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runelore

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From rune +‎ lore.

Noun

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runelore (uncountable)

  1. (fantasy, paganism) The study of runes, typically for magical or religious purposes.
    • 1884, George Stephens, The Old-Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England, London: Williams and Norgate, page 213:
      In fact so serious a discrepancy could only arise in the infancy of this little-studied Old-Northern Rune-lore, when the material was so comparatively slender and the few monuments gave scarcely any acknowledged formulas.
    • 1989, Edred Thorsson, Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology, York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, page 175:
      Runelore is dominated by the figure of Ódhinn. It is the path exemplified by him that the runester seeks to travel.

Usage notes

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Not to be confused with runology, which is the academic discipline concerned with the interpretation of ancient and medieval runic inscriptions and their historical-linguistic contexts.