Today, when you learn your A, B, C’s, you are using the Roman or Latin alphabet. However, there are other alphabets used around the world and throughout different historical periods. One such alphabet is called the Runic alphabet. The Germanic and Scandinavian peoples of Europe developed runes, which were used throughout the early Medieval period. Runes were initially carved onto wood, metal, stone, bone, and other such surfaces. Although they may initially appear to be pictographs, they are actually an alphabet and represent the closest written source of the language during the Viking Age.