Why the charts don’t always match
If you’ve looked up Viking runes and found one chart with 24 letters and another with 16, I can see why that would be confusing. Both are runic alphabets. They just come from different periods.
Elder Futhark is the older set of 24 runes, and it’s the one you’ll learn in Futhark Pro. Younger Futhark is the later Scandinavian alphabet associated with the Viking Age. The Swedish History Museum explains this difference in its account of the fifth-century Kylver stone. [1] So if you want to read a particular inscription, I’d check which alphabet it uses before reaching for a chart.
Some familiar shapes, some new ones
The number of letters is a helpful clue, but there’s more to it than that. Andrew West’s Younger Futhark tables show long-branch, short-twig and mixed forms. You’ll recognize some shapes, while others will look quite different. [2]
I’d put the two charts beside each other and compare a few signs. Just be careful with the familiar ones: a similar shape doesn’t always mean the same sound across different periods. Keeping the chart’s name beside it saves a lot of confusion later.
Where I’d begin
If you’re learning with this app, I’d stay with the 24-rune Elder Futhark chart for your first few sessions. There’s plenty to explore there, and you can get comfortable with one set before adding another.
When you’re ready for a Viking Age monument such as the Jelling stone, bring a Younger Futhark reference along. The older alphabet will give you a starting point, but it won’t let you translate the whole inscription by itself.
I’d keep a few details beside any photograph: the object’s name, its approximate date, the alphabet it uses, and where its published reading comes from. That way, you can return to it later without having to work out which chart you were using.
Sources and reading notes
- Swedish History Museum: KylverstenenMuseum account of the fifth-century rune row and the uncertain final sign.
- Andrew West: BabelStone Younger FutharkCharacter tables for long-branch, short-twig and mixed Younger Futhark fonts.
