Old Norse language
Old Norse is a Germanic language that was spoken in Scandinavia, during the Viking Age, until about 1300. It was also spoken in Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Orkney Islands and other places that Scandinavians started settlements (similar to colonies).
| Old Norse | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dǫnsk tunga ("Danish tongue") Norrœnt mál ("Norse speech") | ||||
| Native to | Scandinavia | |||
| Region | Nordic countries, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Normandy, Newfoundland, the Volga and places in-between | |||
| Era | developed into the various North Germanic languages by the 14th century | |||
| Language family | Indo-European
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| Early forms: | ||||
| Writing system | Runic, later Latin (Old Norse alphabet) | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-2 | non | |||
| ISO 639-3 | non | |||
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The Rök Runestone in Östergötland, Sweden, is the longest surviving source of early Old East Norse. It is inscribed on both sides
Modern Icelandic is the modern language that is the closest to Old Norse when written. Another language that is close to Old Norse, is Elfdalian. Other languages that come from Old Norse are Swedish, Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian.
