Viking warriors harnessed the arcane powers of the runes even in war. Runic inscriptions on swords entreated the gods either to protect the sword's owner or bring pain and misery to his enemy.

It is also the birthplace of one of Sweden’s national symbols, the Dalecarlian Horse, which originally was a toy for children carved from leftover wood used to make clock cases. The curious phenomenon ...

Write Your Name in Runes By Nicole Sanderson Posted 04.28.11 NOVA Runes are the characters of the alphabet used by the Vikings and other Germanic peoples from about the second to the 15th ...

The design of the stage is in the shape of an "Odal rune," which was used on Nazi uniforms in some divisions of the SS and has also been used by white supremacists in Europe and North America in ...

The Norse settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland dates to at least 1021 CE, providing a timeframe for Viking activity in North America (Credit: Murphy_Shewchuk/Getty) ...

Science Nordic has plenty of examples of that playfulness. Check out the long stick showing a row of bearded men. The number of lines in each man’s beard indicates which rune he stands for.

Snopes also found the rune described as popular with "skinheads" in a 2006 Edmonton Journal article. Modern neo-Nazis routinely use Norse symbols, including the Odal rune.

The enigmatic origins of runic writings used by early Germanic peoples have invited much debate over the years, but a fragmented runestone from a Norwegian grave site may settle some questions.

So, if you are intrigued by God of War's runes and think you may have found the final secret, be sure to submit your photos to the 'rune translation hotline' subreddit and r/GodOfWarSecrets.

Veteran studio Human Head is hard at work bringing back the cult classic hack-and-slash game Rune, and plans on releasing a version into Early Access next month. Originally released in 2000, Rune ...