Rune stone

Rune stone of Sandavágur (Faeroeer) on a stamp

Bjoerketorpsstenen with Bjoerketorp (Ronneby)

Phalli picture fig. 700 n. Chr., height of 3 m in the museum of Bunge (Gotland)

Picture stone in (Gotland)

Oldest form of a picture stone

Mythologi picture stone

Rune stones are often high upright-standing stones, . The most complex Norwegian rune stone of this kind originates from Dynna. It is from red sandstone of full motives for picture in the Ringerike style. Gunnvor, the daughter Trydiks built a bridge and established a stone for its daughter Astrid and wrote: And it was the most skillful girl in Hadeland. The rune stone with the longest well-known inscription is the nose stone that Ship setting of Glavendrup. Deutschlands vier, im Umkreis von found rune stones, are in the museum of Lock Gottorf in ; only the rune stone of Bus village still stands in the local . Its translation reads: King Sven set this stone for Skarthi, for its Gefolgsmann, that to the west (probably England) had driven, but now with Hedeby fell. Hedeby (heath place) is the old way of writing of Haithabu.

Spreading

Between 5000 and 6000 rune stones in Scandinavia were found, of it over 3000 in the area today's Sweden, so that the custom probably proceeded from here. They are in Norway and Sweden since that 4. Century, in England since that 7. Century and in Denmark since that 9. To find century. Isolated stones are also in the Baltic and in Russia, on Greenland and on the British islands outside of England. Well-known rune stones in Sweden are that Rune stone of RAM and mountain and that Rune stone of Roek. In the USA found rune stones , are falsifications.

Meaning

They offer - similarly the Roman - a view of the self understanding, those Values and achievements of individual persons, who had the possibility due to their conditions, a at least local role in that delivered . The oldest rune stone, which stands still at its original place, is Einangsteinen in Norway.

Kinds

There are both rune stones with pictures or symbols and picture and mask stones with runes. One can differentiate different kinds from rune stones:

• Those Gedenksteine, which were set by members or Verehrern,
• those Self-manifestation stones, the achievements its praise, which set the stone,
• similarly, but of a somewhat different character the finaltemporal stones, those religious achievements from only recently Glaeubigen changed to the Christianity address, on them is beside the runes often the Christian cross to be seen
• Remarkable also the not small number of stones is, for and of Women for itself are set.

An interesting example of a self-manifestation stone stands with Stockholm. There a Swedish Wikinger of itself writes: "in ulfr hafir onklati * Þru kialtakat uas fursta Þis tursti * Þa Þurktil Þit * Þa coldly knutr" Translated: Ulf received tribute money in England three times. First was with Toste (Skagul Toste a Wikinger from the province west Goetaland), second with Thorkel (Torkel the high one, a Danish Jarl, which received 1011 English tribute) and third also .

Rune stones of Jelling

Those Rune stones for the Danish king (the old persons), with which the list of the kings begins, since it is considered as realm some, became probably from its son in order given. They stand at the church of Jelling ( the Christianisierung Denmark as its work represents, points to two sides Motives and on the front rune character.

Rune stone Gorm, front

Rune stone Gorm, back

Rune stones of the kings Gorm and blue tooth

Rune stone of king blue tooth, face

Picture stones on Gotland

The gotlaendische Picture stone is a characteristic from that and only isolates at the neighbouring coasts and up auzutreffen is. Into stones one already knows cut pictures in the north from that and . Between these two periods and the wikingerzeitlichen stones however large differences exist regarding spreading, number and appearance. Contrary to the early Rock cutting are the pictures of the picture stones on put up Menhiren. Those are on Gotland up to 4 m high limestone plates of 35 - 50 cm thickness, those in different style, while several periods were provided. All stones are more or less strongly rounded at the top side. Those Picture stones the periods are:

• 400-600 n. Chr. oldest form (picture left) highly and only above little (axtfoermig) widens.
• 500-700 n. Chr. low and accurately axtfoermig
• 700-1100 n. Chr. highly and phallusartig
• 500-1100 n. Chr. low, above a large central elbow and two small shoulder notches

The probably colored representations (black-and-white red) show human shapes (Gods), several animal species, magic symbols, eddy wheels, rudder and sailing boats, spirals, mytholische scenes and rune volumes and are also an image of religion history. At the end stones with the Christian cross appear.

In Europe there is still another second group of picture stones, whose picture portion symbols shows, in addition, from the range of the symbolful representations, as they show Irish cross or Pillarsteine, stands out, that is those Piktensteine in . Particular as Mask stones one knows designated stones with pictures from Denmark (Århus, Sjellebro), here is however scratched into findlinge the completely different pictures, which carry partly additionally a rune inscription. A singular group of rune stones with high picture portion on findlingen are the stones of Jelling.

see also

• Baityloi
• Bautastein
• Menhir
• Ogham

Further stones

Stentoftenstein in sank Nicolai church, Soelvesborg (Sweden)

Stone before the Nikolaikirche in Soelvesborg

Rune stone in the University park in

modern rune stone with the production

Literature

Nylen, E. and lamb, J. P.: Picture stones on Gotland