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Tom Birkett is Professor of Old English at University College Cork, Ireland. He completed his D.Phil. on runes in literature at the University of Oxford, and has published extensively on the runic script, Old English and Old Norse poetry, and the reception of medieval literature. In 2016-17, he ran a major project on the perception of the Vikings in Britain and Ireland and is currently leading a project mapping the reception of the Vikings across Europe funded by the European Research Council. His research is committed to breaking down the barriers between the academy and public medievalism, and he has spent several summers sailing with the Danish crew of the reconstructed Viking ship ""Sea Stallion.""
A fascinating overview of runes, their varied meanings, and their many uses, both domestic and magical, throughout the ages: accessible, yet erudite, and filled with interesting detail. Perfect for anyone with an interest in pre-Roman scripts and the cultures that gave birth to them. * Joanna Harris, author of Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki, and Chocolat * Just now and then scholar and subject seem born for each other. Paying proper homage to his predecessors, Tom Birkett tackles the thorny hedge of runes (at once magical and everyday) with great gusto, playfulness, and authority, as well as offering a succinct description and assessment of runic revivalism. * Kevin Crossley-Holland, author of The Norse Myths and translator of Anglo-Saxon poetry * Written with Birkett's characteristic intelligence and eloquence, this is a fascinating, beautifully composed history of the runic script. This is the book I will be recommending to anyone who wishes to learn about runes, their origins, and their many manifestations across centuries and cultures. * Eleanor Barraclough, author of Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age * Tom Birkett's wonderfully comprehensive and engaging history of runes traces a fascinating story from their mysterious beginnings, through centuries of use for formal * and sometimes very informal!inscriptions throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and right up to their misconceived adoption by New Age groups as fortune-telling symbols, and their malign misuse in Nazi and neo-Nazi iconography. Birkett's scholarship and judgement are impeccable, and his enthusiasm illuminates every page.Heather O'Donoghue, Professor Emerita of Old Norse, Linacre College, Oxford *
