Runes

Runes are a kind of alphabetic form of writing used by various Germanic speaking groups since as early as the mid second century AD. The letters are arranged in an order different from the letters of the Latin alphabet, and this arrangement is called a futhark after the first six runic characters. Runes are thought to have descended from one of the northern Italic alphabets some time before the second century, though even this origin is unsure.

Several authors and conlangers have used existing futharks or have devised new ones for their works. Of note are J.R.R. Tolkien's Cirth, a runic alphabet devised for the Dwarvish languages. Another are the Britannian runes used in the popular Ultima series of computer games.

Runiform Scripts

Any script with sharp angles consisting primarily of vertical and diagonal lines may be compared to Germanic Runes. These include so-called Turkic runes and Hungarian runes, among others. This characteristic shape is a result of the writing medium involved. Carving into a hard surface makes it difficult to produce curves, and the grain of wood dictates stroke direction.