Revival of the Runes: The Modern Rediscovery and Reinvention of the Germanic Runes

About this book

Explores the five periods of runic revival: the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Romantic period, the early 20th century, and the late 20th century. Examines the use of runes by the foremost magicians and scholars of each era, including mystic and scholar Johannes Bureus, who developed his own integrated system of runology known as Adalruna. For each period, he discusses both the scholarly studies and those focused on the esoteric mysteries of the runes--and how these two branches of study were at first intertwined yet diverged in later revivals. Focusing in particular on the first runic revival, Flowers examines the use of runes during the Renaissance by the foremost magicians and scholars of the era, including mystic and scholar Johannes Bureus, the “grandfather of integral runology,” who developed his own system known as Adalruna. In his examination of the runic reawakenings of the early and late 20th century, Flowers looks at how the runes were employed as part of a reassessment of Germanic identity, one school of which led to Nazi Germany. He explains how the Nazi use and abuse of the runes was misguided and revealed a lack of comprehension of what earlier rune scholars had discovered through their extensive studies of the past. He also offers a fresh look at the work of Guido von List and clears him of his guilt by association with the Nazis.

• Author: Stephen E. Flowers

• Title: Revival of the Runes: The Modern Rediscovery and Reinvention of the Germanic Runes
• Publisher/distributor: Simon & Schuster
• ISBN: 9781644111789