of the features of the elder futhark. Which the only bug-bear I have is that the book did not have an index, something this simple doesn't take away anything and just my personal opinion. The Bibliography is not over exhausted, but excellent to find some decent material on the subject.

In conclusion: This is the best introduction that I have read that is not over scholarly and yet very simple for any reader at any level in the subject. A must have for the new-comer really to respect the runes without the New-Age flavor, and a resourceful reference for the more advance students and scholars. Because I have found "nothing" new-age, and for the conciseness of this book, I am going to have to give this my highest recommendation for any one looking for a standard in runelore, and a beginning.

Reviewed by: Mike Garcia 2008© All rights reserved. Reproduction of this review in any form, in whole or in part, without express written permission is prohibited.


Owner: Rune_Magic Discussion forum.

This is one of the few books that looks into the runes from an esoteric perspective without trying to invent a "tradition". It is a very basic introduction to the real historical facts about runelore, giving the reader the minimum starting point needed for further studies.

Pollington is scholarly and faithful to the historical source material, while still catering to the esoteric focus of his readers. He is one of a growing number of Heathen authors who have made a stand against the exploitation and adulteration of the runic traditions by the New-Age popular manuals, and would-be cult leaders.

Do yourself a favour, read it, and make a start on discovering the real runic tradition without the hype and BS.

Sweyn Plowright
author of
The Rune Primer
& True Helm