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The Germanic peoples are usually portrayed as illiterate barbarians. Most people believe the Germanic peoples were more interested in plundering than anything else. The truth is that the Germanic peoples left behind a great number of written things. The Germanic peoples used Runes on everything from leaving a reminder for a person to common household items to stone monuments. They also used Runes to cast spells, provide protection, and tell fortunes. The Futhark is what …

…peoples often took the magical powers of the runes very seriously. The Rune Master was a person who could harness the supernatural powers of the runes. Rune Masters also used the runes to answer a person's question. Germanic warriors also harnessed the powers of the runes for war. Warriors would inscribe certain runes into their swords to the gods to either protect the owner of the sword, or bring pain to the sword owner's enemy.