runelore

English

Etymology

From rune +‎ lore.

Noun

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

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.