Application of Peircean Semiotics to the Elder Futhark Tradition
This work addresses the issue of magical communication found in the Elder Futhark runic inscriptions. It examines the Kragehul Spear Shaft (DR 196), Björketorp runestone (DR 360), the Horn(s) of Gallehus (DR 12), Gummarp runestone (DR 358), Lindholm amulet (DR 261), Straum whetstone (KJ 50), Ribe skull fragment (DR EM85; 151B), the Noleby runestone (KJ 67), and the Eggja runestone (N KJ 101). It seeks magical communication which may putatively be encompassed by the law of magical semiosis.
By setting objective parameters for measuring this law of magical communication, it can be determined whether or not a particular inscription should be understood as magical or non-magical specific to the Umwelt and Weltanschauung of the Runemaster. Essentially, this work is meant to challenge runologists in postulating falsifiable criteria so that magical communication in the world of the Runemaster can be discussed in an academic setting.
The work begins by discussing how Charles Sanders Peirce can help provide a basic framework regarding the sign. His phenomenological framework is applied to the world of the Runemaster. The next section then addresses the problem with the word "magic," which goes far beyond the concept of "if it does not make sense, it must be magical." It then leads to a discussion of runes and numinous qualities and finally to a corpus chapter which applies the theories and methods the author has adopted.
Scott Shell received his PhD in Germanic linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020. His research has been dedicated to historical linguistics, semiotics, and runology since 2014. He is currently an independent scholar.