# Introducing my Burmerke

People don't often talk about their ancestry, and it occurs to me that not many people know that I'm 1/4 Norwegian. My Grandmother's father immigrated to the US from Norway, and I have other Norwegian blood from assorted parts of my family tree. (Incidentally, the rest of me is mostly European mutt, with ancestors from England, Germany, and Spain making up most of my background.)

In reading up on some Norwegian history, I ran across the concept of the burmerke. It was largely used in pre-literate Norway as a way to identify a man and his family. His children would often take his mark, making minor changes to distinguish it from their father's. This custom died out as literacy spread across Norway.

People who do genealogical research often run across burmerke used by their family. I have not been so fortunate, but both as a way to remember my heritage and as a way to build my personal brand (whatever that is) I have designed my own burmerke. I am using it as the site's favicon, which is probably the best way to see what I came up with. I've also put it on my MiniCards, which you'll probably have to track me down in person to see.

I based the design on the Swedish-Norwegian Futhork (rune) that corresponds to the letter "U" in the roman alphabet. Combining two gives me a "Double U" to match my surname. I've taken some artistic license in flipping and combining them, but I'm happy with what I've come up with.

posted at: 2008 Sep 19 13:08 UTC | category: life | (story link)