Runic Text on the Franks Casket

The runic text of the Franks Casket is transcribed below in Unicode. Five cryptogrammic runes for the vowel letters that occur on the right panel of the casket were only encoded in Unicode 7.0 (released June 2014), and will only be displayed if you are using a runic font that supports Unicode 7.0, such as the BabelStone Anglo-Saxon Runic Fonts. This page is configured to use the Web font version of the BabelStone Runic Beowulf font, which includes the feoh-ac ᚠ‍ᚪ bind rune.

The transcription, transliteration, interpretation and translation of the Fransks Casket text is based on R. W. V. Elliot's Runes (Manchester University Press, 1971) pp. 96–109.

Lid

Lid of the Franks Casket

Transcription	ᚫᚷᛁᛚᛁ
Transliteration	ÆGILI
Interpretation	Ægili.
Translation	Egill.

Front Panel

Front Panel of the Franks Casket

Transcription	ᚠᛁᛋᚳ᛫ᚠᛚᚩᛞᚢ᛫ᚪᚻᚩᚠᚩᚾᚠᛖᚱᚷ ᛖᚾᛒᛖᚱᛁᚷ ᚹᚪᚱᚦᚷᚪ᛬ᛋᚱᛁᚳᚷᚱᚩᚱᚾᚦᚫᚱᚻᛖᚩᚾᚷᚱᛖᚢᛏᚷᛁᛋᚹᚩᛗ ᚻᚱᚩᚾᚫᛋᛒᚪᚾ ᛗᚫᚷᛁ
Transliteration	FISC FLODU AHOFONFERG ENBERIG WARÞGA:SRICGRORNÞÆRHEONGREUTGISWOM HRONÆSBAN MÆGI
Interpretation	Fisc flodu ahof on fergenberig; warþ gasric grorn, þær he on greut giswom. Hronæs ban. Mægi.
Translation	The flood lifted up the fish on to the cliff-bank; the whale became sad, where he swam on the shingle. Whale's bone. Magi.

Back Panel

Back Panel of the Franks Casket

Transcription	ᚻᛖᚱᚠᛖᚷᛏᚪᚦ ᛏᛁᛏᚢᛋᛖᚾᛞᚷᛁᚢᚦᛖᚪᛋᚢ HICFUGIANTHIERUSALIM ᚪᚠᛁᛏᚪᛏᚩᚱᛖᛋ ᛞᚩᛗ ᚷᛁᛋᛚ
Transliteration	HERFEGTAÞ TITUSENDGIUÞEASU HICFUGIANTHIERUSALIM AFITATORES DOM GISL
Interpretation	Her fegtaþ Titus end giuþeasu. Hic fugiant Hierusalim afitatores. Dom. Gisl.
Translation	Here fight Titus and the Jews. Here the inhabitants flee from Jerusalem. Doom. Hostages.

Left Panel

Left Panel of the Franks Casket

Transcription	ᚱᚩᛗᚹᚪᛚᚢᛋᚪᚾᛞᚱᛖᚢᛗᚹᚪᛚᚢᛋᛏᚹᛟᚷᛖᚾ ᚷᛁᛒᚱᚩᚦᚫᚱ ᚪᚠᛟᛞᛞᚫᚻᛁᚫᚹᚣᛚᛁᚠᛁᚾᚱᚩᛗᚫᚳᚫᛋᛏᚱᛁ᛬ ᚩᚦᛚᚫᚢᚾᚾᛖᚷ
Transliteration	ROMWALUSANDREUMWALUSTWŒGEN GIBROÞÆR AFŒDDÆHIÆWYLIFINROMÆCÆSTRI: OÞLÆUNNEG
Interpretation	Romwalus and Reumwalus twœgen gibroþær: afœddæ hiæ wylif in Romæ cæstri, oþlæ unneg.
Translation	Romulus and Remus, two brothers: a she-wolf fed them in Rome city, far from their native land.

Right Panel

Right Panel of the Franks Casket

Transcription	ᚻᛶᚱᚻᛴᛋᛋᛵᛏᛸᚦᛴᚾᚻᛸᚱᛗᛒᛶᚱᚷᛸᛷᚷᛚ ᛞᚱᛵᚷᛵᚦᛋᚹᛸ ᚻᛵᚱᛵᛶᚱᛏᛷᛶᚷᛵᛋᚷᚱᛷᚠᛋᛸᚱᛞᛖᚾᛋᛴᚱᚷᛸᛷ ᚾᛞᛋᛶᚠ‍ᚪᛏᛴᚱᚾᛸ ᚱᛁᛋᚳᛁ ᛒᛁᛏᚪ ᚹᚢᛞᚢ
Transliteration	HERHOSSITÆÞONHÆRMBERGÆAGL[.] DRIGIÞSWÆ HIRIERTAEGISGRAFSÆRDENSORGÆA NDSEF͡ATORNÆ RISCI BITA WUDU
Interpretation	Her hos sitæþ on hærmbergæ, agl[.] drigiþ; swæ hiri Erta egi sgraf, særden sorgæ and sefa tornæ. Risci. Bita. Wudu.
Translation	Here the horse stands above the mound of woe, It suffers tribulation; just as to her Erta appointed anxiety, A grave of grief, in sorrow and anguish of heart. Wood. Biter. Rush.