Basic counting was and is necessary for peasant farmers, including a variety of counting aids such as tally sticks. Historically, the majority of medieval peasants and farmers were illiterate, but if they couldn't count, they couldn't estimate yields, know how large a herd was, calculate the amount of seed required to retain for next year's sowing, know how many animals to slaughter ready for winter etc. After the Black Death in Europe, especially in England, many peasants made the transition from tenant to farmer by earning enough to buy land, and land records show a considerable number buying and selling plots to land to maximise their profits. They may not have been able to read the land deeds, but they could estimate the worth and productivity of the land, and make deals.
In addition, many of our traditional units of measurement and numerical terms demonstrate their use by illiterates who could do sums: inches to a foot, great gross, gross, dozen, because, like pennies in a shilling, 12 is easy to divide into halfs, thirds, quarters... Even most Roman units were based in twelve: libra, uncial etc. and some versions of the English stone were divided into 12 pounds (with 12 ounces), until county measurements were unified. All because they were used by illiterates with only basic mathematical knowledge, but enough to work by.
So a Heortling can certainly count, and do basic mathematical operations.
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