NFI4100 – Runology - General Introduction

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

Runology is concerned with some 1300 years of the history of writing. Runes constituted the script used by many Germanic peoples from the second century A.D. Their use died out in Norway around 1400. This course spans the entire history of runes and gives an overview of both the secondary literature and the inscriptions themselves. For a relevant point of comparison, the course also includes a concise introduction to contemporaneous Roman Alphabet epigraphy.

Learning outcome

The main goal is to learn to read and interpret runic inscriptions. The course will supplement, and be of particular interest to, those students taking other courses in cultural, historical, or language studies. This course provides a foundation for continuing with runology, but students who wish to continue must also have NFI1101 – Norrøn grammatikk og eldre språkhistorie or equivalent.

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

To be eligible for this course, you must be enrolled in one of the following master's programs:

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The minimum number of attendants for the course is 5.

While only the University General Entrance Requirements need be met in order to be considered for admission to this course, knowledge of Old Norse is to the student`s advantage. Students who wish to continue with additional courses in runology should be aware that knowledge of Old Norse is recommended for these, and students are advised also to take NFI1101 – Norrøn grammatikk og eldre språkhistorie (spring).

Overlapping courses

Teaching

The teaching is given in seminars with 14 double lectures; 28 hours in total.

Teaching will be a mixture of lectures, seminars and working in groups.

70% of small weekly qualifying assignments has to be approved before the student may sit for the final examination.

If the assignments are not approved, the student has the opportunity to hand in a revised version for a second try.

Examination

The final examination is a 4-hour written examination.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 10:07:23 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn
Examination
Autumn
Teaching language
English

Contact

Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies