The Nordic Runes and Norse Runes interpretations were largely derived from the writings of the Eddas, considered to be the premier source of Norse mythology, linking each Rune to many of the characters and stories told in these transcripts.

The elder of the Eddas is the Poetic Edda, written anonymously sometime between the 9th to 12th Century. This comprises of two sections, the mythical and the heroic, containing 34 Icelandic poems, interspersed with prose.
The Prose, or Younger Edda, was later written by Icelandic poet and scholar Snorri Sturluson (1179 – 1241). This collection includes various stories of Norse mythology, including the creation of the world, the discovery of the Runes and the events at Ragnarok.
.
For more information on Nordic mythology, original and English translations of the text, as well as glossaries, please see our Resources links, under Norse Poems and Mythology.

Below, is an excerpt from the Havamal, taken from the Poetic Edda, tells how Odin found the Runes:

139. I ween that I hung on the windy tree,
Hung there for nights full nine;
With the spear I was wounded, and offered I was
To Othin, myself to myself,
On the tree that none may ever know
What root beneath it runs.

140. None made me happy with loaf or horn,
And there below I looked;
I took up the runes, shrieking I took them,
And forthwith back I fell.

141. Nine mighty songs I got from the son
Of Bolthorn, Bestla's father;
And a drink I got of the goodly mead
Poured out from Othràrir.

142. Then began I to thrive, and wisdom to get,
I grew and well I was;
Each word led me on to another word,
Each deed to another deed.

143. Runes shalt thou find, and fateful signs,
That the king of singers colored,
And the mighty gods have made;
Full strong the signs, full mighty the signs
That the ruler of gods doth write.