Historians and linguists, after studying the ancient written Germanic manuscripts, identified three subgroups of the Germanic languages of the early Middle Ages:- North German or Scandinavian;- East German or Gothic;- West German.
The North Germanic or Scandinavian language group includes the following languages:
The North Germanic or Scandinavian language group includes the following languages:
1. An ancient northern language or the language of runic inscriptions. The number of these inscriptions is small, about 150, and they belong to the 2-9 centuries AD. One of the most striking such monuments is the golden horn with runic inscriptions, which was found in Denmark, in Galeus. This inscription dates back to the 5th century AD and contains a number of linguistic facts that perfectly illustrate the most ancient state of the Germanic languages.
2. Old Danish language. The first monuments of the ancient Danish language are runic inscriptions. They belong to the beginning of the 9th century. In total, about 400 runic inscriptions in the Old Danish language are known.
3. Old Norse language. Runic monuments of the Old Norse language are few in number and date back to the early 13th century. There are many more monuments written not in runic symbols, but in the Latin alphabet. The monuments belong to the end of the 12th century.
4. Old Norwegian language. In total, about 200 runic inscriptions are known in the ancient Norwegian language. The most famous is the inscription on the Eggum stone in the Norwegian city of Sogndal, which dates back to the early 5th century.
