Old Norse would be a North Germanic language once spoken in Scandinavia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, as well as in areas of Russia, France and also the Uk and Ireland. It had been the word what from the Vikings or Norsemen. The current language most carefully associated with Old Norse is Icelandic, the written type of that has altered little through the years, as the spoken form has gone through significant changes.

The first known inscriptions in Scandinavia date in the the second century AD and were designed in Runes mainly on stone, or on personal artifacts for example brooches and swords. Nearly all these inscription have been discovered in Denmark and Norway, and they’re designed in a dialect a lot more archaic than Old Norse itself.

Most Old Norse literature was designed in Iceland and includes the Eddas, poems about gods and mythic origins, or even the heroes of the earlier age Scaldic poetry, that was worried about extolling the benefits and telling tales from the notable exploits of nobleman along with other patrons and also the Sagas, tales of historic figures or groups should have been entertainment.

Between 800 and 1050 AD a division started to look between East Norse, which progressed into Swedish and Danish. and West Norse, which progressed into Norwegian. Faroese. Icelandic and Norn, an extinct language once spoken in Shetland, Orkney, and northern areas of Scotland.

Old Norse pronunciation

Introducing Old Norse pronunciation

Sample texts in Old Norse

Allir menn eru bornir frjálsir ok jafnir at virðingu ok réttum. Þeir eru allir viti gœddir ok samvizku, ok skulu gøra hvárr til annars bróðurliga.

Translation

All people are born free and equal in dignity and legal rights.

They’re endowed with reason and conscience and really should act towards each other inside a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article one of the Universal Promise of Human Legal rights)

Þórr heitir áss, ok er sterkr mjök ok oft reiðr. Hann á hamar góðan. Þórr ferr oft til Jötunheima ok vegr þar marga jötna með hamrinum. Þórr á ok vagn er flýgr. Hann ekr vagninum um himininn. Þar er Þórr ekr, er stormr.

Translation

A god is known as Thor. He’s quite strong and frequently angry. He’s a great hammer. Thor frequently would go to Gianthome and slays many giants there using the hammer. Thor also offers a carriage that flies. He drives the carriage with the sky. Where Thor drives there’s storm.

Lord’s Prayer

Transliteration

Faðer uor som ast i himlüm, halgað warðe þit nama. Tilkomme þit rikie. Skie þin uilie so som i himmalan so oh bo iordanne. Wort dahliha broð gif os i dah. Oh forlat os uora skuldar so som oh ui forlate þem os skuüldihi are. Oh inleð os ikkie i frestalsan utan frels os ifra ondo. Tü rikiað ar þit oh mahtan oh harlihheten i ewihhet. Aman.

Links

Online Old Norse training
world wide web.hi.is/

Online Old Norse texts and manuscripts
world wide web.svenska.gu.se/

Dictionary of Old Norse Prose (Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog)
dataonp.hum.ku.dk/

ALPHABETUM – a Unicode font particularly created for ancient scripts, including classical medieval Latin, ancient greek language, Etruscan, Oscan, Umbrian, Faliscan, Messapic, Picene, Iberian, Celtiberian, Medieval, Runic, Old Middle British, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Old Nordic, Ogham, Kharosthi, Glagolitic, Old Cyrillic, Phoenician, Avestan, Ugaritic, Straight line B, Anatolian scripts, Coptic, Cypriot, Brahmi, Old Persian cuneiform: guindo.pntic.mec.es/

Germanic languages