Berezan' Runestone
Encyclopedia
Berezan Island
Berezan is an island in the Black Sea at the entrance of the Dnieper-Bug estuary, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. The island measures approximately 900 metres in length by 320 metres in width...
(also known as the Island of St Aitherios) where the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
meets the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. It is 48 cm (18.9 in) wide, 47 cm (18.5 in) high and 12 cm (4.7 in) thick, and it is presently located in the museum of Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. It was made by a Varangian (Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
) trader named Grani in memory of his business partner
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...
Karl. They were probably from Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
.
Location
Berezan' is located in the Black Sea not far from the mouth of the Dnieper River. Its bays gave shelter to the Scandinavian ships that passed it on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Byzantine Empire. The route allowed traders along the route to establish a direct prosperous trade with Byzantium, and prompted some of them to settle in the territories of...
. Jansson writes on its importance:
Discovery
The runestone was discovered during the excavations of a kurganKurgan
Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....
from the 6th c. BC. After its construction, the kurgan had been used for 48 additional burials of different types and at various depths. None of the bodies appeared to have been incinerated; some had been carelessly buried without any grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
, while others had received wooden coffins or had at least been put on planks before the inhumation, while some had been inserted into stone coffins made of flat slabs of stone. On June 9, von Stern's crew discovered a lidless stone coffin in the eastern part of the kurgan containing a skeleton whose skull was resting on the runestone. The runestone was discovered by von Stern just as a worker intended to throw it on a pile of stone. The runestone was probably not discovered in its original location, and it is likely that it was originally located at one of the minor barrows in the vicinity.
Inscription
The inscription is completely preserved, which is shown by the fact that the first and last letters are marked as the end parts of the inscription. The engravings are c. 8 cm long and 0.75 cm deep.Latin transliteration
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...
:
- krani : kerþi : (h)alf : þisi : iftir : kal : fi:laka : si(n)
Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
transcription
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...
:
- Grani gærði hvalf þessi æftiR Karl, felagaFélagFélag 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...
sinn.
English translation:
- "Grani made this vault in memory of Karl, his partner."
Identity
It is difficult to determine from where Grani and Karl came. In runic inscriptions, the Old Norse word hvalf ("vault", "coffin") only appears in GotlandGotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, and in some late inscriptions from Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
. There are no special traits in the inscription that suggests that it was written in the Old Gutnish
Old Gutnish
Old Gutnish was the dialect of Old Norse that was spoken on the Baltic island of Gotland. It shows sufficient differences from the Old East Norse dialect that it is considered to be a separate branch...
dialect of Old Norse, but the shape of the runestone and its placement are usually found on Gotland.
It is likely that the Gotlanders Grani and Karl were on their way to, or from, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
but that Karl died and so Grani prepared his last resting place on an island that had always been visited by sailors, and which the Byzantines called the "island of Saint Etherius."
The runestone's description of Karl as the 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...
of Grani indicates that they were operating in a mercantile partnership, but it has been suggested that it could have referred to them as members of the same retinue.
Uniqueness
The reason why so few runic inscriptions have been discovered in Eastern Europe was mainly because of the scarcity of stone material. It may also have been due to the tradition of inscribing runes on wooden poles that were erected on the barrows, something which was described by Ibn Fadlan who met Scandinavians on the shores of the Volga. By the time the raising of runestones became fashionable in the 11th century, most Scandinavian settlersRus' Khaganate
Rus' khaganate is a historiographical term for the formative phase of the Rus state in the 9th century AD....
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
had been assimilated by the Slavic majority, and the influx of new settlers had ceased.
See also
- Greece RunestonesGreece RunestonesThe Greece runestones are about 30 runestones containing information related to voyages made by Norsemen to the Eastern Roman Empire. They were made during the Viking Age until about 1100 and were engraved in the Old Norse language with Scandinavian runes...
- Italy RunestonesItaly RunestonesThe Italy Runestones are three or four Varangian Runestones from 11th century Sweden that talk of warriors who died in Langbarðaland , the Old Norse name for Italy...
- Piraeus LionPiraeus LionThe Piraeus Lion is one of four lion statues on display at the Venetian Arsenal, where it was displayed as a symbol of Venice's patron saint, Saint Mark. It was originally located in Piraeus, the ancient harbour of Athens...
- Runic inscriptions in Hagia SophiaRunic inscriptions in Hagia SophiaThere are at least two runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophias marble parapets. They may have been engraved by members of the Varangian Guard in Constantinople in the Viking Age.-The Halfdan inscription:...
- Trade route from the Varangians to the GreeksTrade route from the Varangians to the GreeksThe trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Byzantine Empire. The route allowed traders along the route to establish a direct prosperous trade with Byzantium, and prompted some of them to settle in the territories of...
- Varangian runestonesVarangian RunestonesThe Varangian Runestones are runestones that mention voyages to the East or the Eastern route , or to more specific eastern locations such as Garðaríki ....