Hunnestad Monument
Encyclopedia
Marsvinsholm Castle
Marsvinsholm Castle is situated in Ystad Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden, from Ystad.-History:The estate was spoken about as Bosöe, Borsöe and Bordsyö in the beginning of the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century it was owned by members of Ulfeld family...
north-west of Ystad
Ystad
Ystad is a "locality", or town, and the seat of Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 17,286 inhabitants .Settlement dates back to the 11th century and the town has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre and tourist attraction...
, 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....
. It was the largest and most famous of the 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,...
monuments in Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
, and in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, only comparable to the Jelling stones
Jelling stones
The Jelling stones are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra...
. The monument was destroyed during the end of the 18th century by Eric Ruuth
Eric Ruuth
Eric Ruuth was a Swedish nobleman and the owner of Marsvinsholm Castle. He served as the Governor-General of Swedish Pomerania from 1792 to 1796. With his coal mine he started Höganäs AB.-Biography:...
of Marsvinsholm, probably between 1782 and 1786 when the estate was undergoing sweeping modernization, though the monument survived long enough to be documented and depicted.
When the antiquary Ole Worm
Ole Worm
Ole Worm , who often went by the Latinized form of his name Olaus Wormius, was a Danish physician and antiquary.-Life:...
(1588–1654) explored the monument, it consisted of eight stones. Five of them were image stones, and two of these image stones also had runic
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
inscriptions. In the eighteenth century, all the stones were relocated or destroyed. Only three of the stones from the monument remain today and are on display at the Kulturen
Kulturen
Kulturen is a museum in Lund, Sweden. Kulturen is Sweden's second oldest open-air museum after Skansen in Stockholm. The complete name of the museum is Kulturhistoriska föreningen för södra Sverige.-History:...
museum in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
.
The runestones
The first runestone (DR 282) was raised by Ásbjörn and Tumi in memory of Tumi's two brothers, whereas the last one (DR 283) was raised by Ásbjörn in memory of Tumi.DR 282
Latin transliteration:
- × osburn × (a)u(k) × tumi × þaiR × sautu × stain × þansi × a(f)[t]iR × rui × auk × ¶ laikfruþ × sunu × kuna × han[t]aR ×
Old Norse transcription:
- Æsbiorn ok Tomi þeR sattu sten þænsi æftiR Roi ok Lekfrøþ, sunu Gunna HandaR.
English translation:
- Ásbjôrn and Tumi they placed this stone in memory of Hróir and Leikfrøðr, Gunni Hand's sons.
DR 283
Latin transliteration:
- × osburn × snti × stain × þansi × aftiR × tuma × sun × kuna × ¶ hantaR ×
Old Norse transcription:
- Æsbiorn satti sten þænsi æftiR Toma, sun Gunna HandaR.
English translation:
- Ásbjôrn placed this stone in memory of Tumi, Gunni Hand's son.
Image stones DR 284 though DR 286
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s in her hands. She appears to be the wolf-riding giantess
Giantess
A giantess is a female giant. The term may refer either a mythical being resembling a woman of superhuman size and strength or a human woman of exceptional stature, often the result of some medical or genetic abnormality ....
Hyrrokkin
Hyrrokkin
In Norse mythology, Hyrrokkin is a giantess. She appears to be depicted on from the Hunnestad Monument near Marsvinsholm, Sweden called DR 284.- Hyrrokkin at Baldr's funeral :...
who helped the Æsir
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
push Balder
Balder
Baldr is a god in Norse mythology.In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story...
's ship into the sea during his funeral, and thus she would be an appropriate image for a funerary monument. The wolf has a mane and pointed ears similar to the depiction of the wolf on the Tullstorp Runestone
Tullstorp Runestone
The Tullstorp Runestone is a Viking Age memorial runestone, listed as DR 271 in the Rundata catalog, that is located in Tullstorp, Scania, Sweden.-Description:...
(DR 271) and the two wolves on the Lund 1 Runestone
Lund 1 Runestone
The Lund 1 Runestone, designated as DR 314 in the Rundata catalog, is a Viking Age memorial runestone originally located on the grounds of the Allhelgona church in Lund, Scania, Sweden.-Description:...
(DR 314). The second image stone (the now lost DR 285), as depicted on Ole Worm's illustration, shows the animal beside a man's mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
and the third image stone (the now lost DR 286) shows the animal alone.
Sources
- Djuret, an article in PDF format at the site of the Museum of Foteviken, retrieved January 20, 2007. Runstensmonument från 1000-talet, Hunnestad säteri och by i Ljunits härad i Malmöhus län.