represent several different kinds of information simultaneously. This aspect of runic letters is one that is frequently employed and exploited by writers and scribes who include them in their manuscripts. Use as ideographs (Begriffsrunen) In addition to their historic use as letters in the runic alphabets, runes were also used to represent their names (ideographs). Such instances are sometimes referred to by way of the modern German loan word Begriffsrunen, meaning 'concept-runes' (singular Begriffsrune). The criteria for the use of Begriffsrunen and the frequency of their use by ancient rune-writers remains controversial. The topic of Begriffsrunen has produced much discussion among runologists. Runologist Klaus Düwel has proposed a two-point criteria for the identification of runes as Begriffsrunen: A graphic argument and a semantic argument. Examples of Begriffsrunen (or potential Begriffsrunen) include the following: In addition to the instances above, several different runes occurs as ideographs in Old English and Old Norse manuscripts (featuring Anglo-Saxon runes and Younger Futhark runes respectively). Runologist Thomas Birkett summarizes these numerous instances as follows: Academic study The modern study of runes was initiated during the Renaissance, by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652). Bureus viewed runes as holy or magical in a kabbalistic sense. The study of runes was continued by Olof Rudbeck Sr (1630–1702) and presented in his collection Atlantica. Anders Celsius (1701–1744) further extended the science of runes and travelled around the whole of Sweden to examine the runstenar. From the "golden age of philology" in the 19th century, runology formed a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics. Body of inscriptions The largest group of surviving Runic inscription are Viking Age Younger Futhark runestones, commonly found in Denmark and Sweden. Another large group are medieval runes, most commonly found on small objects, often wooden sticks. The largest concentration of runic inscriptions are the Bryggen inscriptions found in Bergen, more than 650 in total. Elder Futhark inscriptions number around 350, about 260 of which are from Scandinavia, of which about half are on bracteates. Anglo-Saxon futhorc inscriptions number around 100 items. Modern use Runic alphabets have seen numerous uses since the 18th-century Viking revival, in Scandinavian Romantic nationalism (Gothicismus) and Germanic occultism in the 19th century, and in the context of the Fantasy genre and of Germanic Neopaganism in the 20th century. Esotericism Germanic mysticism and Nazi Germany The pioneer of the Armanist branch of Ariosophy and one of the more important figures in esotericism in Germany and