The book offered to the reader’s attention is one of the rather rare examples of a successful popular science presentation of the fundamentals of runology. First published in 1941, the book, in the six decades that have passed since its first appearance, has not lost its significance as an introductory course introducing the history of the emergence of runic writing, the stages of development of the runic alphabet, as well as the most remarkable monuments of ancient Germanic and Scandinavian epigraphy . It will find its reader both among specialists in the field of paleography, philology and the history of writing, and among numerous history buffs. Runology is a very conservative science. Many truths have not lost their meaning to this day, therefore, paradoxically, in the sphere of scientific research of this discipline there are practically no books that are not only hopeless, but also simply outdated. Numerous studies, especially publications of monuments, which were published back in the mid-19th century, continue to retain their importance. That is why the book offered to the reader is relevant to this day - in particular, as a brilliant example of competent popularization of an extremely complex branch of scientific knowledge.