Younger Futhark

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/younger-futhark

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the runic system?Younger Futhark
2. What is the character count?16 runes
3. Why did the Younger Futhark have fewer letters than the Elder Futhark?The alphabet was simplified to 16 letters because the language changed, and many similar sounds were written with the same rune, making carving faster.
4. Where were the long‑branch and short‑twig runes used?Long‑branch runes were common in Denmark, while short‑twig runes were used in Sweden and Norway.

Elder Futhark: The older runic alphabet consisting of 24 runes, predating the Younger Futhark.
Proto-Norse: The earliest recorded stage of the Old Norse language, spoken before the Viking Age.
Old Norse: The North Germanic language spoken by the North Germanic peoples during the Viking Age.
Phoneme: Any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another.