Altuna Runestone
Encyclopedia
The Altuna Runestone , listed as U 1161 in the Rundata
catalog, is a Viking Age
memorial
runestone with images from Norse mythology
that is located in Altuna, Uppland
, Sweden
.
illustrations from Norse mythology. Most surviving runestones were raised during the 11th century after the Christianization of Sweden
, and they were raised by people who wanted to show that they too adhered to the new faith, at least outwardly so.
One side of the Altuna Runestone, however, illustrates a legend recorded in the Hymiskviða
of the Poetic Edda
, in which the Norse god Thor
fishes for Jörmungandr
, the Midgard serpent. Thor goes fishing with the jotun Hymir
using an ox head for bait, and catches Jörmungandr, who then either breaks loose or, as told in the Gylfaginning
of the Prose Edda
, the line is cut loose by Hymir. The Prose Edda provides the additional detail that while Thor was attempting pulling on the line with Jörmungandr on the hook, his feet went through the bottom of the boat. The image on the Altuna Runestone does not show Hymir, which may be due to the narrow shape of the stone, but it shows Thor, his line and tackle and the serpent, and notably, Thor's foot which has been pushed through the hull of the boat. This encounter between Thor and Jörmungandr seems to have been one of the most popular motifs in Norse art
. Three other picture stone
s that have been linked with the myth include the Ardre VIII image stone, the Hørdum stone
, and the Gosforth Cross
. A stone slab that may be a portion of a second cross at Gosforth also shows a fishing scene using an ox head.
The runic inscription suggest that those to whom the stone is dedicated, the father Holmfastr and his son Arnfastr, were burned, possibly in what could be a case of arson
known as quickfire
, a method commonly used in Scandinavia
n feud
s. Arnfastr and his brother Véfastr share the common name element fastr with their father, Holmfastr. A common practice at that time in Scandinavia was the repeating of one of the name elements from a parent's name in the names of the children to show the family connection.
The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Pr3, which is also known as Urnes style
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The inscription is signed by the runemaster
s with the normalized
names Frösten and Balle
and perhaps by Livsten. Balle was active in the south-western Uppland and northern Södermanland
during the second half of the eleventh century.
Rundata
The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way for future research...
catalog, is a Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
runestone with images from Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
that is located in Altuna, Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Description
The Altuna Runestone is a granite stone 1.95 meters in height that was discovered in 1918 by a local historian in the wall of a chapel located near its current location. Before the historical significance of runestones was recognized, they were often used as materials in the construction of roads, bridges, walls, and buildings. It is one of few surviving runestones with exclusively paganNorse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
illustrations from Norse mythology. Most surviving runestones were raised during the 11th century after the Christianization of Sweden
Christianization of Scandinavia
The Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and the 12th century. The realms of Scandinavia proper, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly to the Pope, in 1104, 1154 and 1164, respectively...
, and they were raised by people who wanted to show that they too adhered to the new faith, at least outwardly so.
One side of the Altuna Runestone, however, illustrates a legend recorded in the Hymiskviða
Hymiskviða
Hymiskviða is a poem collected in the Poetic Edda. Its contents are somewhat confusing but can be summarized more or less as follows....
of the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
, in which the Norse god Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
fishes for Jörmungandr
Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr , mostly known as Jormungand, orJörmungand , or Midgard Serpent , or World Serpent, is a sea serpent, and the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki...
, the Midgard serpent. Thor goes fishing with the jotun Hymir
Hymir
In Norse mythology, Hymir is a giant, husband of the giantess Hroðr and according to the Eddic poem Hymiskviða the father of the god Týr. He is the owner of a mile-wide cauldron which the Æsir wanted to brew beer in; Thor, accompanied by Týr, obtained it from him...
using an ox head for bait, and catches Jörmungandr, who then either breaks loose or, as told in the Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...
of the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
, the line is cut loose by Hymir. The Prose Edda provides the additional detail that while Thor was attempting pulling on the line with Jörmungandr on the hook, his feet went through the bottom of the boat. The image on the Altuna Runestone does not show Hymir, which may be due to the narrow shape of the stone, but it shows Thor, his line and tackle and the serpent, and notably, Thor's foot which has been pushed through the hull of the boat. This encounter between Thor and Jörmungandr seems to have been one of the most popular motifs in Norse art
Norse art
Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic styles in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age , and sometimes even used when describing objects from the Nordic Bronze Age...
. Three other picture stone
Picture stone
A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age or Viking Age Scandinavia, and in the greatest number on Gotland. More than four hundred picture stones are known today. All of the stones were probably erected as...
s that have been linked with the myth include the Ardre VIII image stone, the Hørdum stone
Hørdum stone
The Hørdum stone is a Viking Age picture stone discovered in Hørdum, Thisted Municipality, North Denmark Region, Denmark, that depicts a legend from Norse mythology involving the god Thor and Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent.-Description:...
, and the Gosforth Cross
Gosforth cross
upright|thumb|Gosforth Cross outside St Mary's church in Gosforth.The Gosforth Cross is a large stone Anglo-Saxon high cross in the churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavians some time in either the 9th...
. A stone slab that may be a portion of a second cross at Gosforth also shows a fishing scene using an ox head.
The runic inscription suggest that those to whom the stone is dedicated, the father Holmfastr and his son Arnfastr, were burned, possibly in what could be a case of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
known as quickfire
Quickfire
Quickfire or Quick-fire was a type of arson sometimes employed in blood feuds in medieval Scandinavia and Iceland. In committing quickfire, a group of attackers would set fire to the home of an opponent, sometimes by quickly and surreptitiously piling wood, brush and other combustible materials...
, a method commonly used in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
s. Arnfastr and his brother Véfastr share the common name element fastr with their father, Holmfastr. A common practice at that time in Scandinavia was the repeating of one of the name elements from a parent's name in the names of the children to show the family connection.
The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Pr3, which is also known as Urnes style
Urnes style
The Urnes style was the last phase of Scandinavian animal art during the second half of the 11th century and in the early 12th century. The preceding phases of Scandinavia's Viking Age animal ornamentation are usually categorized as Oseberg style, Borre style, Jelling style, Mammen style and...
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The inscription is signed by the runemaster
Runemaster
A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones.Most early medieval Scandinavians were probably literate in runes, and most people probably carved messages on pieces of bone and wood. However, it was difficult to make runestones, and in order to master it one also needed to be a...
s with the normalized
Old Norse orthography
The orthography of the Old Norse language was diverse, being written in both Runic and Latin alphabets, with many spelling conventions, variant letterforms, and unique letters and signs. In modern times, scholars established a standardized spelling for the language. When Old Norse names are used in...
names Frösten and Balle
Balle (runemaster)
Balle or Red-Balle was a runemaster who was active in the areas of western Uppland, Västmanland, and northern Södermanland of Sweden during the second half of the 11th century.-Work:...
and perhaps by Livsten. Balle was active in the south-western Uppland and northern Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
during the second half of the eleventh century.
Transliteration
- Side A: uifasþtr + fulkahþr + kuþar + litu + resa + sþten + Rþti + sen + faþur + ulfasþ + arfast
- Side B: beþi + feþrkag + burnu + e(n) ... + bali + fresþen + liþ + lifsþen... ...
Transcription into Old Norse
- Side A: Vifastr, Folkaðr, Guðvarr(?) letu ræisa stæin æftiR sinn faður Holmfast, Arnfast.
- Side B: BaðiR fæðrgaR brunnu, en [þæiR] Balli, Frøystæinn, lið Lifstæin[s ristu].
Translation in English
- Side A: Véfastr, Folkaðr, Guðvarr(?) had the stone raised in memory of their father Holmfastr, (and in memory of) Arnfastr.
- Side B (version 1): Both father and son were burned, and Balli (and) Freysteinn, of Lífsteinn's retinue, carved.
- Side B (version 2): Both father and son were burned, and Balli (and) Freysteinn (and) Lífsteinn (carved?).
External links
- Photograph of runestone (1985) (side with beasts fighting), National Swedish Heritage Board
- Photograph of runestone (1985) (side with serpent with inscription), National Swedish Heritage Board
- Photograph of runestone (1985) (side with Thor in boat), National Swedish Heritage Board