Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/395

* RUNES. 357 RUPEE. deficiency of the system, as the addition of dots and the adoption of new diaiaeters. The runic system received a fuller development among tlie Germans and Anj,do-Saxons, particularly the lat- ter, whose alphabet was extended to something like 40 cliaraeters, which seem to have emhraced, more nearly than any modern alphabet, the actual sounds of the language. The runic signs are arranged in an order ap- parently quite distinct from that of any other alphabetical system, and have a purely Teu- tonic nomenclature. Each letter is, as in the Hebrew-Phojnician, derived from the name of some well-known familiar object, with whose initial letter it corresponds. The direction of the writing is both from left to right and from right to left, and occasionally also boustrophe- do"n (q.v.). The full Old Xo'rse alphabet of 24 signs is divided into three octads, traces of which are found also with other runic alphabets. The alphabet is often called Futhark or Futhorc, based on the usual abecedarium of the first five characters. The futhark. in its series p. z. (r), s, t, distinctly exhibits the usual alphabetic ar- rangement. It is probable that f and a exchanged places owing to the similarity of their signs, while h ( pronounced something like V) and u changed places because they were similar in sound, A nimiber of other reasonable assumptions of interchange and displacement bring back the majorit.y of the runes to the order in which they should be expected, since they originate from the common source of alphabets. In the accompanying table, taken from the monograph of Sievers on the runes in Paul's Clnmdriss dcr germanischen Philologie, the vari- ations and development of the runic alphabets may be traced. The Celtic races, from their connection with the Scandinavians, became acquainted with their alphabet and made use of it in writing their own language : hence there are in the western islands of Scotland, and in the Isle of Man, runic inscrip- tions, not in the Anglo-Saxon, but in the Xorse character, with, however, peculiarities. Some of the most perfect runic inscrijitions are in Man, others of a similar description exist at Holy Island, in Lamlash Bay. Arran, and there is an inscription in the same character on a remarkable brooch, dug up at Hunterston, in Ayrshire. Bibliography. The study of the runes may be conmienced most handily with the compact treatise of Sievers, Runen mid Runen-lnscliyif- len, in Paul. Gruiidriss der germanischen Phi- lologie (iA ed., vol. i., Strassburg, 1901). The grammar of the Norse runes is treated by Noreen in the same volume of the Griin- driss. Tlie standard work on the Xorse runes is Wimmer, Runeskriftens Oprindelse og Vd- rikling i yorden (Copenhagen, 1874), German translation by Holthausen, enlarged. Die Ru- nenschrift (Berlin, 1887); Stephens, The Old Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinaria and England (London, 1860-84), contains the full- est collection of plates, although the ex])la- nations are untrustworthy. His Handbook of the Old Northern Runic Monuments (Lon- don. 1884) is a condensed treatment of the same subject. The first two volumes of Wiin- mer's work. Dc Danske Runemindcsmaerker, to be completed in four volumes, appeared in Copen- hagen in 1895 and 1901, The standard treatment of the Norwegian runes is BugKC, orgea Ind- skriflcr mcd dc a-ldrc liiinvs (CliriKlinnia, 1891 ot scq.). An important work on tlio Xorse runes is Burg, Die allcrcn iiordischcii Riiiwnin- schriftcn (Berlin, lS8.j), Tin- prinri|ml w.irk on the Continental ((ii'rnian) runes i- llenning. Die dcutschrn Runt ndtnLnuili r (."^trassburg, ISiS'.l/, A standard discussion of the most iuiportiint of the English runes, including a grainnuir nnd glossary, is Victor, Die norlhumhrischiii Runcn- steine (Marburg, 1895 ). The Manx runes are discussed iu Kernmde, Catalogue of the Manx Inscriptions (2d ed., Rani.say, 1892), KUJIJIT SINGH, rilnjet' .sing'li'. A Hindu Maharaja. See K.v.n.iit Sixuit. RUNKLE, run'k'l, Joiix Daniel (1822-1902). An American niatheinatieian, born at Hoot, ilontgomery County, X, Y, Ue graduated in 1851 at the Lawrence Scientific School of Har- vard L'niversity, from 1849 to 1884 was an as- sistant iu the editorial stall' of the .Iwicricon Ephemeris and Sautical Almanac, and was pro- fessor of mathematics in the Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology from the opening of the institution in 1805 until his retirement as pro- fessor emeritus in 1902, He was also acting president of the Institute in 1808-70 and its president from 1870 to 1878. iManual training was introduced into the Institute curriculum largely at his instance. He founded the Mathe- matical Monthlg in 1859. and continued its pub- lication until 1861. His |)ublications include: The Manual Element in Education (1882). re- printed from the Reports of the Massachusetts Board of Education; Report on Jnduslri<il Edu- cation (1883) ; and Elements of I'lanc and Solid Analytic Gcometrg (1888). RUNNING SPIDER. A spider of the family Lycosida-. They are long-bodied and hairy, but in size are smaller than the trap-door spiders, which they sometimes resemble. Their colors are usually black and white, or brown and gray, and in general sinuilate the coloring of their sur- roundings. The females carry their eggs in round cocoons attached to their spinnerets, and the young, after issuing from the eggs, are for a short time carried on the back of the mother. Most of the Xorth American species belong to the genera Lycosa and Pardosa, Consult Emer- ton. The Common tSpiders of the Vnitcd tilatcs (Boston, 1902). RUNNYMEDE. A pseudonym of Disraeli, in "The LcttiTi- ot RuiMiymede" (18;i0). RUNNYMEDE. rnn'ni-med, or RUNNI- MEDE, A long stretch of green meadow, lying along the right bank of the Thames, 20 miloa west of London. It is of great historical inter- est, from the fact that Magna Charta was signed by King John, June 15, 1215, either on this meadow, or on Charter Island, lying a short distance olf the shore. RUPEE (Hind, riipiiia, rupiya. from riipa. silver, from Skt. n'lpya. silver, from rCipa. natural state, form, beantv). A silver coin, the general unit of value in India. Rupees were first coined in 1542. The fineness and value have varied at various times and in the difi'erent portions of the country. The Madras rupee of ll.(ii!4 grammes fine was adopted in the Presidency of Bombay 'soon after 1818 as the 'Company'a rupee.' The value of the rupee in 1903 was