The book of the famous Russian philologist E. A. Makaev outlines a solution to the issue of the principles of the chronology of runic inscriptions and its correlation with the chronological periodization developed by archaeologists, as well as clarification of the status of senior runic inscriptions and their areal characteristics. Particular attention is paid to the problems of runic onomastics, which is of fundamental importance not only for runology in general, but also for the comparative grammar of Germanic languages ​ ​ and the ancient history of Germanic tribes.