Critical review examines Peircean semiotics in Elder Fuþark inscriptions, suggesting runic magic originates in the act of writing rather than spoken performance.
This review article evaluates Scott Shell’s (2023) innovative use of Peircean semiotics to analyse a selection of elder fuþark inscriptions in the context of magical communication. While the critique praises the inclusion of the Old Norwegian, Old Icelandic and Old English rune poems as source material, it notes that Shell’s semiotic analysis relies on contested or outdated interpretations, sometimes leading to neat circles. The critique emphasizes that the magic of runes lies more in the act of writing than in the spoken word and the verbatim performance of formulas and inscriptions.
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Michael Schulte (2026) studied this question.
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