Read and Complete the assignments Below

Runes: The ancient Germanic peoples and the Old Norse or Old Scandinavians had their own alphabet called futhark written in straight line letters or runes. Straight lines were simpler and quicker to carve in stone or wood. This alphabet is called "futhark" based on its first six letters: f-u-th-a-r-k. It is thought to be derived from the Etruscan alphabet with several Latin or Roman letters added. There are two symbol-sounds that are of interest for English speaking peoples: the thorn, þ and the edh or eth, ð. These sounds and symbols were also found in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and in Middle English (Chaucer). In Modern English the symbols disappeared but the sounds remained in such words as "that" and "bathe" ( ð ) [voiced] and "thin" or "bath" or "with" ( þ ) [voiceless]. Today, of the Germanic languages only English and Icelandic retain these sounds. Icelandic continues to use the two symbols.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Using the first futhark alphabet(which is the easiest) - including the þ , have students write their first names, the name of the school, or greetings or short notes to each other on the board, if possible, and have the other students translate into English.

THE OLD FUTHARK RUNES (PRE- AND EARLY VIKING AGE) -- 24 LETTERS
This is the first and the oldest and has the most letters

The runic alphabet or futhark (the third character has the value 'th') is shown here in one of its earliest forms. It was to be used in the north for more than a thousand years. Originally designed for carving on wood or stone, the angular form of the characters was conditioned by the nature of the material on which they were incised.

THE VIKING AGE RUNES -- 16 LETTERS: Danish or "Normal" Runes called LONG TWIG
These two are forms of the Runes used during the Viking Age. Later runic alphabets added more letters.
The Swedo-Norwegian or SHORT TWIG Runes

Old Norse Naming System for people.
Each child's "last name" was based on the father's first name in combination with "son" for a boy or "dottir" [DOT-teer] for a girl. For instance: Erik the Red had a son called Leif and a daughter called Freydis. Their full names were Leif Eriksson and Freydis Eriksdottir. If Leif named his son Thorfinn, the son's name would be Thorfinn Leifsson and if his daughter was called Gudrid, then her name would be Gudrid Leifsdottir. Iceland retains this naming system today. Women kept their birth names when they married so that Gudrid Leifsdottir would always retain her name no matter how many times she married. This naming style continues in Iceland to this day.

ASSIGNMENT 2: Fun for the students: Have them figure out what the Norse names would be in their family, perhaps starting with parents or grandparents and going on to themselves.

ASSIGNMENT 3: Choose ONE FAMOUS HISTORICAL FIGURE IN VIKING AGE HISTORY and search online for information. Write a brief essay about your famous person. Find out when they lived, why were they famous, and any other interesting facts you can discover.

Pick One Below:
Charlemagne
Alfred the Great
King Canute of England (Knut in Old Norse language)
St. Olaf of Norway
Harald Hardradi
King Harald (Godwinson) of England
William, Duke of Normandy who became known as "The Conqueror"
Erik the Red
Leif Eriksson
MacBeth, King of Scotland (whose birth name was Thorfinn)