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Rune 1 of 16

fé – The Fe rune

Sound
f
Meaning
cattle, wealth

The Norwegian rune poem

Fé vældr frænda róge; føðesk ulfr í skóge.

Wealth causes strife among kinsmen; the wolf feeds itself in the forest.

The Norwegian rune poem is from the 1200s and has one verse per rune. The original is in the public domain; the translations are our own.

Commentary

Fé literally means cattle — the oldest form of wealth. The verse is not a tribute to riches but a warning: inheritance splits families.

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