Högby Runestone
Encyclopedia
The Runestones of Högby are runestones located in the village of Högby in Östergötland
, Sweden
, but the name Högby runestone (Swedish: Högbystenen) usually refers to the notable Ög 81. It is famous for its eloquent epitaph in fornyrðislag for all the five sons of a man. The runestone was found when the church was demolished in 1874. Fragments of some other runestones were found as well. The Rundata
project dates them to the late 10th century.
The following presentations show the runic inscription transliterated into Latin script, followed by transcriptions into Old East Norse dialect of Old Norse
, and it ends with a translation into English.
Þorgerðr probably had the stone made as soon as she had learnt that Assur, the last one of her uncles, had died in Greece, and she probably did this to ensure her right of inheritance. On the reverse side of the stone, she inscribed how her other uncles had died in fornyrðislag.
Ásmundr probably died in the Battle of Fýrisvellir, in the 980s, and it was probably on the side of king Eric the Victorious. Assur had entered into the service of a more powerful liege and died for the Byzantine Emperor. Halfdan may have died either on Bornholm
or in a holmgang
, and where Kári died is not certain either. The most likely interpretation may be that he died on Od, the old name for the north-western cape of Zealand. Búi's location of death is not given, but it was probably in a way which was not as glorious as those of his brothers.
: þurkil (r)(i)-- ---- (þ)(a)s(i) (i)ftiR * uint * tusta * sun * iaR * ati * hugbu
* þura * sati * stin * þasi * aftiR * suin * sun * sin * Rs * uRstr * o * ualu
.
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....
, but the name Högby runestone (Swedish: Högbystenen) usually refers to the notable Ög 81. It is famous for its eloquent epitaph in fornyrðislag for all the five sons of a man. The runestone was found when the church was demolished in 1874. Fragments of some other runestones were found as well. The Rundata
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...
project dates them to the late 10th century.
The following presentations show the runic inscription transliterated into Latin script, followed by transcriptions into Old East Norse dialect of 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....
, and it ends with a translation into English.
Ög 81
The Högby rune stone is in style Pr1. It commemorates Assur, one of the first Varangians who is known to have died in the service of the Byzantine Emperor, and he is estimated to have died c. 1010, or in the late 10th century. He was one of the sons of the "good man" Gulli, and the rune stone describes a situation that may have been common for Scandinavian families at this time: the stone was made on the orders of Assur's niece Þorgerðr in memory of her uncles who were all dead.Þorgerðr probably had the stone made as soon as she had learnt that Assur, the last one of her uncles, had died in Greece, and she probably did this to ensure her right of inheritance. On the reverse side of the stone, she inscribed how her other uncles had died in fornyrðislag.
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Ásmundr probably died in the Battle of Fýrisvellir, in the 980s, and it was probably on the side of king Eric the Victorious. Assur had entered into the service of a more powerful liege and died for the Byzantine Emperor. Halfdan may have died either on Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
or in a holmgang
Holmgang
Holmgang was a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a recognized way to settle disputes....
, and where Kári died is not certain either. The most likely interpretation may be that he died on Od, the old name for the north-western cape of Zealand. Búi's location of death is not given, but it was probably in a way which was not as glorious as those of his brothers.
Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- Side A:
* þukir * resþi * stin * þansi * eftiR * asur * sen * muþur*bruþur * sin * iaR * eataþis * austr * i * krikum * - Side B:
* kuþr * karl * kuli * kat * fim * syni * feal * o * furi * frukn * treks * asmutr * aitaþis * asur * austr * i krikum * uarþ * o hulmi * halftan * tribin * kari * uarþ * at uti * - Side C: auk * tauþr * bui * þurkil * rist * runaR *
Transcription into Old Norse
- Side A: Þorgærðr(?) ræisþi stæin þannsi æftiR Assur, sinn moðurbroður sinn, eR ændaðis austr i Grikkium.
- Side B: Goðr karl Gulli gat fæm syni. Fioll a Føri frøkn drængR Asmundr, ændaðis Assurr austr i Grikkium, varð a Holmi Halfdan drepinn, Kari varð at Uddi(?)
- Side C: ok dauðr Boi. Þorkell ræist runaR.
Translation in English
- Side A: Þorgerðr(?) raised this stone in memory of Ôzurr, her mother's brother. He met his end in the east in Greece.
- Side B: The good man Gulli got five sons. The brave valiant man Ásmundr fell at Fœri; Ôzurr met his end in the east in Greece; Halfdan was killed at Holmr (Bornholm?); Kári was (killed) at Oddr(?);
- Side C: also dead (is) Búi. Þorkell carved the runes.
Ög 82
This runestone is in style RAK and it was made in memory of a man who owned or commanded the settlement.Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
Transcription into Old Norse
Þorkell ræi[st](?) ... þannsi æftiR Øyvind, Tosta sun, eR ati Høgby.Translation in English
Þorkell carved(?) ... this in memory of Eyvindr, Tosti's son, who owned Haugbýr.Ög 83
This runestone is tentatively categorized as style Pr1-Pr2 and it was made in memory of a son who died in the West.Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
Transcription into Old Norse
Þora satti stæin þannsi æftiR Svæin, sun sinn, es vestr aTranslation in English
Þóra placed this stone in memory of Sveinn, her son, who died in the west inSources
- Brate, Erik: Östergötlands runinskrifter. 1911.
- Larsson, Mats G (2002). Götarnas Riken : Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande. Bokförlaget Atlantis AB ISBN 9789174866414
- Pritsak, Omeljan. (1981). The origin of Rus. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. ISBN 0-674-64465-4
See also
- Joint Nordic database for runic inscriptions
- De foro manligen fjärran efter guld … En historisk berättelse om utlandsfarare från Östergötland under vikingatiden, by Jan R. Asph.