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[size=11][color=#657383]Powell looked around the room as he prepared it for his first class in Ancient Runes. Honestly, he was pretty excited. He loved history, and this class was just an extension of it. Besides, this was probably the one class he could showcase his love for ancient scripts and not be looked at as odd. Grinning, he wrote on the board a message and settled back to wait and see what came through the door.[/color][/size]

[quote="Professor Powell"][align=center][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/GraysonPowellInElderFuthark_zps04086ea2.png[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/GraysonPowellinLongBranchYoungerFuthark_zps890ac154.png[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/GraysonPowellinShortTwigYoungerFuthark_zps43719fd7.png[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/GraysonPowellInAngloSaxonFuthorc_zpsdc0f9425.png[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/GraysonPowellinStavelessYoungerFuthark_zps0ee918d2.png[/img][/align][/quote]

[size=11][color=darkblue]"Welcome class to your first lesson in the study of Ancient Runes. If you don't know who I am by this point, you have obviously not been paying attention in History of Magic. Before we begin this lesson, may I advise you that there will not be any spells in class, so please put your wands away."[/color] [color=#657383]He waited for the class to comply before launching into his, well, so-called lecture. It wasn't so much a lecture in his opinion as it was just having fun with the class.[/color] [color=darkblue]"Now class, I would like you to direct your attention to the board for a few moments. Notice something odd about it? I can tell you that each line says exactly the same thing. Ten points to whoever can figure out what it says first, and we shall move on with our lesson."[/color][/size]

[size=11][color=#657383]Grayson entered the room and went immediately to the board, writing several lines on it before he put the chalk down. Dusting his hands off, he turned to regard the classroom, ready to teach this lesson.[/color][/size]

[quote="Professor Powell"][align=center][u][size=18]Runic Languages[/size][/u]
Elder Futhark
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
Younger Futhark and Hålsinge Runes[/align][/quote]

[size=11][color=darkblue]"Welcome back class. Last lesson I gave you a taste of the Runic alphabets, and this one we shall discuss a bit on the different styles of runes. Obviously you can see on the board several different styles, and last class, you got to see them in action. Each variation of runes was developed over time, and in different regions, often reflecting the fact that all of them developed from preferences in the local language and peoples."[/color] [color=#657383]He looked around, hoping that he wouldn't put anyone to sleep with this next part.[/color] [color=darkblue]"As for the runic alphabets, there are or were five different variations used. Elder Futhark is the most ancient Germanic runic alphabet that was in use from the 2nd to 8th centuries by all Germanic tribes. This system of runic writing has a very peculiar and complex inner structure. Anglo-Saxon Futhorc is a system of runic writing used in Anglo-Saxon and Frisian inscriptions belonging to the 5th to 9th centuries. Already the word itself shows that Futhorc (as compared to Common Germanic Futhark) developed due to phonemic changes in the languages that it was designed to transcribe. Long Branch variant of the Younger Futhark, also known as Danish runes, is the normal or standard representation of the Younger Futhark, which began to develop at the end of the 8th century and was accepted by the 10th century in the whole of Scandinavia. Short Twig variant of the Younger Futhark is also known as Rök runes. It was used in Norway and Sweden along with the Long Branch variant that was more characteristic for Denmark. Staveless or Hålsinge runes were used only in a restricted area and may be a good example of minimalism. They also may be interpreted as a secret writing system."[/color]

[color=#657383]He grinned a bit, letting his excitement show for the subject.[/color] [color=darkblue]"Obviously not all of them survived to today in muggle society, which is honestly a shame, because they are a beautiful writing system. However, all of them are used in some way or another in the wizarding world, and can often be seen replacing the regular Latin alphabet in some instances. Also, the Wizarding world created their own system of numbers, and attributed special significance to each. However, that is a lesson for another day. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and sorry for the lecture, but we shall get into working with Runes next lesson."[/color][/size]

[size=11][color=#657383]Grayson entered the class and walked toward the front, making sure to straighten everything around so that he could teach. Settling back, he waited for the students to arrive, making sure to write out on the board the information he knew was required. His brown eyes were sharp today, ready to impart what he knew to the class.[/color] [/size]

[quote="Professor Powell"][align=center][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/elderfuthark.gif[/img][/align][/quote]

[size=11][color=darkblue]"Welcome back to class. As I am sure all of you know, we are starting into the alphabets of the ancients. We discussed the various runic languages in the last class, so today we are delving into the rune set known as Elder Futhark. Elder Futhark was so named because of the first six letters in the alphabet, Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, and Kenaz. In order, these runes spell out the letters F-U-TH-A-R-K. However, please note that Futhark does not divide T and H into separate letters. In fact, there are several letters missing from the language itself that are present in the English language. There are a total of 24 runes in the Futhark alphabet, as opposed to the 26 letters in ours.

"Now, as goes without saying, since there were letters missing from the language, you would assume that those sounds do not exist in the early language of the Norse. However, they were present, just represented by other letters. For example, C is not present, but its sounds can be found in the letters Kenaz and Sowulo, the runes for K and S, respectively. The other letters didn't have approximating sounds in the language, and thus are not in the alphabet. Q and X happen to fall into that category.

"As for the idea of letters sharing sounds, look at the letters Inguz, Thurisaz, Jera, and Wunjo. Inguz and Thurisaz both happen to be combining letters, NG and TH respectfully. We look at Jera and Wunjo, however, and notice that these letters happen to have two sounds, or have a sound similar to the missing letter in the language. Wunjo can be substituted where a V is necessary, and Jera can easily replace any Y's missing. In fact, it's interesting to note, that German, and any Germanic-based language, has remnants of this very concept in their own language, which is a close relative to the Germanic-based Norse tongue."[/color]

[color=#657383]Grayson looked back to the class and felt himself wince as he realized that he'd probably talked their ears off. Well, better too much information than too little, right?[/color] [color=darkblue]"Now, I know I have been talking for a while now, which means now it's your turn. I would like for each f you to take one of the missing or combined letters and think of ways that the letters can be replaced in Elder Futhark."[/color] [/size]

[size=11][color=#657383]Powell walked into the classroom, a spring in his step as he busied himself around the classroom, getting it ready for the day. After he was satisfied, he then turned toward the board in the room and quickly wrote out the lesson as well as several lines. Finished, he turned toward the class and waited for the students to enter.[/color] [/size]

[quote="Professor Powell"][align=center][size=18]Introduction to Younger Futhark Runes[/size][/align][/quote]

[size=11][color=darkblue]"Welcome to your third year in Ancient Runes. Over the last two years, we have reviewed the more common forms of Runes. This year, we shall explore the Younger Futhark, so named because of the fact they were used during the eighth century and onward. At the end of the eighth century an unknown rune-master reformed the Elder Futhark having reduced it to sixteen runes. By the tenth century the new form of writing was accepted in the whole of Scandinavia. It is this set of runes that may be properly called Viking runes, since they were used by the Scandinavians during the Viking Age."[/color] [/size]

[quote="Professor Powell"][align=center][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/charbonne/Ancient Runes Class/younger_futhark_zps9f5f1bd1.jpg[/img][/align][/quote]

[size=11][color=#657383]Grayson then pointed to the three lines of runes he had writen.[/color] [color=darkblue]"As you can see, there are three variations on these runes. They are called the Long Branch, the Short Twig, and the Staveless. Each of these developed during this time frame, and each has a distinctive way in writing them. Not all Scandinavian countries used the same rune sets, as you can see, and each were used for different reasons. For example, the Short Twig and Long Branch sets of runes were common in several countries for daily use, while the Staveless variety might have been used in code writing. Now, I want you to practice writing your names in these systems, since the more you practice, the more you will be able to recognize them and be able to apply them to what you are reading."[/color][/size]

OOC: Okay, might be a bit of a homework assignment, but an easy one. Just use this [url=http://www.vikingrune.com/rune-converter/]link[/url] to go to the site I use, and type out your name, select either Long Branch, Short Twig, or Staveless, and then select Convert. When that's done, just print screen your result, crop the image down, and then post it in class. That's it, and the translator is really fun to use! ^^