Elder Futhark ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲ

The Elder Futhark is the oldest standardized Germanic runic alphabet, consisting of 24 runes. It was used by various Germanic-speaking peoples, primarily in Northern and Central Europe, during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Its name is derived from the first six runes of the alphabet—ᚠ, ᚢ, ᚦ, ᚨ, ᚱ, ᚲ—which transliterate to f, u, þ, a, r, and k, forming the word fuþark

The Elder Futhark consists of 24 runes, each with a conventional transliteration and one or more phonetic values, depending on the period and language in question.

Writing an English word in Elder Futhark is not a matter of historical encryption; depending on the context—the rune corresponding to the letter or, preferably, the sound to be represented. The result is therefore a modern approximation rather than a historical spelling.

The main transliteration correspondences are:

To write in old futhark, to associate with each letter or sound of a message in English, his correspondence (or what is nearest) in old futhark according to the table:

Decoding a text in Elder Futhark begins with a transliteration of the runes into Latin characters. This step makes it possible to identify the sounds or conventional values represented by the runes.

The plain message found may be a text written in some old language, whose translation into English will remain to be done.

The alphabet is composed of vertical or sloping/diagonal lines, but never horizontal.

A message can contain a maximum of 24 distinct characters.

Most traces of the old futhark were found on runes, pieces of stones, pebbles on which were engraved runic characters.

The younger futhark is very similar because it is derived from the elder futhark.

Viking runes sometimes use this old Futhark alphabet.

The rune ᛇ has a disputed phonetic value. It is often transliterated as ï, but other conventions use æ or ë. Its exact value and its evolution throughout the history of the Elder Futhark are not fully established.

The rune ᛉ is generally transliterated as z in conventions relating to the Elder Futhark, but some specialists use ʀ to account for changes in its phonetic value in later runic traditions. Therefore, z and ʀ should not be considered interchangeable equivalents: the transliteration depends on the period and the scholarly convention used.

Estimation indicates that this language has been spoken by Germanic peoples from the second century to the eighth century AD.