Runic Union

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Runic Union
ᚱᚼᚾᛁᚦᛖ ᚩᚾᚾᛖᛋ
Official flag of the Union
AbbreviationRU, ᚱᚩ
MottoStand for something or fall for anything
ᛈᚱᚼᛏ ᛞᛇᚾᛖᚱ ᛋᚪᛣᛖ ᚩᛞᛖᚱ ᚠᚪᛚᛚ ᚩᚾ ᚠᛚᚪᚱᛞᛖ
Formation12th June 2010CE
22nd Midsummermonth 2260RE
ExtinctionJanuary 2014CE
TypeSupramicronational organization
Legal statusDissolved
Purpose/focusTo help create a bond between Runic micronations, to resolve conflicts between member-states, and to serve as an outlet of Germanic cultures and beliefs in the micronational world
LocationNorth Atlantic
Membership0 nations
Official languagesEnglish, West Germanic, Old Theodian, any Germanic language
Key peopleSwena and Penda Ironhand
Main organAlthing of the Runic Union

The Runic Union was a supramicronational organization formed on 12 June 2010 by the Kingdom of Theodia and the Kingdom of West Germania. In its early days, it was intended to become a union between all Germanic micronations, but it eventually became just a loose historical tie between the Saxon Empire and Theodia.

Foundation

The Runic Union was born from informal talks between Penda Ironhand and Swena on pre-move MicroWikia. They shared a common passion for Germanic culture (Anglo-Saxon runes and Old English in particular) and desired to unite and promulgate Germanic culture across the MicroWiki sector, with a particular aim being to break the associations of Germanicism with Nazism. In the partnership, Penda was generally seen as a traditionalist who would research and preserve the cultural bases of the Union; while Swena was seen as an innovator who would bring the nations of the Union into the future.

From the outset, the Union was principally cultural and uninterested in race. The RU specifically called for micronations with a Germanic cultural heritage, which was defined as having heavy cultural ties to any group that traditionally speaks a Germanic language, such as the Norse, the Germans, the Dutch, and the English. Its mission statement was to help create a bond between Rune-using micronations, to resolve conflicts between member states, and to serve as an outlet of Germanic cultures and beliefs in the micronational world.

It was originally the intention of the Runic Union to expand and include as many Germanic micronations as possible in its Althing. Historical Germanic tribes did not always see eye-to-eye and in fact often warred with each other, and the Runic Union was a way to help resolve such conflicts diplomatically.

This internationalism gradually waned, and by early 2012 the Union was almost entirely inward-facing. Around that same time, the Saxon Empire was forming and Theodia was quickly moving away from its Germanic origins.

Symbols

Original flag of the Runic Union

The principal symbol of the Runic Union was the Norse raven, which featured prominently in its flag and which originated in the Viking Age, where it represented Odin's two ravens. Runes were also important symbols, with them not only being the Union's namesake, but also its official writing system and the source of the Union's official epoch, the Runic Era.

The Union's second flag was proposed by Penda Ironhand some years after its founding. It featured the black and white bands of Prussia's flag, the Norse raven, and the rune *raidō, which represented the Proto-Germanic word *rūnō (meaning 'rune'). While Swena liked the improved symbolism, he felt the original flag was perfectly fine, and he didn't like the new flag's aesthetics; however, he eventually relented, and Penda's flag became the official flag.

The Runic Union's motto was taken from that of Valnor, which was a former member state. Penda felt it reflected a view that the Runic Union ought to hold: that, without a sense of belonging, a society will crumble. Swena expressed some unease with the wording of the motto, but agreed that it was better than nothing.

There was once a Runic script which served as the official script of the Union, intended to serve as a guideline by which the member states of the Runic Union may base their own language's script. The script was originally meant to be mandatory for all member states' languages, but that aspect was never specifically mentioned in the official doctrine of the Union and was officially scrapped on 29 September 2010.

Proposed

Penda proposed that the Union adopt Eric of Pomerania and the Kalmar Union's coat of arms (the Kalmar Union was was a historical attempt to unite Scandinavia). Swena liked this idea, but thought the coat of arms should feature the Norse raven and have a similar colour-scheme to that of the flag. The proposed arms also only focused on Scandinavians, while Swena felt the Union's coat of arms ought to represent all Germanic peoples.

Penda also proposed St Nicholas as the patron saint, since he was the patron saint of the Varangian Guard, a group of skilled Germanic warriors that served as the medieval Byzantine emperor's elite bodyguard. Swena didn't like the idea of declaring a patron saint, however, since no-one in either Theodia or the Saxon Empire was Catholic or Orthodox.

Althing

The Althing was a semi-regular meeting of all the member states in the Runic Union. The moderator was chosen ad hoc on each occasion. All member-states started out with one representative, and were afforded an additional representative for every six cumulative months that nation was active in the Union, up to a total of nine maximum representatives per member-state. The Althing was where member states were to resolve disputes, consider new member applications, and discuss changes to the Union's bylaws. Decisions were made using simple yea/nay voting, with each representative having one vote. Representatives reserve the right to abstain from voting, and were encouraged to provide their thoughts on proposed resolution(s). In the event of a tie, whichever side had been in the Union the longest was to win the vote. The Althing was intended to be called every six months, on the first Sundays of April and October;; however, in practice, the actual date varied per convenience. At least ⅔ of all member-states had to be present in order for the Council to assemble.

The Althing proved to be difficult to assemble, and its 6-month schedule was very slow to address the issues of the Union's members.

Conditions and rules

All member states were expected to meet the following requirements:

  • Use runes to write at least one national language.
  • Replace the Common Era with the Runic Era (Runic Era adds 250 years to the Common Era, and is based around the time that Runes were first developed.).
  • Select an official delegate for the Union.
  • Recognize the independence/sovereignty/existence of all other member-states.
  • Be a serious micronation with good intermicronational standing

All member states were expected to abide by the following rules:

  • Respect the sovereignty of other member states.
  • All members are equal partners in the Union.
  • Do not support insurrection or usurpation in other member states.
  • Do not place trade embargoes other member states.

There was additionally a degree of voluntary political integration, and it was common for member states to allow each other into private government communications.

Member states

The following nations were once member states of the Runic Union: (presented in order of accession)

See also

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