rune, Any of the characters within an early Germanic writing system. The runic alphabet, also called futhark, is attested in northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to the 16th or 17th century ad. The Goths may have developed it from the Etruscan alphabet of northern Italy. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manuscripts are extant. Approximately 2,500 of these come from Sweden, the remainder being from Norway, Denmark, Britain, Iceland, and various islands off the coast of Britain and Scandinavia, as well as France, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.