Ingwaz.nl is a new Dutch Asatru website that made a flying start. Immediately after it was launched there were plenty articles, translations of ancient texts and a section about the runes. The man behind the site thought that it was a good idea to make the rune-section available in a booklet as well because that is easier to read and easier to access. Before I wrote this, there was a messages-section saying that you can order this booklet for E 7,-. For a reason I don’t know this message-board is now gone and there is no mention about this booklet anymore. But I suppose you can still contact the writer to inform about it.
The booklet is written in Dutch, printed with colour plates on the inside and inspite of the 50 pages highly informative. I have a few runebooks, but I like this one best so far. Bos opens with an introduction telling that most of the runebooks on the market are too free in explanations, combining the runes with whatever has nothing to do with them (Tarot, astrology, etc.). After the introduction you get a nice history of the runes. Very nice is the table with different futharks next to eachother. After this I would have preferred to get the last section, but in the booklet now follow the individual runes with their sounds, associations and a little bit of explanation. I am particularly happy about the last part which contains an introduction, reproductions and translation of the different ‘rune poems’. These are famous ancient texts explaining the runes. You get three versions of the Abecedarium Normandicum and then the Anglosaxon rune-poem, the Icelandic rune-poem, the Oldnorse rune-poem and the Swedish rune-poem. These rune-poems not only give us the name of the runes in the different futharks, but also the explanation. So why do the modern runebooks leave out the poems and come up with their own interpretations?
“Hagal/hail is a cold rain and a shower of wet snow and the illness of snakes. hagal – leader of the battle.”
A very nice booklet and definately a suggestion for those of you who can read Dutch. Contact the writer to see if you can get a copy too.
This booklet is no longer for sale, and will not be so again in the future. Rather pointless to keep an advertisement for it online.
M. Bos
administrator Ingwaz.nl
So no new version coming up? I guess people who are interested just go to Ingwaz.nl (click “runenstudies”) for the online version.
Of Runenlore? No, what I am working on is a real book on runes, but progress is slow. The basis is “runenstudies” but it will be much more expanded. Much unlike Runenlore which was basically the content of the website (old version).