Bind rune

[1] On some runestones, bind runes may have been ornamental and used to highlight the name of the carver.

Normal bind runes are formed of two (or rarely three) adjacent runes which are joined together to form a single conjoined glyph, usually sharing a common vertical stroke (see Hadda example below).

[3] Another type of bind rune called a same-stave rune, which is common in Scandinavian runic inscriptions but does not occur at all in Anglo-Saxon runic inscriptions, is formed by several runic letters written sequentially along a long common stemline (see þ=r=u=t=a=ʀ= =þ=i=a=k=n example shown in image).

[4] In the latter cases the long bind rune stemline may be incorporated into an image on the rune stone, for example as a ship's mast on runestones Sö 158 at Ärsta and Sö 352 in Linga, Södermanland, Sweden, or as the waves under a ship on DR 220 in Sønder Kirkeby, Denmark.

[4] Examples found in Elder Futhark inscriptions include: Bind runes are not common in Anglo-Saxon inscriptions, but double ligatures do sometimes occur, and triple ligatures may rarely occur.

A boat whose mast is formed with the bind runes þ=r=u=t=a=ʀ= =þ=i=a=k=n , on the runestone Sö 158 at Ärsta, Södermanland , Sweden . The bind runes tell that the deceased was a strong thegn .
Cryptic runic inscription on a silver knife mount, with several bind runes
The "Derbyshire bone plate", showing the name Hadda with ligatured double ᛞ