(See Plate I.)
What appears at the top is the signs of the Juul--that is, the first
symbol of Wr-alda, also of the origin or beginning from which Time
is derived; this is the Kroder, which must always go round with the
Juul. According to this model Frya formed the set hand which she
used to write her Tex. When Fasta was Eeremoeder she made a running
hand out of it. The Witkoning--that is, the Sea-King Godfried the
Old--made separate numbers for the set hand and for the runic hand. It
is therefore not too much that we celebrate it once a year. We may be
eternally thankful to Wr-alda that he allowed his spirit to exercise
such an influence over our forefathers.
In her time Finda also invented a mode of writing, but that was so
high-flown and full of flourishes that her descendants have soon lost
the meaning of it.
Afterwards they learned our writing--that is, the Finns, the Thyriers,
and the Krekalanders--but they did not know that it was taken
from the Juul, and most therefore always be written round like the
sun. Furthermore, they wished that their writing should be illegible
by other people, because they always had matters to conceal. In
doing this they acted very unwisely, because their children could
only with great difficulty read the writings of their predecessors,
whereas our most ancient writings are as easy to read as those that
were written yesterday.
Here is a specimen of the set hand and of the running hand, as well
as of the figures, in both.
(See Plate II.)