Bjälbo Runestones
Encyclopedia
The Bjälbo Runestones are three Viking Age
memorial runestones, one of which has been lost, located at Bjälbo
, which is a village in Mjölby Municipality
, Östergötland
, Sweden
. One of the inscriptions provides evidence of the existence of guild
s in Sweden during this period.
designation for a granite runestone that is 3.2 meters in height and which was originally found in the wall of the Bjälbo church. Before the historic significance of runestones was understood, they were often re-used as materials in the construction of roads, bridges, and buildings such as churches. The stone was removed from the wall, repaired, and raised in the churchyard in 1935 along with Ög 66. The inscription consists of runic text in the younger futhark
that curves once to make two lines. The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style
RAK, which is the classifiecation for runic text bands that have straight ends without any attached serpent or beast heads. There is nothing in the text or design of the inscription that identifies it as being a Christian memorial. The inscription is signed by a runemaster
named Lófi. No other surviving runestones have his signature.
The runic text states that the stone was raised as a memorial to a man named Greipr by members of a Viking Age guild, who do not name themselves individually unless the runemaster Lofi was also a member of the guild. Ög 64 is one of four runestones that mention guilds in Viking Age Sweden, the others being U 379 in Kyrkogården, U 391 in Prästgatan, and Ög MÖLM1960;230
in Törnevalla. These stones and others discussing félag
s are evidence of the trading activities during this period of Scandinavia
n history. The guild-members refer to themselves as drængiaR, translated as "valiant men." Drengr is normally a title associated with warriors, but on the runestone Ög MÖLM1960;230 it was used as the name of another guild-member, suggesting that the term drengr was also used among merchants.
carved in a serpent whose head and tail make a knot at the bottom of the stone. Above the serpent is a cross
, identifying the memorial as Christian. The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Fp, which is the classification for text bands with attached serpent or beast heads depicted as seen from above.
The runic text states that the stone was raised by Ingivaldr as a memorial to his brother Styfjaldr, who was the son of Spjallboði. Because one rule followed in craving runes in stone was that two consecutive identical letters were represented by a single rune, even when the two identical letters are at the end of one word and the start of a second word, and word divider punctuation marks were not always used consistently, Rundata recognizes two possible transliterations
of the runic text as being valid. The first, designated as "P" below, recognizes possible double letters and spaces and transcribes the runes from the end of the text as : i it : in ik : anti, meaning i ætt, en ek ændi ("and I ended (it)"). The other recognized version, which is designated as "Q," is based upon a review published in 2007 that transliterates the runes as : it : inik : ant, meaning hæit inni'k ænt ("I proclaim the promise fulfilled").
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 runestones, one of which has been lost, located at Bjälbo
Bjälbo
Bjälbo is a small village in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland, Sweden.The medieval House of Bjelbo had a church and a manor house at Bjälbo. Today the church tower is preserved.In 1173, King Kol Sverkerson was killed in a battle at Bjälbo.-See also:...
, which is a village in Mjölby Municipality
Mjölby Municipality
Mjölby Municipality is a municipality in Östergötland County in southeast Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Mjölby, with some 12,000 inhabitants....
, Östergötland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
, 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....
. One of the inscriptions provides evidence of the existence of guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s in Sweden during this period.
Ög 64
Östergötland Runic Inscription 64 or Ög 64 is the RundataRundata
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...
designation for a granite runestone that is 3.2 meters in height and which was originally found in the wall of the Bjälbo church. Before the historic significance of runestones was understood, they were often re-used as materials in the construction of roads, bridges, and buildings such as churches. The stone was removed from the wall, repaired, and raised in the churchyard in 1935 along with Ög 66. The inscription consists of runic text in the younger futhark
Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
that curves once to make two lines. The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style
Runestone styles
The runestone styles varied during the Viking Age. The early runestones were simple in design, but towards the end of the runestone era they became increasingly complex and made by travelling runemasters such as Öpir and Visäte....
RAK, which is the classifiecation for runic text bands that have straight ends without any attached serpent or beast heads. There is nothing in the text or design of the inscription that identifies it as being a Christian memorial. The inscription is signed by a 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...
named Lófi. No other surviving runestones have his signature.
The runic text states that the stone was raised as a memorial to a man named Greipr by members of a Viking Age guild, who do not name themselves individually unless the runemaster Lofi was also a member of the guild. Ög 64 is one of four runestones that mention guilds in Viking Age Sweden, the others being U 379 in Kyrkogården, U 391 in Prästgatan, and Ög MÖLM1960;230
Östergötland Runic Inscription MÖLM1960;230
Östergötland Runic Inscription MÖLM1960;230 or Ög MÖLM1960;230 is the Rundata catalog number for a memorial runestone that is located near a church in Törnevalla, which is 2 kilometers east of Linghem, Östergötland County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Östergötland...
in Törnevalla. These stones and others discussing félag
Félag
Félag was a joint financial venture between partners in Viking Age society.-Etymology:The word félag is constructed by the word fé and a verbal base denoting "lay", the meaning being "to lay property together."The Old Norse word félagi "companion, comrade" originally meaning "one who has félag...
s are evidence of the trading activities during this period of 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 history. The guild-members refer to themselves as drængiaR, translated as "valiant men." Drengr is normally a title associated with warriors, but on the runestone Ög MÖLM1960;230 it was used as the name of another guild-member, suggesting that the term drengr was also used among merchants.
Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- trikiaR + risþu + stin + þisi + aft + krib kilta + sin + lufi + rist + runaR + þisR + iuta + sunu
Transcription into Old Norse
- DrængiaR ræisþu stæin þennsi æft Græip, gilda sinn, Lofi ræist runaR þessaR, Iuta sun.
Translation in English
- Valiant men raised this stone in memory of Greipr, their guild-brother - Lófi carved these runes - Júti's son.
Ög 65
Östergötland Runic Inscription 65 or Ög 65 is the designation for an inscription that was recorded at the Bjälbo church that has since been lost. The stone, based on its partial reconstructed text, was raised by a man as a memorial to his wife who may have been named Ragnhildr.Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- ... (l)*et ...a-ua -...ml : if-...- ...-il-ti -u-u s--*a -... ...
Transcription into Old Norse
- ... let [h]a[gg]va [ku]mbl æf[tiR] [Ragnh]ildi(?), [k]u[n]u s[in]a. ... ...
Ög 66
Östergötland Runic Inscription 66 or Ög 66 is the Rundata catalog number for a granite runestone that is 4 meters in height. The stone had been part of the Bjälbo church, and was moved into the churchyard in 1935. The inscription consists of text in the younger futharkYounger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
carved in a serpent whose head and tail make a knot at the bottom of the stone. Above the serpent is a cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
, identifying the memorial as Christian. The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Fp, which is the classification for text bands with attached serpent or beast heads depicted as seen from above.
The runic text states that the stone was raised by Ingivaldr as a memorial to his brother Styfjaldr, who was the son of Spjallboði. Because one rule followed in craving runes in stone was that two consecutive identical letters were represented by a single rune, even when the two identical letters are at the end of one word and the start of a second word, and word divider punctuation marks were not always used consistently, Rundata recognizes two possible transliterations
Runic transliteration and transcription
Runic transliteration and transcription are part of analysing a runic inscription which involves transliteration of the runes into Latin letters, transcription into a normalized spelling in the language of the inscription, and translation of the inscription into a modern language...
of the runic text as being valid. The first, designated as "P" below, recognizes possible double letters and spaces and transcribes the runes from the end of the text as : i it : in ik : anti, meaning i ætt, en ek ændi ("and I ended (it)"). The other recognized version, which is designated as "Q," is based upon a review published in 2007 that transliterates the runes as : it : inik : ant, meaning hæit inni'k ænt ("I proclaim the promise fulfilled").
Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- §P : ikiualtr : ristþi : stin : þisi : eftiR : stufialt : bruþur : sin : suain : halkuþan : sun sbialbuþa : i it : in ik : anti
- §Q : ikiualtr : ristþi : stin : þisi : eftiR : stufialt : bruþur : sin : suain : halkuþan : sun sbialbuþa : it : inik : ant
Transcription into Old Norse
- §P Ingivaldr ræisti stæin þennsi æftiR Styfiald, broður sinn, svæin allgoðan, sun Spiallbuða i ætt, en ek ændi.
- §Q Ingivaldr ræisti stæin þennsi æftiR Styfiald, broður sinn, svæin allgoðan, sun Spiallbuða. Hæit inni'k ænt.
Translation in English
- §P Ingivaldr raised this stone in memory of Styfjaldr, his brother, an excellent lad, the son of Spjallboði in family, and I ended (it).
- §Q Ingivaldr raised this stone in memory of Styfjaldr, his brother, an excellent lad, the son of Spjallboði. I proclaim the promise fulfilled.
External links
- Photograph of Ög 64 in 1985 - Swedish National Heritage Board
- Photograph of Ög 66 in 2000 - Swedish National Heritage Board