STAV
RUNES — MARTIALART — PHILOSOPHY
Roland Zerpe
STAV
RUNES, MARTIALART,PHILOSOPHY
Roland Zerpe STAV
RUNES, MARTIALART,PHILOSOPHY
Second edition, firstEnglish translation
©2025RolandZerpe
Textand illustrations: Roland Zerpe roland.zerpe@angerboda.se
Allrunes andbindrunes in thebookare createdusing thefontFuthark A, whichis availabletodownloadfromthe Department of Scandinavian LanguagesatUppsala University,Sweden.
Thecopyright of each photograph is ownedbythe respective photographer, whois credited in thebook. They areall printedwiththe approval of thecopyright owner.
Thefacsimilesfromother publications areusedwithreference to ”fairuse”.
Publisher: BoD· BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 114 42 Stockholm, Sverige, bod@bod.se
Print: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee273, 22763 Hamburg, Tyskland
ISBN:978-91-8080-933-7
Preface– Thomas Karlsson
Ihavepracticed martial arts sinceI wastwelveyears old, andrunes have been essentialinvarious ways throughout my adultlife. In my academic career andasanauthorand mystic,I have deeply explored runesfrom different angles.Somewhere alongthe way, Iheard aboutStav, amartial art basedonrunesand theancient Norseworldview.I wascurious,but any furtherexplorationsfizzled out. Many yearslater,I gotthe opportunity to join afriend, whoisanofficerinthe Swedisharmy, andhis wife fora training session.
Initially,I wasskeptical andthought Iwould meet some Viking enthusiast with questionable competence in real combat.Tomydelight,itwas quite theopposite.I metthe Swedishheadinstructor, Roland Zerpe, whohas writtenthe book youare holdinginyourhand. He wasrelaxed and disciplined,witha greatsense of humor that Iimmediately connected with. Ihavemet both mastersand wannabe-masters in my days;I categorize Roland amongthe genuine ones.
My doctoral thesis in religious historydealt withesotericrunologyduring theSwedish Empire,focusingonthe mystic Johannes Bureus (1568- 1652). Bureus'systemisone of themostimpressiveinthe historyofrunes, butit lacksmuchofwhatisfound in Stav,suchaselementsofmartial arts.Asa martialartist, theencounter with Stav wastherefore very rewarding. Nordic martialartsare notstrange from ahistoricalperspective;wehavebeen warriorpeopleupuntil modern times. We know that theScandinavians of theIronAge were amongthe finest warriors of theirtimeand were hiredas elitesoldiersbythe Westernand EasternRoman Empires. Unfortunately, we know very little abouthow historical Nordic martialartslooked andhow they were practiced. From Gotland, whereI originate, thereare oldsocalled Gutnic gameswithmartial arts characteristicspreserved.There are also otherpreserved traditions in Scandinavia.
Roland Zerpe, like many greatmasters,whether we talk aboutthe Gracie brothers whocreated BrazilianJiu-Jitsu or Krav Maga's founderImi
Lichtenfeld, hasextensive experience from real fights andstreet brawls.He hastherefore understoodthe importance of systematic andstructured martialartsand self-defense.Rolandfound what he sought throughthe NorwegianIvarHafskjold.I have hadthe honortomeetIvarmyself, whohas everything oneexpects from amaster. Ivar Hafskjoldhas afamily history that goes farbackinNorwegian history, andoraltradition claims that Stav is afamily traditionwithveryold rootsthatremainedhiddenfromthe public fora long time.IvarHafskjold livedinJapan formanyyears,where he broadenedhis knowledgeofweapon-basedmartial arts,eventually becoming highly ranked in severalJapanesemartial arts.Heisa true jarl,a warriorphilosopher that Platowould have appreciatedbased on hisdivision of societal ranks.
In Stav,the classesare acentral concept, corresponding to thePlatonicidea of anaturally andharmoniouslyorganized social order. We also find parallelsinseveral othersocialphilosophers, notleast in Indo-European tradition. TheStavclassesconsist of trell, karl,herse,jarl, andkonge,each classhas applications that areunique andbased on theirexpectedneeds. Thepattern of thoughtisfound in theGreek dikaiosyne,which means justice, righteousness, andintegrity,and is acardinalvirtue, corresponding to theOld Norsetroth,fidelity. During theReformation,MartinLuther(1483 –1546)built hisideal stateaccording to asimilar pattern, Nährstand, Wehrstand, andLehrstand. Theseterms canbedescribed as nourishing in theformoffarmers andcraftsmen,the warriors defendingsociety,and the philosophers andintellectuals.The correlationwiththe centralclasses in Stav is striking,karl(Nährstand),herse (Wehrstand), andjarl(Lehrstand).In Indian tradition, we find anotherequivalenttothe classesinthe division Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya,and Shudra. In Stav,however,the classesare notanidealizationoffeudalorder but aphilosophicalmindset and foundational principles forthe practice of martialarts.
Runesare nota matter of preference or taste. They arekeystoobjective truths,and Isee that Stav possessesthese in averystructuredand admirableway.Therefore,I oftenrecommend Stav to people whofollowmy work.The only reason Idonot practice Stav myself is that Irespect this
traditionand wouldwanttofully commit,but Idonot have thetime. However, Ifollowthe activities around Stav andfindthemfully correlated with my runicwork. Roland andI have hadseveral jointworkshops and lectures,and onething that fascinates me aboutStavishow well it notonly ties into therunesand theNordictradition but also Westernphilosophyand Platonism. It wasprecisely thosekinds of connections andbroader contexts that Iwas lookingfor when Istarted exploringthe worksofJohannesBureus andSigurdAgrell.
As in allserious runosophicalsystems,the hagalruneplays acentral role in Stav.Itisthe center andmotherofall theother runes. ThenameStavitself is brilliant as it refers to thestavesonwhich therunesare built.The Scandinavian word "bokstav", literary book-letter, comesfromthisword. Theverticalstave in therune´sisessential andcorresponds to ourown centrallinethatruns from thespine.Moreover, theprimary tool in Stav is thestave,anexcellent weapon that canbereplacedwitha halberd, spear, or arifle with abayonet.Itcertainly takestimetolearn to master thestave, but it is notonlyexternalperfectionthatissoughtbut an internal transformative developmentthatstartsfromone's ownspine
Forseveral years, Ihavebeennagging Roland Zerpetowrite abook about Stav;I believedthatsucha unique traditionmusthavethe conditionstolive on forgenerations to come.I thinkI have contributedtohim finallygetting around to it.RolandZerpe hasmethodicallyand well-structured, andwith deep knowledgeofthe subject, writtena book of immenseimportancefor both practitionersand allthose with an interest in esoteric runology.This book offers unique perspectives andthoughtsonthe characteristicsof runes. Furthermore, thebookdescribes apractical approach to therunes that cannotbefound elsewhere.
Thomas Karlsson
Ph.D.inHistory of Religions, StockholmUniversity. Author of Nightside of theRunes:Uthark, Adulruna,and theGotthic Cabbala.
Ivar Hafskjoldand Thomas Karlsson,August2019
Photo: Roland Zerpe
Introduction
Stav hasprimarily been labelled as amartial art, but abetterdefinition wouldbea Scandinavian spiritualeducation system;witha curriculum containing aunique varietyofNordicmythology,systemizedaround the ancientrunicscriptlanguage. Therunesare ascriptlanguagethathas existedindifferent varietiesinnorthernEuropefor around 2000 years. The Stav curriculumoffersthe practitioner valuable life skills.Stavisdeeply spiritualand philosophical butstill hasanundogmaticand practical perspective.
Alot of people in oursociety couldgainvaluableinsightsthrough Stav,are youinterestedinimproving your wellbeing?Ortofindbalance in your everyday life?thenStavcan be exactlywhatyou arelookingfor.Stavis aboutphysicaland mental prosperity andcontainsaspects that canbe paralleledtowhatwetoday define as mindfulness.Stavcan be beneficial for thosespecifically interested in Scandinavian spirituality or thosewho is interested in exploringScandinavianmartial arts.Stavalsooffers unique perspectivetothose whowants to learnmoreabout therunes.
Stav do notdifferentiate practitionersbased on theperspective from which they approach thetradition.Stavisnot forcingreligious beliefsorideas on anyone;Stavoffers thepractitioners an opportunitytolearn.Whatever beliefs thepractitioners choose to take with them is completely up to them.
It maybeeasiertorelatetoparts of thecontent foundwithinthisbookif youalready have some knowledgeabout Norsemythology.But thebookis writtenwiththe ambition to also caterfor thosewho arenew to the subject. Perhapssomeaspects areeveneasiertograsp if oneisnot imprintedbypreviousinfluencesand impressionsabout Nordic spirituality.
Thebookyou areholding in your hand is thefirst extensivebook ever publishedabout Stav.Itisa translationofthe Swedishoriginalpublishedin 2021. Butitisalsoa newedition with addedchapters, expanded texts, new pictures andillustrations. Idefineitasthe second editionofthe book,that just happened to change language in thetransition. Ireally hope that you enjoythe book andfindthe contentvaluable.
Whythe Book WasWritten
Throughthe yearsmanypeoplehaverequested abookabout Stav,both thosethatrecentlylearned aboutthe tradition, as well as friends and acquaintances that wanted me toshare my insights in abook. Therehave also been afew scholars that have expresseda need forsourcematerial regardingStav. ButI have been reluctanttowrite abook forseveral reasons. ThecurriculumwithinStavismorethana book,the informationisencoded in an amazingway that allowsknowledge to be transmittedthrough allthe dimensions ahuman beingcan experience.Written text on theother hand is onedimensional andcontainscompressedknowledge,manylayersand dimensions arelostwhenknowledge arereduced to text.Byadding illustrations,a book canexpandtobecometwo dimensional. Butstill, the book format is in many ways toolimitingfor somethingthatisconstructed to be practicedand experienced.
Many spiritualpractitioners have toomuchfaith into thewritten word,itis aflawedperspective that we have inheritedfromthe monotheistic religions andacademia. Thewritten word only reachessofar,and my main concernis that this book mayleadtothe establishmentofsub-parschoolswithno connection to thegenuine tradition, wherethe practicesare completely basedonliterarystudies.Those schoolswould with certaintylackthe essenceand completeness as well as many of thelayersexistinginthe living Stav tradition. My ambition is to mediateStavasa living traditioninits complete form to coming generations, whichwould require that students actively pursuitthe practicalaspects of thetraditions. ButI am notcertain thebookformatleads to active engagement andcommitment. Oneofmy fearswhenspreading knowledgeintextisthatitmay offerthe spiritual mongers’ furtheringredients to thealready bloating new-agesmorgasbord, wherelotsofincompatibledishesare served together withoutselection and withoutany deeper analysis.These spiritualbuffets spread astenchworse than theinfamousSwedish Surströmming!
Ihavealsoseen howthe writtenwordhas influenced some Stav practitionersnegatively, during thefirst activities we held in Sweden there were afew participants whofreneticallyweretakingnotes in their notebooks. They only listened partly to what wasdiscussed andnever
returned to theirnotes to make adeeperanalysisofwhattheyhad written down.But if some topicwas raised later, they claimedthattheyhad the knowledgesince they hadinformation in theirnotes.I canacknowledge the fact that thesenotes sometimeswereveryvaluable, but deeply rooted knowledgedoesnot need support of notesorbooks. Basedonthisfact, very littleinthisbookshall be regarded as adogma;whatI shareinthisbookare my ownperspectives, communicated with my limitedability as awriterand thefactthatEnglish is my second language.I am also cagedbythe limitations of writtentext. Thereare certainlyaspects that Imay have not fullyunderstood, as well as aspectsthatI neverrealizedwould be needed to be expandedinthisbook.But Ihavedonemyabsolutebesttogiveyou a comprehensiveand correct depictionofwhatStavisand what it contains.
Theambitionisthatthisbookwillgivea good overview of what Stav is,but thereisnoambitiontoreallyexpandonthe deeper layers.Expanding on some of thesedeeper layers couldperhaps even confusethe reader more than it wouldhelptogainanunderstandingofStav. Anyone whoreally wantstolearn Stav must be willing to muster much more discipline compared to what is requiredfor readinga book.I hope thebook will inspireand Iwill leavemanydoors open in this book that thededicated reader canexplore on theirown.
Please keep in mind that what is describedinthisbookisthe perspectiveof Stav,which in many ways differfrommodernrunicbased philosophy and esoterica. Thereisnoother modern practice that is so coherent and comprehensive. Even though modern practitionersofNorse heathenism utilizemanyofthe same attributes as we do;Stavshouldbeseen as being separate from theother contemporary denominations. Stav is probably the only modern varietyofNorse spiritualitythatissoextensive andhas such a definedtheologyand liturgythatit qualifiesasa religious or spiritual denomination of Norse paganism in thetruesense of thedefinition. The othermodernvarieties of Norsespiritualityare to alarge degree separated by political perspectives andideologiesinstead of spiritualdifferences.The practitionersofthese pathsoften disagree basedonthe political perspectives they hadbeforesearching outNorse mythology, andnot from differenceininterpretations of thesourcematerialavailable
TheBackgroundofthe Author
Over theyears,I'venoticed that many people like to know abit aboutthe person sharingthe knowledge. Therefore, Ifeel it’s importanttoshare some detailsabout my background andhow IdiscoveredStav.
Iwas born in themiddleofthe 1970´s andgrewupina northern suburbof Stockholm, Märsta.I grew up in what todayisdescribed as relative poverty, with asinglemom whodid herbesttofeedusand clothus. Relative poverty accordingtothe Swedishdefinitionsimplymeans that we always hadfood on ourtable but couldnot afford much luxury andoccasionallyhad to ask social welfarefor assistance.
TheneighbourhoodsI grew up in wasconstructed during theSwedish millionprogramme,a very ambitiousproject that aimedtoconstruct one millionapartmentsand smallhousesduringa very limited period between 1965-1975.Manyareas of theMillionProgram quickly gained apoor reputation, promptingthose whocould afford it to move out. When Sweden makesinternational headlinesfor bombings andshootings,itisoften these neighborhoodswhere such incidentsoccur. Initially theareaI livedinwas filled with Swedishworking classthathad relocatedfromthe countryside with theambitiontofindopportunities in theurban region of Stockholm. Addictsand alcoholics were anatural occurrence in thearea. As time passed thepopulationwas exchangedasmanyswedesmoved out, andtheir apartments were insteadinhabitedbyimmigrants from variouswarzones that hadarrivedinSwedeninsearchofa saferenvironment fortheir family Eventually Iwas just aboutthe only native Swedishkid left in the neighbourhood.
Todaythe neighbourhoodisincludedonthe list of risk areasidentifiedby thepolice, areasthathas high crimerates andsocialexclusion.Asthis translationisdonein2022, twoofthe elementary schoolsI went to has made it to thetop tenlistofschools wheregangshootings frequently occur, luckily it is mostly duringthe evenings.Eventhoughitwas notthisbad when Iwas akid,itwas notall that much better.The area hada badreputationin thenorthernparts of Stockholmand even within Märsta it wasregardedas aplace best avoided.
Stav is usuallydefinedasa martial art, but it wouldbemoreaccuratelyunderstood as aScandinavianeducational tradition,emphasizing personal growth andspiritual exploration.Groundedinthe geometry of theyounger runes, Stav offersa distinctive andcohesivesystemthatenables practitionerstoapproachthe runes both practically andspiritually.
Stav used to be aclosely guardedtradition,but this book opensits doorstoa wideraudience, offeringanin-depthexploration of itspreviouslyhiddenwisdom. Forthe first time,knowledge that hasnever been availableinwritten form is being shared.Readers drawntothe mysteriesofthe runeswill uncovernew and inspiringperspectives.
Forthose seekinginsightsintoNordicspiritualityora martial artdeeply rooted in Scandinavian tradition,Stavmay be exactlywhattheyare lookingfor.Stavtraining nurtures both physical andmentalwell-being. Stav contains elements that canbe compared to modern pracices,suchasmindfulness,breathworkoryoga.
Theauthorbringsdecades of experience as an instructor andisrecognizedasone of theforemostpractitionersofStavworldwide.The first Swedishedition of this book wasmet with greatacclaimfromreaders.Thissecondedition andfirst Englishtranslation,includesadded chapters anddeeperexplorationsofseveral keyaspects of theStavtradition.Written in an accessible andengagingstyle,this book invitesreaders of alllevelstoexplore thedepth andrichnessofStav, bridging itshistoricalroots andpracticalapplicationswithmodernneed andperspectives.
