The automatic translation is necessarily imprecise. This translation does not replace the reading of German or English original texts.

Or: ... calculating words cleverly calculated

The Germanic runic row , fuþark, was composed of 24 runes with each rune standing for a certain subject, being almost identical with it. Thus the f-rune, , in the Anglo-Saxon runic poem bears the name feoh, the Old English word for 'cattle' or rather the entire live-stock (Germ. Vieh). As anything from hen to ox served as means of payment those days feoh became synonymous with wealth in terms of money. Another one, , stands for wealth in terms of land.

The g-rune, stands for gifu, gift, a very important source of income those days, when salary was not yet heard of. And as all the 24 runes were supposed to be magically effective, quite a number of runic practices were developed to use their assumed power. This could have meant the accumulation wealth by the gifts of a royal donor, while other symbols had been good for divine assistance, be it at home or at war. Other runes were carved to avert the bad and to secure the good.

Thenumber of runes (24) in the older fuþark does not result from the number of sounds needed to be transcribed. The row of 24 serves numeric purposes along with magic. Just like each rune each number has its particular meaning: Eleven (11) refers to elves, 3 is divine, 9 even more so, 4 and 8 times of it even more so. The product of all that mixes the cocktail: Inscriptions could number 24, 48 or 72 runes, sometimes 240, 480 or 720 symbols. Or 12 times 300, or, or or … There was a meaning with all numbers, a meaning which is fairly uncertain today.

Apart from 11, the numbers 3, 4 und 8 were regarded to be of high significance, and even more the product of these numbers (24, 48, 72 etc., respectively 240, 480, 720 etc. The same goes for 3, 9 etc., 30, 90 etc. respectively 300, 900 etc.). Thus, it is not surprising that the entire runic row of 24 characters was regarded as a sequence of three groups (ættir) of eight runes (ætt) each. Every single rune had the numeric value of its position in the runic row. Therefore the sequence: f/u/Þ/a/r/k, could be read as 1/2/3/4/5/6. Adding up all the numbers from 1 to 24 we arrive at a numeric and, consequently, at a runic value of 300. However, as each and every number will have had its particular significance, we have to take care not to confuse chance and intention!

Applied to runic texts this means: Inscriptions composed of a certain number of symbols 9, 24, 48, 72 etc. might be figured with magic intention. Sometimes dots were inserted, most likely just for bringing the number of symbols up to the score intended. Thus, the F-panel (front) bears 68 runes and 4 dots to achieve the score of 72. Apart from the number also the value of the runes may be figured with magic intent. As said above each rune has the value of its position in the runic row, dots counting 1 each. If, for example, an inscription is composed of 72 symbols and their value adds up to 720 (as on the F-panel) this is most certainly figured for such a purpose. The casket is full of such calculations! More about that later.

When - due to consonant shifting - the Germanic fuþark had changed into the Anglo-Frisian fuþorc of first 27 (3 x 9) and later 33 (3 x 11) runes, the underlying system of 24 (3 x 8) remained untouched. They simply added a fourth ætt, to the existing three ættir. The change seems to have given more impact on the qualities of 9 and 11.

As remains to be seen, the rune-master developed such perfection at runes and values that they constitute a real challenge to our pocket calculators.