Welcome to the
American Association
for Runic Studies

What We Do

Since 2006, the American Association for Runic Studies has advanced the knowledge of runes by supporting lectures and sharing information and research with the public. To learn more about AARS’s engagements, explore the icons below that refer to scholarly lectures, events, special projects, educational opportunities, and video presentations.

Events

Presentations

Education & Outreach

Projects

AARS Blogs & News

All things runic are explored in blogs written by a cadre of AARS members as well as invited guest bloggers. News items are referenced worldwide that bring new information to runic studies. Contributions in both areas will appear on a regular basis, so please make periodic visits to this page to read about the latest musings on research, critiques, news, or information on AARS activities. (Read more).

Loraine Jensen to Present at Bemidji Sons of Norway

Loraine Jensen will present at the April 30 Bemidgi Sons of Norway meeting, co-hosted with the Bemidji Affiliate of the American Swedish Institute. This presentation will provide an overview of the thousands of...

Viking Herald Features Articles about Runes and Viking Attractions in Sweden

In two articles, The Viking Herald has picked out some of the best Viking attractions that any visitor to Sweden should see. Runeriket, "The Rune Kingdom" is a special attraction for persons interested in runes.Here...

Loraine Jensen featured on American Swedish Institute Blog Post

The American Swedish Institute has posted a story to its blog about Loraine Jensen's Pedagogical Prize from the Royal Gustav Adolfs Academy for Swedish Folk Culture. Read the story here.

Found the world’s oldest rune stone

An ancient Norwegian rune stone is attracting international attention among runic scholars and archaeologists.

Archaeologists Discover—and Start to Decode—Rare Medieval Runes

Read this article from the Smitshonian Magazine describing how one of recently unearthed objects is the first of its kind found in Oslo in decades.

Loraine Jensen to Speak at ASI Culture & Conversation Series

Loraine Jensen, founder and president of the American Association for Runic Studies (AARS) will be presenting "Shining A Light Into The Past Through Runic Studies" as part of the Culture & Conversation Series at...

AARS, Uppsala University Ink Agreement

AARS President Loraine Jensen signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Uppsala University faculty leaders to support collaborative research. The American Association of Runic Studies and Uppsala University in Sweden...

Jensen Re-ignites Fulbright Specialist Activities

AARS President Loraine Jensen began a six week Fulbright Specialist Program appointment on Oct. 3 at Uppsala University in Sweden. It is a continuation of a previous appointment in 2020 that was cut short due...

AARS President, Loraine Jensen to attend and present at International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions

AARS President, Loraine Jensen will attend and present at the Ninth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions. View the symposium website here

Unique rune finds in the Medieval Park

In one week, archaeologists found two objects with runes in the Medieval Park in Oslo.

4th Minnesota Rune Round 2022 Was a Success

24 “runatics” had the opportunity to explore all things Kensington Rune Stone in Alexandria, Minnesota, September 25-27, 2022. The in-depth exploration of the KRS, the most famous of more than 6,000 runestones, and other North American ruins was initiated by AARS...

Professor Henrik Williams presents his new interpretation of the Rök runestone

At the January 2020 Rune Rede 110, Professor Henrik Williams presented “Rökstenen och Världens Undergång”, his new book interpreting the Rök runestone.

Swedish National Heritage Board publishes new runic research tool

Runor is the fantastic new online runic research tool published by the Swedish National Heritage Board and deserves a little walkthrough. Visit here: https://app.raa.se/open/runor/ One of the biggest advantages of this website is that the main feature is a map where...

Jelling and the Danish Runestones

About 260 Danish runestones from the Viking Age are known, which were raised from about 800–900, until around 1025. It is thought that the tradition of raising runestones for deceased relatives possibly originated in Blekinge (which was a Danish territory at the time), where at least 4 runestones were raised by a local warrior clan during the 6th and 7th centuries.

Customized Runic Jewelry
Links AARS and Lakselaget

AARS enjoys the opportunity to reach out to cultural organizations with what may be new insight into their Scandinavian heritage. Presentations on the subject of runes led to a true linking of old and new for an enthusiastic women’s organization, Lakselaget. Founded...

Individuals Commemorated Selves in ‘Selfie’ Stones

... at sik sjalfa[n kvi]kvan ... ... in memory of himself while alive ... So reads part of the surviving inscription on the runestone U 962, which was discovered built into the wall of Vaksala church, not far from Uppsala. The stone dates to between 1100 and 1130,...

Congratulations to Uppsala University’s Leadership

By Loraine Jensen on behalf of the AARS Board of Directors.

Uppsala University and the AARS have had a long and happy partnership working together with the goal of expanding knowledge about runic script throughout Scandinavia and North America.

Verse on Runestones

Viking Age runestones most often contain a memorial formula for deceased relatives, but did you know that some are formulated as poetry? Probably the most famous runestone with a poetic inscription is the Karlevi runestone (Öl 1), on the Swedish island of Öland. The...

Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer

Near Ramsund in the area around Eskiltuna in Södermanland, one can find a rather famous Swedish runic carving. This is the site of the Ramsund carving (Sö 101), which also happens to be one of the largest runic monuments. The carving is not a free-standing...

Fulbright Sweden Interrupted by COVID-19

Of course, I was disappointed by the news, but in spite of this, I am truly encouraged that my activities as a Fulbright Specialist, both fulfilled and planned, will lead to informative and inspiring runic learning opportunities for both children and adults. During my...

Welcome to the American Association for Runic Studies

What We Do

AARS Blogs & News

News

Blogs

Welcome to the
American Association
for Runic Studies