Södermanland Runic Inscription 158
Encyclopedia
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 number for 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 runestone located in Österberga, which is one kilometer southwest of Ärsta and three kilometers southwest of Runtuna
Runtuna
Runtuna is a locality situated in Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 268 inhabitants in 2005....
, 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...
, 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....
. The inscription includes an image of a ship and uses same-stave bind rune
Bind rune
A bind rune is a ligature of two or more runes. They are extremely rare in Viking Age inscriptions, but are common in pre-Viking Age and in post-Viking Age inscriptions....
s to commemorate a man described as being a thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
.
Description
This runestone was initially noted during the Swedish surveys of runestones in the late 17th century, and a drawing of the inscription made by Johan Göransson was published under the name Bautil in 1750. The runestone was then lost, but was rediscovered in 1951 near a farmhouse by Claes Widén and moved to its current location in 1984. The stone is made of granite and is 1.6 meters in height. The runic inscriptionRunic inscriptions
A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of Elder Futhark , Anglo-Frisian Futhorc and Younger Futhark .The total 350 known inscriptions in the Elder...
consists of runic text carved on a serpent which arches over the image of a ship. Other runic inscriptions from the Viking Age which depict ships include DR 77 in Hjermind, DR 119 in Spentrup, DR 220
Sønder Kirkeby Runestone
The Sønder Kirkeby Runestone, listed as runic inscription DR 220 in the Rundata catalog, is a Viking Age memorial runestone that was discovered in Sønder Kirkeby, which is located about 5 kilometers east of Nykøbing Falster, Denmark.-Description:...
in Sønder Kirkeby, DR 258 in Bösarp, DR 271
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:...
in Tullstorp, DR 328
Holmby Runestone
The Holmby Runestone, listed as DR 328 in the Rundata catalog, is a Viking Age memorial runestone with an image of a ship that is located in Holmby, which is about 2 kilometers southeast of Flyinge, Scania, Sweden.-Description:...
in Holmby, DR EM85;523 in Farsø, Ög 181
Ledberg stone
The Ledberg stone, designated as Ög 181 under Rundata, is an image- and runestone located in Östergötland, Sweden.-Description:The Ledberg stone, similar to Thorwald's Cross, a partially surviving runestone erected at Kirk Andreas on the Isle of Man, features a figure with his foot at the mouth of...
in Ledberg, Ög 224
Östergötland Runic Inscription 224
Östergötland Runic Inscription 224 or Ög 224 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone that is located in Stratomta, which is 9 kilometers east of Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden...
in Stratomta, 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, Sö 122 in Skresta, Sö 154
Skarpåker Stone
The Skarpåker Stone, designated by Rundata as Sö 154, is a Viking Age memorial runestone that was originally located in Skarpåker, Nyköping, Sörmland, Sweden, and which dates to the early 11th century.-Description:...
in Skarpåker, Sö 164 in Spånga, Sö 351
Södermanland Runic Inscription 351
Södermanland Runic Inscription 351 or Sö 351 is the Rundata catalog number of a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Överjärna, which is part of Järna, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was part of the historic province of Södermanland...
in Överjärna, Sö 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352 or Sö 352 is a Viking Age memorial runestone located at Linga, which is about two kilometers south of Järna, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Södermanland...
in Linga, Vg 51 in Husaby, U 370 in Herresta, U 979
Uppland Runic Inscription 979
Uppland Runic Inscription 979 or U 979 is the Rundata designation for a Viking Age runestone located at Gamla Uppsala, Sweden, which depicts a ship.-Description:U 979 is a damaged runestone located near the north entrance to the church at Gamla Uppsala...
in Gamla Uppsala, U 1052 in Axlunda, U 1161
Altuna Runestone
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.- Description :...
in Altuna, and Vs 17
Västmanland Runic Inscription 17
Västmanland Runic Inscription 17 or Vs 17 is the Rundata designation for a Viking Age memorial runestone with an image of a ship that is located in Råby, which is about two kilometers east of Tortuna, Västmanland County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Västmanland.-Description:The...
in Råby. Three stones, the Hørdum
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 Långtora kyrka stones and U 1001 in Rasbo, depict ships but currently do not have any runes on them and may never have had any. 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....
Fp, which is the classification for runic bands that end in serpent heads depicted as seen from above.
The runic text is 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...
and indicates that the stone was raised by two sons in memory of their father Ketilhôfði, who is described as being þróttar þegn or a thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
of strength, using bind rune
Bind rune
A bind rune is a ligature of two or more runes. They are extremely rare in Viking Age inscriptions, but are common in pre-Viking Age and in post-Viking Age inscriptions....
s carved along the mast of the ship. A thegn was a class of retainer 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,...
. A bind rune is a ligature
Ligature
Ligature may refer to:* Ligature * Ligature , a characteristic notation style of the Medieval and Renaissance periods of music history* Ligature , a device used to attach a reed to the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument...
that combines one or more runes into a single rune. Because the runes are vertically separated along a common stave, runologists
Runology
Runology is the study of the Runic alphabets, Runic inscriptions and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics.-History:...
further classify these bind runes as being same-stave runes. The runes for the phrase þróttar þegn, which supplement the main runic text, þ=r=u=t=a=R= =þ=i=a=k=n, are carved along the mast, and alternate on each side of the mast reading from the bottom. A similar design with same-stave bindrunes along the base of a cross that forms the mast of a ship which is surrounded by a serpent is on inscription Sö 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352
Södermanland Runic Inscription 352 or Sö 352 is a Viking Age memorial runestone located at Linga, which is about two kilometers south of Järna, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Södermanland...
in Linga. It is believed that the same 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...
carved both Sö 158 and Sö 352. The phrase þróttar þegn is used on six other runestones, Sö 90 in Lövhulta, Sö 112 in Kolunda, Sö 151 in Lövsund, and Sö 170 in Nälberga, and, in its plural form on Sö 367
Södermanland Runic Inscription 367
Södermanland Runic Inscription 367 or Sö 367 is the Rundata catalog designation for a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Släbro, which is one kilometer north of Nyköping, Södermanland County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Södermanland...
in Släbro and Sö Fv1948;295
Södermanland Runic Inscription Fv1948;295
Sö Fv1948;295 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone that is located in Prästgården, which is just west of Jönåker, Södermanland County, Sweden. It commemorates two men who are described as being thegns.-Description:...
in Prästgården. To the right of the mast are three runes uit whose interpretation is unknown, but it has been suggested that they be translated as an imperative vit meaning "know" or "take seriously." Other runestones with similar imperative exclamations in their runic texts include U 29 at Hillersjö and U 328
Uppland Runic Inscription 328
The Uppland Runic Inscription 328 stands on a hill in a paddock at the farm Stora Lundby, which is about four kilometers west of Lindholmen, Stockholm County, Sweden, in the historic province of Uppland...
at Stora Lundby.
Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- : baki : fulk(s)tin þiR : raisþu : stin : þan:si : at : faþur : sin kitilhafþa þ=r=u=t=a=R= =þ=i=a=k=n uit
Transcription into Old Norse
- Banki/Baggi, Folksteinn, þeir reistu stein þenna at fôður sinn Ketilhôfða, þróttar þegn
.
Translation in English
- Banki/Baggi (and) Folksteinn, they raised this stone in memory of their father Ketilhôfði, a Þegn of strength. ...