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Runes are very old letters which Germanic people used before they started using Latin letters in the Middle Ages. In its broadest sense, the word runes can mean any cryptic letters, but it usually means the alphabets used by Scandinavian people from about the year 150 CE to the Middle Ages. The oldest of these is called the Elder Fuþark, used from about 150 to 800 CE. Around the year 800 the runes changed into the Younger Fuþark, and these were used until about 1100, when the Latin alphabet replaced them. The Anglo-Saxon runes were used about the same time (400-1100) in Britain. The Scandinavian runes are called "Fuþark" because the first six letters in the runic alphabet are ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ (F U Þ A R K). The Anglo-Saxon runes are called "Fuþorc" because they are a little different.
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