View source for Old Hungarian script

{{short description|Alphabetic writing system used by the Hungarians primarily in the Middle Ages}}
{{For|an outline of this language's history|Old Hungarian language}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Old Hungarian script
| altname     = {{Script|Hung|𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗-𐲘𐳀𐳎𐳀𐳢 𐲢𐳛𐳮𐳁𐳤}}<br />{{lang|hu|Székely-magyar rovás}}
| languages   = [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
| time        = Attested from 10th century. Marginal use into the 17th century, revived in the 20th.
| type        = [[Alphabet]]
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| fam4        = [[Aramaic alphabet]]
| fam5        = [[Syriac alphabet]]
| fam6        = [[Sogdian alphabet]]
| fam7        = [[Old Turkic script]]
| iso15924    = Hung
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10C80.pdf U+10C80–U+10CFF]
| sample      = Szekely-Hungarian Rovas.svg
| imagesize   = 150px
}}
{{Contains special characters|Old Hungarian}}

The '''Old Hungarian script''' or '''Hungarian runes''' ({{langx|hu|Székely-magyar rovás}}, 'székely-magyar runiform', or {{lang|hu|rovásírás}}) is an [[alphabet]]ic [[writing system]] used for writing the [[Hungarian language]]. Modern Hungarian is written using the Latin-based [[Hungarian alphabet]]. The term "old" refers to the historical priority of the script compared with the Latin-based one.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12168r-n4268r-oldhungarian.pdf|title=Consolidated proposal for encoding the Old Hungarian script in the UCS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731021935/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12168r-n4268r-oldhungarian.pdf|archive-date=2015-07-31}}</ref> The Old Hungarian script is a child system of the [[Old Turkic alphabet]].{{cn|date=September 2025}}

The [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]] [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|settled the Carpathian Basin]] in 895. After the establishment of the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1526)|Christian Hungarian kingdom]], the old writing system was partly forced out of use during the rule of [[Stephen I of Hungary|King Stephen]], and the [[Latin alphabet]] was adopted. However, among some professions (e.g. shepherds who used a "rovás-stick" to officially track the number of animals) and in [[Transylvania]], the script has remained in use by the [[Székelys|Székely]] Magyars, giving its Hungarian name {{lang|hu|(székely) rovásírás}}. The writing could also be found in churches, such as that in the commune of [[Atid]].

Its English name in the [[ISO 15924]] standard is Old Hungarian (Hungarian Runic).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/iso15924/codechanges.html|publisher=ISO 15924|title=ISO 15924/RA Notice of Changes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030003752/http://www.unicode.org/iso15924/codechanges.html|archive-date=2012-10-30}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rovas.info/images/stories/downloads/hung-176-code%20request%20for%20rovas%2020121020.pdf Code request for the Rovas script in ISO 15924 (2012-10-20)]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=Btphelps |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Name ==
In [[Hungarian language|modern Hungarian]], the script is known formally as {{lang|hu|Székely rovásírás}} ('Szekler script').<ref name="ReferenceA">{{audio|Szekely rovasiras.ogg|listen}}</ref> The writing system is generally known as {{lang|hu|rovásírás}}, {{lang|hu|székely rovásírás}},<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and {{lang|hu|székely-magyar írás}} (or simply {{lang|hu|rovás}} 'notch, score').<ref>by the public. From the verb {{lang|hu|ró}} 'to carve', 'to score' since the letters were usually carved on wood or sticks.</ref>

== History ==
=== Origins ===
[[File:Campagna-bronz-fokostarto.jpg|thumb|left|Axe socket found near Campagna.]]
The precise date or origin of the script is unknown.

Origins of the Turkic scripts are uncertain. According to some opinions, ancient Turkic runes descend from primaeval Turkic graphic logograms.<ref>Franz Altheim: Geschichte der Hunnen, vol. 1, p. 118</ref>
Linguist [[András Róna-Tas]] derives Old Hungarian from the [[Old Turkic script]],<ref>Róna-Tas (1987, 1988)</ref> itself recorded in inscriptions dating from {{circa|AD 720}}. 

Speakers of [[Proto-Hungarian]] would have come into contact with Turkic peoples during the 7th or 8th century, in the context of the [[Turkic expansion]], as is also evidenced by numerous Turkic loanwords in Proto-Hungarian.

All the letters but one for sounds which were shared by Turkic and Ancient Hungarian can be related to their Old Turkic counterparts. Most of the missing characters were derived by script internal extensions, rather than borrowings, but a small number of characters seem to derive from Greek, such as [[File:F (rovásbetű).svg|15px|eF]] 'eF'.<ref name="greek_origin">''Új Magyar Lexikon'' (New Hungarian Encyclopaedia) – Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1962. (Volume 5) {{ISBN|963-05-2808-8}}</ref>

The modern Hungarian term for this script (coined in the 19th century), {{lang|hu|rovás}}, derives from the verb {{lang|hu|róni}} ('to score') which is derived from old [[Uralic languages|Uralic]], general Hungarian terminology describing the technique of writing ({{lang|hu|írni}} 'to write', {{lang|hu|betű}} 'letter', {{lang|hu|bicska}} 'knife, also: for carving letters') derive from Turkic,<ref name="turkic_ling_evidence">András Róna-Tas ''A magyar írásbeliség török eredetéhez'' (In: Klára Sándor (ed.) ''Rovás és Rovásírás'' p.9–14 — Szeged, 1992, {{ISBN|963-481-885-4}})</ref> which further supports transmission via Turkic alphabets.

=== Medieval Hungary ===
[[File:Rovasmap 9th century.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The area of Rovas script usage in the 9th and 10th centuries.]]
{{Over-quotation|section=y|date=November 2025}}
Epigraphic evidence for the use of the Old Hungarian script in medieval Hungary dates to the 10th century, for example, from [[Homokmégy]].<ref name="homokmegy">István Fodor – György Diószegi – László Legeza: ''Őseink nyomában''. (On the scent of our ancestors) – Magyar Könyvklub-Helikon Kiadó, Budapest, 1996. {{ISBN|963-208-400-4}} (Page 82)</ref> The latter inscription was found on a fragment of a [[quiver]] made of bone. Although there have been several attempts to interpret it, the meaning of it is still unclear.

In 1000, with the coronation of [[Stephen I of Hungary]], Hungary, previously an alliance of mostly nomadic tribes, became a [[Kingdom of Hungary|kingdom]]. The [[Latin alphabet]] was adopted as official script; however, Old Hungarian continued to be used in the vernacular.

The runic script was first mentioned in the 13th century Chronicle of [[Simon of Kéza]],<ref name="SimonKeza">Dóra Tóth-Károly Bera: ''Honfoglalás és őstörténet''. Aquila, Budapest, 1996. {{ISBN|963-8276-96-7}}</ref> where he stated that the [[Székelys]] may use the script of the [[Bulaqs|Blaks]].<ref>Bodor, György: ''A blakok''. In: Viktor Szombathy and [[Gyula László]] (eds.), ''Magyarrá lett keleti népek.'' Budapest, 1988, pp. 56–60.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://epa.oszk.hu/00000/00010/00048/pdf/EPA00010_hsr_2013_2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-11-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114233641/http://epa.oszk.hu/00000/00010/00048/pdf/EPA00010_hsr_2013_2.pdf |archive-date=2016-11-14 }}</ref><ref name="Ervin">{{citation|author=Láczay Ervin|title=A honfoglaláskori erdélyi blak, vagy bulák nép török eredete|url=http://mek.oszk.hu/05900/05927/05927.pdf|journal=Acta Historica Hungarica Turiciensia|pages=161–177|year=2005|isbn=9639349100}}</ref> [[Johannes de Thurocz|Johannes Thuróczy]] wrote in the [[Chronica Hungarorum]] that the [[Székelys]] did not forget the [[Scythians|Scythian]] letters and these are engraved on sticks by carving.<ref name="thuroczykronika.atw.hu">''Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum'' http://thuroczykronika.atw.hu/pdf/Thuroczy.pdf</ref>

{{Blockquote|There were still three thousand Huns who fled the battle of Crimhild, who fearing from the western nations, they remained on the cliff field until the time of Árpád, and they did not call themselves Huns, but Szekelys. These Szekelys were the remains of the Huns, who when they learned that the Hungarians had returned to Pannonia for the second time, went to the returnees on the border of Ruthenia and conquered Pannonia together, but not on the Pannonian plane, they were granted estates in the mountainous borderlands together with the [[Bulaqs|Blackis]], where mingling with the [[Bulaqs|Blackis]] it is said they used their letters.|''[[Simon of Kéza]]:'' [[Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum]]<ref>Simon of Kéza: Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum https://mek.oszk.hu/02200/02249/02249.htm</ref>}}

{{Blockquote|It is said that in addition to the Huns who escorted Csaba, from the same nation, three thousand more people retreating, cut themselves out of the said battle, remained in Pannonia, and first established themself in a camp called Csigla's Field. They were afraid of the Western nations which they harassed in Attila's life, and they marched to Transylvania, the frontier of the Pannonian landscape, and they did not call themselves Huns or Hungarians, but Siculus, in their own word Székelys, so that they would not know that they are the remnants of the Huns or Hungarians. In our time, no one doubts, that the Székelys are the remnants of the Huns who first came to Pannonia, and because their people do not seem to have been mixed with foreign blood since then, they are also more strict in their morals, they also differ from other Hungarians in the division of lands. They have not yet forgotten the Scythian letters, and these are not inked on paper, but engraved on sticks skillfully, in the way of the carving. They later grew into not insignificant people, and when the Hungarians came to Pannonia again from Scythia, they went to Ruthenia in front of them with great joy, as soon as the news of their coming came to them. When the Hungarians took possession of Pannonia again, at the division of the country, with the consent of the Hungarians, these Székelys were given the part of the country that they had already chosen as their place of residence.|[[Johannes de Thurocz|Johannes Thuróczy]]: ''[[Chronica Hungarorum]]''<ref name="thuroczykronika.atw.hu">''Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum'' http://thuroczykronika.atw.hu/pdf/Thuroczy.pdf</ref>}}

=== Early Modern period ===
[[File:Nikolsburg.gif|thumb|left|The alphabet of [[Mikulov|Nikolsburg]], 1483.]]
The Old Hungarian script became part of [[folk art]] in several areas during this period.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} In [[Royal Hungary]], Old Hungarian script was used less, although there are relics from this territory as well.

There is another copy – similar to the Nikolsburg Alphabet – of the Old Hungarian alphabet, dated 1609. The inscription from [[Inlăceni|Énlaka]], dated 1668, is an example of the folk art use.

There are a number of inscriptions ranging from the 17th to the early 19th centuries,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hosszú |first=Gábor |title=Heritage of Scribes. The Relation of Rovas Scripts to Eurasian Writing Systems |year=2013 |isbn=978-963-88-4374-6 |location=Budapest |language=en}}</ref> including examples from [[Chibed|Kibéd]], [[Cotuş|Csejd]], [[Ghindari|Makfalva]], [[Szolokma]], [[Târgu Mureş|Marosvásárhely]], [[Racu|Csíkrákos]], [[Mezőkeresztes]], [[Baia Mare|Nagybánya]], [[Turda|Torda]], Felsőszemeréd,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://felvidek.ma/2008/10/sokol-ersek-75-eves-nyugdij-sokolnak-nyugalom-a-magyaroknak/|title=Sokol érsek 75 éves – nyugdíj Sokolnak, nyugalom a magyaroknak? - Felvidék.ma|last=Felvidék.Ma|date=4 September 2023 }}</ref> [[Kecskemét]] and [[Kiskunhalas]].

=== Scholarly discussion ===
Hungarian script<ref>[[Diringer, David]]. 1947. ''The Alphabet. A Key to the History of Mankind.'' London: Hutchinson's Scientific and technical Publications, pp. 314-315. Gelb, I. J. 1952. A study of writing: The foundations of grammatology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 142, 144. Gaur, Albertine. 1992. A History of Writing. London: British Library. {{ISBN|0-7123-0270-0}}. pp. 143. Coulmas, Florian. 1996. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. {{ISBN|0-631-19446-0}}. pp.&nbsp;366-368</ref> was first described in late [[Renaissance Humanism|Humanist]]/[[Baroque]] scholarship by [[János Telegdy]] in his primer {{lang|la|Rudimenta Priscae Hunnorum Linguae}}. Published in 1598, Telegdi's primer presents his understanding of the script and contains Hungarian texts written with runes, such as the [[Lord's Prayer]].

In the 19th century, scholars began to research the rules and the other features of the Old Hungarian script. From this time, the name {{lang|hu|rovásírás}} ('runic writing') began to re-enter the popular consciousness in Hungary, and script historians in other countries began to use the terms "Old Hungarian", {{lang|de|Altungarisch}}, and so on. Because the Old Hungarian script had been replaced by Latin, linguistic researchers in the 20th century had to reconstruct the alphabet from historic sources. [[Gyula Sebestyén]], an ethnographer and [[Folkloristics|folklorist]], and [[Gyula Németh (linguist)|Gyula (Julius) Németh]], a philologist, linguist, and Turkologist, did the lion's share of this work. Sebestyén's publications, {{lang|hu|Rovás és rovásírás}} (''Runes and runic writing'', [[Budapest]], 1909) and {{lang|hu|A magyar rovásírás hiteles emlékei}} (''The authentic relics of Hungarian runic writing'', Budapest, 1915) contain valuable information on the topic.{{according to whom|date=November 2025}}

=== Popular revival ===
[[File:2013.09.09 Balaton (3).JPG|thumb|Welcome sign in Latin and in Old Hungarian script for the town of [[Vonyarcvashegy]], Hungary.]]
Beginning with Adorján Magyar in 1915, the script has been promulgated as a means for writing modern Hungarian. These groups approached the question of representation of the vowels of modern Hungarian in different ways. Adorján Magyar made use of characters to distinguish ''a''/''á'' and ''e''/''é'' but did not distinguish the other vowels by length. A school led by Sándor Forrai from 1974 onward did, however, distinguish ''i''/''í'', ''o''/''ó'', ''ö''/''ő'', ''u''/''ú'', and ''ü''/''ű''. The revival has become part of a significant ideological nationalist subculture present not only in Hungary (largely centered in Budapest), but also amongst the [[Hungarian diaspora]], particularly in the United States and Canada.<ref name="Max">Maxwell, Alexander (2004). [http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/674/article.pdf?sequence=3 "Contemporary Hungarian Rune-Writing: Ideological Linguistic Nationalism within a Homogenous Nation"], ''Anthropos'', 99: 2004, pp.&nbsp;161-175</ref>

Old Hungarian has seen other usages in the modern period, sometimes in association with or referencing [[Hungarian neopaganism]],{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} similar to the way in which [[Asatru|Norse neopagans]] have taken up the Germanic [[runes]], and [[Celtic Neopaganism|Celtic neopagans]] have taken up the [[ogham]] script for various purposes.

=== Controversies ===
{{Criticism section|date=November 2025}}
Not all scholars agree with the Old Hungarian theory. The linguist and sociolinguist [[:hu:Sándor Klára|Klára Sándor]] said in an interview that most of the romantic statements about the script appear to be false.{{cn|reason=quotations *require* a citation|date=October 2024}} According to her analysis, the origin of the writing is probably [[runiform]] (and with high probability its origins are in the [[Old Turkic script|western Turkic runiform writings]]){{citation needed|date=November 2025}} and it is not a different writing system and contrary to the sentiment the writing is neither Hungarian nor Székely-Hungarian; it is a Székely writing since there are no authentic findings outside the historic Székely lands (mainly today's [[Transylvania]]); the only writing found around 1000 AD had a different writing system. While it may have been sporadically used in Hungary its usage was not widespread. The revived writing (in the 1990s) was artificially expanded with (various) new letters which were unneeded in the past since the writing was cleanly phonetic, or the long vowels which were not present back in the time. The shape of many letters were substantially changed from the original.

She stated that no works since 1915 have reached the expected quality of the state of the linguistic sciences, and many were influenced by various agendas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://vaskarika.hu/hirek/reszletek/4849/mit_kezdjunk_a_rovasirassal/ | title=Mit kezdjünk a rovásírással? | language=hu | trans-title=What shall we do with rovas? | publisher=vaskarika.hu | date=2019-09-12 | access-date=2020-11-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.nyest.hu/renhirek/sandor-klara-a-szekely-irasrol | title=Ősmagyar örökség? Humanista hamisítvány? | trans-title=Ancient Hungarian Heritage? Humanist Hoax? | language=hu | date=2010-10-25 | access-date=2020-11-10 | publisher=Nyest.hu | author=László Fejes }}</ref>

The use of the script often has a political undertone as it is often used along with [[Hungarian irredentism|irredentist]] or [[Nationalism|nationalist]] propaganda, and they can be found from time to time in graffiti with a variety of content.<ref name="Max"/> Since most of the people cannot read the script it has led to various controversies, for example when the activists of the [[Hungarian Two-tailed Dog Party]] (opposition) exchanged the rovas sign of the city [[Érd]] to ''szia'' 'Hi!', which stayed unnoticed for a month.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://444.hu/2017/04/24/egy-honapig-senkinek-se-tunt-fel-hogy-lecsereltek-erd-rovasirasos-tablajat | title=Egy hónapig senkinek se tűnt fel, hogy lecserélték Érd rovásírásos tábláját | trans-title=Nobody have noticed for a month that the rovas sign of Érd was replaced | date=2017-04-24 | publisher=444.hu | access-date=2020-11-10 | language=hu }}</ref>

== Epigraphy ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=November 2025}}
[[File:Marsigli script.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli|Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli's]] work (1690), The copied script derives from 1450.]]
The inscription corpus includes:
* A labeled crest etched into stone from [[Pécs]], late 13th century (Label: ''aBA SZeNTjeI vaGYUNK aKI eSZTeR ANna erZSéBeT''; We are the saints [nuns] of [[Aba, Hungary|Aba]]; who are Esther, Anna and Elizabeth.){{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
* [[Hungarian Calendar|Rod calendar]], around 1300, copied by [[Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli]] in 1690.<ref>Klára Sándor: A bolognai rovásemlék, Szeged, 1991; {{ISBN|963-481-870-6}}</ref> It contains several feasts and names, thus it is one of the most extensive runic records.
* Nicholsburg alphabet<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.rovas.hu/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=4 |title=ROVÁS.hu - A régi magyar írás - Irodalom - Rovásírásos emlékek |website=www.rovas.hu |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622052625/http://www.rovas.hu/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=4 |archive-date=22 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
* Runic record in [[Istanbul]], 1515.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ernst |last=Doblhofer |title=Voices in stone : the decipherment of ancient scripts and writings |date=1971 |publisher=Collier |pages=289 |oclc=221819485}}</ref>
* [[Dârjiu|Székelyderzs]]: a brick with runic inscription, found in the Unitarian church{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
* Énlaka runic inscription, discovered by Balázs Orbán in 1864<ref name="archive.org"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rovas.hu/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=520|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020010/http://www.rovas.hu/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=520|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 September 2007|title=ROVÁS.hu - A régi magyar írás - Képek rólunk|date=30 September 2007}}</ref>
* [[Székelydálya]]: runic inscription, found in the Calvinist church{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
* The inscription from Felsőszemeréd ([[Horné Semerovce]]), [[Slovakia]] (15th century){{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

== Characters ==
The runic alphabet included 42 letters. As in the Old Turkic script, some consonants had two forms, one to be used with back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú) and another for front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű). The names of the consonants are always pronounced with a vowel. In the old alphabet, the consonant-vowel order is reversed, unlike today's pronunciation (''ep'' rather than ''pé''). This is because the oldest inscriptions lacked vowels and were rarely written down, similar to other ancient languages' consonant-writing systems (Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, etc.). The alphabet did not contain letters for the phonemes dz and dzs of modern Hungarian, since these are relatively recent developments in the language's history. Nor did it have letters corresponding to the Latin q, w, x and y. The modern revitalization movement has created symbols for these; in Unicode encoding, they are represented as ligatures.

For more information about the transliteration's pronunciation, see [[Hungarian alphabet]].

{| class="wikitable"
! Letter
! Name
! [[Phoneme]] ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
! Old Hungarian (image)
! Old Hungarian (Unicode)
|-
| [[A]]
| a
| {{IPA|/ɒ/}}
| [[Image:A (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲀 𐳀}}
|-
| [[Á]]
| á
| {{IPA|/aː/}}
| [[Image:Á (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲁 𐳁}}
|-
| [[B]]
| eb
| {{IPA|/b/}}
| [[Image:B (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲂 𐳂}}
|-
| [[C]]
| ec
| {{IPA|/ts/}}
| [[Image:C (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲄 𐳄}}
|-
| [[hungarian cs|Cs]]
| ecs
| {{IPA|/tʃ/}}
| [[Image:CS (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲆 𐳆}}
|-
| [[D]]
| ed
| {{IPA|/d/}}
| [[Image:D (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲇 𐳇}}
|-
| [[hungarian dz|(Dz)]]
| dzé
| {{IPA|/dz/}}
| [[Image:Dz (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲇}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲯}}
|-
| [[hungarian dzs|(Dzs)]]
| dzsé
| {{IPA|/dʒ/}}
| [[Image:DZS (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲇}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲰}}
|-
| [[E]]
| e
| {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
| [[Image:E (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲉 𐳉}}
|-
| [[É]]
| é
| {{IPA|/eː/}}
| [[Image:É (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲋 𐳋}}
|-
| [[F]]
| ef
| {{IPA|/f/}}
| [[Image:F (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲌 𐳌}}
|-
| [[G]]
| eg
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| [[Image:G (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲍 𐳍}}
|-
| [[hungarian gy|Gy]]
| egy
| {{IPA|/ɟ/}}
| [[Image:Gy (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲎 𐳎}}
|-
| [[H]]
| eh
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| [[Image:H (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲏 𐳏}}
|-
| [[I]]
| i
| {{IPA|/i/}}
| [[Image:I (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲐 𐳐}}
|-
| [[Í]]
| í
| {{IPA|/iː/}}
| [[Image:Í (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲑 𐳑}}
|-
| [[J]]
| ej
| {{IPA|/j/}}
| [[Image:J (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲒 𐳒}}
|-
| [[K]]
| ek
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| [[Image:K (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲓 𐳓}}
|-
| [[K]]
| ak
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| [[Image:K-ak-(rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲔 𐳔}}
|-
| [[L]]
| el
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| [[Image:L (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲖 𐳖}}
|-
| [[Hungarian ly|Ly]]
| elly, el-ipszilon
| {{IPA|/j/}}
| [[Image:LY (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲗 𐳗}}
|-
| [[M]]
| em
| {{IPA|/m/}}
| [[Image:M (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲘 𐳘}}
|-
| [[N]]
| en
| {{IPA|/n/}}
| [[Image:N (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲙 𐳙}}
|-
| [[Hungarian ny|Ny]]
| eny
| {{IPA|/ɲ/}}
| [[Image:Ny (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲚 𐳚}}
|-
| [[O]]
| o
| {{IPA|/o/}}
| [[Image:O (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲛 𐳛}}
|-
| [[Ó]]
| ó
| {{IPA|/oː/}}
| [[Image:Ó (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲜 𐳜}}
|-
| [[Ö]]
| ö
| {{IPA|/ø/}}
| [[Image:Ö (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲝 𐳝 𐲞 𐳞}}
|-
| [[double acute accent|Ő]]
| ő
| {{IPA|/øː/}}
| [[Image:Ő (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲟 𐳟}}
|-
| [[P]]
| ep
| {{IPA|/p/}}
| [[Image:P (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲠 𐳠}}
|-
| ([[Q]])
| eq
| ({{IPA|/kv/}})
| [[Image:Q (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲓}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲮}}
|-
| [[R]]
| er
| {{IPA|/r/}}
| [[Image:R (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲢 𐳢}}
|-
| [[S]]
| es
| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
| [[Image:S (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲤 𐳤}}
|-
| [[Hungarian sz|Sz]]
| esz
| {{IPA|/s/}}
| [[Image:Sz (rovásbetű).svg|6px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲥 𐳥}}
|-
| [[T]]
| et
| {{IPA|/t/}}
| [[Image:T (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲦 𐳦}}
|-
| [[Hungarian ty|Ty]]
| ety
| {{IPA|/c/}}
| [[Image:Ty (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲨 𐳨}}
|-
| [[U]]
| u
| {{IPA|/u/}}
| [[Image:U (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲪 𐳪}}
|-
| [[Ú]]
| ú
| {{IPA|/uː/}}
| [[Image:Ú (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲫 𐳫}}
|-
| [[Ü]]
| ü
| {{IPA|/y/}}
| [[Image:Ü (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]] [[Image:Ü-zárt (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲬 𐳬}}
|-
| [[double acute accent|Ű]]
| ű
| {{IPA|/yː/}}
| [[Image:Ű (rovásbetű).svg|14px]] [[Image:Ű-nyílt (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲭 𐳭}}
|-
| [[V]]
| ev
| {{IPA|/v/}}
| [[Image:V (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲮 𐳮}}
|-
| ([[W]])
| dupla vé
| {{IPA|/v/}}
| [[Image:W (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲮}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲮}}
|-
| ([[X]])
| iksz
| ({{IPA|/ks/}})
| [[Image:X (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲓}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲥}}
|-
| ([[Y]])
| ipszilon
| {{IPA|/i/ ~ /j/}}
| [[Image:Y (rovásbetű) JB.svg|12px]]
| Ligature of {{Script|Hung|𐲐}} and {{Script|Hung|𐲒}}
|-
| [[Z]]
| ez
| {{IPA|/z/}}
| [[Image:Z (rovásbetű) JB.svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲯 𐳯}}
|-
| [[Hungarian zs|Zs]]
| ezs
| {{IPA|/ʒ/}}
| [[Image:Zs (rovásbetű).svg|14px]]
| {{Script|Hung|𐲰 𐳰}}
|}

The Old Hungarian runes also include some non-alphabetical runes which are not ligatures but separate signs. These are identified in some sources as "{{lang|la|capita dictionum}}" (likely a misspelling of {{lang|la|capita dicarum}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rovasirasforrai.hu/Rovasiras/Csudabogarak.htm |title=Rovásírás ROVÁSÍRÁS Csudabogarak |access-date=2017-09-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428003309/http://www.rovasirasforrai.hu/Rovasiras/Csudabogarak.htm |archive-date=2015-04-28 }}</ref>). Further research is needed to define their origin and traditional usage. Some common examples are:
*TPRUS: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter TPRUS.svg|14px]]
*ENT: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter ENT.svg|14px]] {{Script|Hung|𐲧 𐳧}}
*TPRU: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter TPRU.svg|16px]]
*NAP: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter NAP.svg|16px]]
*EMP: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter EMP.svg|16px]] {{Script|Hung|𐲡 𐳡}}
*UNK: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter UNK.svg|16px]] {{Script|Hung|𐲕 𐳕}}
*US: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter US.png|14px]] {{Script|Hung|𐲲 𐳲}}
*AMB: [[Image:Szekely-Hungarian Rovas letter AMB.svg|16px]] {{Script|Hung|𐲃 𐳃}}

== Features ==
Old Hungarian letters were usually written from right to left on sticks.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} Later, in Transylvania, they appeared on several media. Writings on walls also were right to left{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} and not [[boustrophedon]] style (alternating direction right to left and then left to right).

[[File:1-1000 Rovásszámok.svg|thumb|Hungarian numerals]]

The numbers are almost the same as the Roman, [[Etruscan numerals|Etruscan]], and [[Chuvash numerals]]. Numbers of livestock were carved on tally sticks and the sticks were then cut in two lengthwise to avoid later disputes.

{| class="wikitable"
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 50
! 100
! 500
! 1000
|-
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 1.svg|8px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 2.svg|12px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 3.svg|14px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 4.svg|16px]]
! [[image:5 (rovásbetű).svg|12px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 6 RTL.svg|17px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 7 RTL.svg|18px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 8 RTL.svg|20px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 9 RTL.svg|22px]]
! [[image:ROVAS NUMERAL 10.svg|14px]]
! [[image:50 (rovásbetű).svg|12px]]
! [[image:100 (rovásbetű).svg|12px]]
! [[image:Rovas 500.svg|12px]]
! [[image:1000 (rovásbetű).svg|12px]]
|-
! {{Script|Hung|𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳺𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳺𐳺𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳻}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳻𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳻𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳻𐳺𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳻𐳺𐳺𐳺𐳺}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳼}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳽}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳾}}
! {{Script|Hung|̲𐳽}}
! {{Script|Hung|𐳿}}
|}

* [[Ligature (writing)|Ligatures]] are common. (''Note'': the Hungarian runic script employed a number of ligatures. In some cases, an entire word was written with a single sign similar to a [[bind rune]].) The Unicode standard supports ligatures explicitly by using the zero width joiner between the two characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12168r-n4268r-oldhungarian.pdf#page=7|title=True Ligatures|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731021935/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12168r-n4268r-oldhungarian.pdf#page=7|archive-date=2015-07-31}}</ref>
* There are no lower or upper case letters, but the first letter of a proper name was often written a bit larger. Though the Unicode standard has upper and lowercase letters, which are the same in shape, the difference is only their size.
* The writing system did not always mark vowels (similar to many Asian writing systems). The rules for vowel inclusion were as follows:
** If there are two vowels side by side, both have to be written, unless the second could be readily determined.
** The vowels have to be written if their omission created ambiguity. (Example: {{lang|hu|krk}} – {{script|Hung|𐳓𐳢𐳓}} can be interpreted as {{lang|hu|kerék}} – {{Script|Hung|𐳓𐳉𐳢𐳋𐳓}} (wheel) and {{lang|hu|kerek}} – {{Script|Hung|𐳓𐳉𐳢𐳉𐳓}} (rounded), thus the writer had to include the vowels to differentiate the intended words.)
** The vowel at the end of the word must be written.
* Sometimes, especially when writing consonant clusters, a consonant was omitted. This is a phonologic process, with the script reflecting the exact surface realization.

== Text example ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2025}}
[[File:Csikszentmarton rovas.svg|center|Text From Csikszentmárton, 1501]]
<div class="center">
''Text from [[Sânmartin, Harghita|Csíkszentmárton]], 1501.''
''Runes originally written as ligatures are underlined.''

[[Unicode]] transcription: {{Script|Hung|𐲪𐲢𐲙𐲔⁝𐲥𐲬𐲖𐲦𐲤𐲦𐲬𐲖⁝𐲌𐲛𐲍𐲮𐲀𐲙⁝𐲐𐲢𐲙𐲔⁝𐲯𐲢𐲞𐲦
⁝𐲥𐲀𐲯𐲎⁝𐲥𐲦𐲙𐲇𐲞𐲂𐲉⁝𐲘𐲀𐲨𐲤⁝𐲒𐲀𐲙𐲛𐲤⁝𐲤𐲨𐲦𐲙⁝𐲓𐲛𐲮𐲀𐲆⁝𐲆𐲐𐲙𐲀𐲖𐲦𐲔⁝𐲘𐲀𐲨𐲀𐲤𐲘𐲤𐲦𐲢⁝𐲍𐲢𐲍𐲗𐲘𐲤𐲦𐲢𐲆𐲐𐲙𐲀𐲖𐲦𐲀𐲔
𐲍·𐲐𐲒·𐲀·𐲤·𐲐·𐲗·𐲗·𐲖𐲦·𐲀·}}

Interpretation in old [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]: "ÚRNaK SZÜLeTéSéTÜL FOGVÁN ÍRNaK eZeRÖTSZÁZeGY eSZTeNDŐBE MÁTYáS
JÁNOS eSTYTáN KOVÁCS CSINÁLTáK MÁTYáSMeSTeR GeRGeLYMeSTeRCSINÁLTÁK
''G IJ A aS I LY LY LT A''" (The letters actually written in the runic text are written with uppercase in the transcription.)

Interpretation in modern Hungarian: "(Ezt) az Úr születése utáni 1501. évben írták. Mátyás, János, István kovácsok csinálták. Mátyás mester (és) Gergely mester csinálták gijas ily ly lta"

[[English language|English]] translation: "(This) was written in the 1501st year of our Lord. The smiths Matthias, John (and) Stephen did (this). Master Matthias (and) Master Gregory did (uninterpretable)
</div>

== Unicode ==
{{Main|Old Hungarian (Unicode block)}}
After many proposals<ref>Old Hungarian/Szekely-Hungarian Rovas Ad Hoc Committee: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4374.pdf Old Hungarian/Sekely-Hungarian Rovas Ad hoc Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104032822/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4374.pdf |date=2015-01-04 }}, 2012-11-12
* Jenő Demeczky, György Giczi, Gábor Hosszú, Gergely Kliha, Borbála Obrusánszky, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Erzsébet Zelliger: [http://www.rovas.info/images/stories/downloads/12337-rovas-response.pdf About the consensus of the Rovas encoding – Response to N4373 (Resolutions of the 8th Hungarian World Congress on the encoding of Old Hungarian)]{{dead link|date=September 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Registered by UTC (L2/12-337), 2012-10-24
*György Gergely Gyetvay (World Federation of Hungarians): [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4373.pdf Resolutions of the 8th Hungarian World Congress on the encoding of Old Hungarian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104031547/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4373.pdf |date=2015-01-04 }}, 2012-10-22
* Jenő Demeczky, György Giczi, Gábor Hosszú, Gergely Kliha, Borbála Obrusánszky, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Erzsébet Zelliger: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4371.pdf Additional information about the name of the Rovas script] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222191530/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4371.pdf |date=2014-02-22 }}, 2012-10-21.
*Jenő Demeczky, Gábor Hosszú, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Erzsébet Zelliger: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4367.pdf Revised proposal for encoding the Rovas in the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317212136/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4367.pdf |date=2014-03-17 }}, 2012-10-14.
*Tamás Somfai: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4274.pdf Contemporary Rovas in the word processing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104023314/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4274.pdf |date=2015-01-04 }}, 2012-05-25
*[[Michael Everson]] & André Szabolcs Szelp: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4268.pdf Consolidated proposal for encoding the Old Hungarian script in the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203041909/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4268.pdf |date=2012-12-03 }}, 2012-05-06
*Miklós Szondi (president of the "Természetesen" society and chair of the "Egységes rovás" conference) [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4267.pdf Declaration of Support for the Advancement of the Encoding of the old Hungarian Script] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104032318/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4267.pdf |date=2015-01-04 }}, 2012-04-28
*Gábor Hosszú (Hungarian National Body): [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4227.pdf Code chart font for Rovas block] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516011321/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4227.pdf |date=2012-05-16 }}, 2012-02-06
*André Szabolcs Szelp: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4197.pdf Remarks on Old Hungarian and other scripts with regard to N4183] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527175156/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4197.pdf |date=2012-05-27 }}, 2012-01-30
*Michael Everson (Irish National Body): [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4196.pdf Code chart fonts for Old Hungarian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527173944/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4196.pdf |date=2012-05-27 }}, 2012-01-28
*Gábor Hosszú (Hungarian National Body): [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4183.pdf Proposal for encoding the Szekely-Hungarian Rovas, Carpathian Basin Rovas and Khazarian Rovas scripts into the Rovas block in the SMP of the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407031117/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4183.pdf |date=2012-04-07 }}, 2011-12-15
*Hungarian Runic/Szekely-Hungarian Rovas Ad Hoc Committee: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4110.pdf Hungarian Runic/Sekely-Hungarian Rovas Ad-hoc Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629063447/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4110.pdf |date=2011-06-29 }}, 2011-06-08
*Gábor Hosszú: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4080.pdf Issues of encoding the Rovas scripts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119134809/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4080.pdf |date=2011-11-19 }}, 2011-05-25
*Gábor Hosszú: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4076.pdf Comments on encoding the Rovas scripts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119144244/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4076.pdf |date=2011-11-19 }}, 2011-05-22
*Gábor Hosszú: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4007.pdf Revised proposal for encoding the Szekely-Hungarian Rovas script in the SMP of the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523084334/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4007.pdf |date=2011-05-23 }}, 2011-05-21
*Gábor Hosszú: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4055.pdf Notes on the Szekely-Hungarian Rovas script] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523122150/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4055.pdf |date=2011-05-23 }}, 2011-05-15
*[[Michael Everson]] & André Szabolcs Szelp: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4042.pdf Mapping between Hungarian Runic proposals in N3697 and N4007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916163302/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4042.pdf |date=2011-09-16 }}, 2011-05-08
*Deborah Anderson: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4064.pdf Comparison of Hungarian Runic and Szekely‐Hungarian Rovas proposals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629051051/http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n4064.pdf |date=2011-06-29 }}, 2011-05-07
*Deborah Anderson: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3637.pdf Outstanding Issues on Old Hungarian/Szekler‐Hungarian Rovas/Hungarian Native Writing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407025729/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3637.pdf |date=2012-04-07 }}, 2009-04-22
*[[Michael Everson]]: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3532.pdf Mapping between Old Hungarian proposals in N3531, N3527, and N3526] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306142900/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3532.pdf |date=2009-03-06 }}, 2008-11-02
*[[Michael Everson]] and Szabolcs Szelp: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3531.pdf Revised proposal for encoding the Old Hungarian script in the UCS = Javított előterjesztés a rovásírás Egyetemes Betűkészlet-beli kódolására)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306142909/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3531.pdf |date=2009-03-06 }}, 2008-10-12
*Gábor Hosszú: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3527.pdf Proposal for encoding the Szekler-Hungarian Rovas in the BMP and the SMP of the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221110950/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3527.pdf |date=2008-12-21 }}, 2008-10-04
*Gábor Bakonyi: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3526.pdf Hungarian native writing draft proposal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306142849/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3526.pdf |date=2009-03-06 }}, 2008-09-30
*[[Michael Everson]] and Szabolcs Szelp: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3483.pdf Preliminary proposal for encoding the Old Hungarian script in the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306142722/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3483.pdf |date=2009-03-06 }}, 2008-08-04
*[[Michael Everson]]: [http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n1758.pdf On encoding the Old Hungarian rovásírás in the UCS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621092028/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n1758.pdf |date=2006-06-21 }}, 1998-05-02
*[[Michael Everson]]: [http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n1686/n1686.htm Draft Proposal to encode Old Hungarian in Plane 1 of ISO/IEC 10646-2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908004531/http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n1686/n1686.htm |date=2008-09-08 }}, 1998-01-18</ref> Old Hungarian was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 2015 with the release of version 8.0.

The Unicode block for Old Hungarian is U+10C80–U+10CFF:

{{Unicode chart Old Hungarian}}

== Pre-Unicode encodings ==
A set of closely related 8-bit code pages exist, devised in the 1990s by Gabor Hosszú. These were mapped to Latin-1 or Latin-2 character set fonts. After installing one of them and applying their formatting to the document – because of the lack of capital letters – runic characters could be entered in the following way: those letters which are unique letters in today's Hungarian orthography are virtually lowercase ones, and can be written by simply pressing the specific key; and since the modern digraphs equal to separate rovás letters, they were encoded as 'uppercase' letters, i.e. in the space originally restricted for capitals. Thus, typing a lowercase ''g'' will produce the rovás character for the sound marked with Latin script ''g'', but entering an uppercase ''G'' will amount to a rovás sign equivalent to a digraph ''gy'' in Latin-based Hungarian orthography.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Shield runic.jpg|Stone Shield pattern of [[Pécs]] with Old Hungarian Script (circa 1250 AD), Hungary
File:Homorodkaracsonyfalva rovas.gif|Rovás inscription from [[Crăciunel|Homoródkarácsonyfalva]], 13th century
File:Enlaka rovas inscription.jpg|Inscription in Énlaka's Unitarian church (1668)
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[National symbols of Hungary]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
=== English ===
* {{cite book |first=Gábor |last=Hosszú |year=2012 |title=Heritage of Scribes: The Relation of Rovas Scripts to Eurasian Writing Systems |edition=1st |location=Budapest |publisher=Rovas Foundation |isbn=978-963-88-4374-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyK8azCqC34C&pg=PA177 |lang=en}}
* {{cite journal |first=Edward D. |last=Rockstein |title=The Mystery of the Székely Runes |journal=Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers |volume=19 |year=1990 |pages=176–183 |lang=en}}

=== Hungarian ===
* {{cite book |title=Új Magyar Lexikon |trans-title=New Hungarian Encyclopaedia |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=1962 |volume=5 |isbn=963-05-2808-8}}
* {{cite book |first=Gyula |last=Sebestyén |title=A magyar rovásírás hiteles emlékei |location=Budapest |year=1915}}

=== Latin ===
* {{cite book |first=J. |last=Thelegdi |title=Rudimenta priscae Hunnorum linguae brevibus quaestionibus et responsionibus comprehensa |lang=la |location=Batavia |year=1598}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hungarian_runes.htm Hungarian Runes / Rovás] on Omniglot
* {{in lang|hu|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120105012308/http://rovasirashonlap.fw.hu/ Rovásírás] (Gábor Hosszú)
* {{in lang|hu}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20051122054723/http://istvandr.kiszely.hu/ostortenet/ Kiszely István: A magyar nép őstörténete]
* {{in lang|hu}} [http://rvs.hu/ Learning Rovas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128221327/http://rvs.hu/ |date=2021-01-28 }}
* {{in lang|hu}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219035308/http://rovasirashonlap.tar.hu/elorovas/index.html The Living Rovas]
* {{in lang|hu}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20060613185506/http://www.rovas.hu/ Hungarian Rovas Portal]
* {{in lang|hu}} [http://rovasirashonlap.fw.hu/ Szekely-Hungarian Rovas]
* [http://wiki.rovas.info/index.php/Szekely-Hungarian_Rovas Szekely-Hungarian Rovas] on RovasPedia
* Old Hungarian Unicode fonts
** [https://www.typofonts.com/ ALPHABETUM] by Juan José Marcos (commercial font)
** [https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+Old+Hungarian Noto Sans Old Hungarian]
** [https://oldhungarian.eu/index_en.html Old Hungarian] by [https://sztupy.hu/ Zsolt Sz. Sztupák]
** [https://www.fontspace.com/optimamodoki-font-f32136 OptimaModoki] by Dare-demo Iie
** [https://rolandhuse.com/rovas-culture/ Rovas Design] by Roland Hüse
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20190717122354/http://www.buchleither.com/Fonts/FontsEN.htm TWB01x SMP fonts] by Thomas Buchleither (archived on 2019-07-17)

{{Hungary articles}}
{{list of writing systems}}

[[Category:History of Hungary by topic|Alphabet]]
[[Category:Hungarian language]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]
[[Category:Runiform scripts|Hungarian]]
[[Category:Rovas script| ]]
[[Category:Right-to-left writing systems]]