Vaksala Runestone
Encyclopedia
The Vaksala Runestone, designated as U 961 under the Rundata
catalog, is a Viking Age
memorial runestone that is located in Vaksala parish near Uppsala
, Sweden
.
Öpir
, who signed this inscription and was active in the late eleventh and early twelfth century in Uppland
. The inscription is classified as being in runestone style Pr4, which is also known as the Urnes style
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The runic inscription states that Ígulfastr arranged and Öpir carved the runestone on the behest of the widow and the daughter of the deceased. Ígulfastr is otherwise known from his signature on inscription U Fv1953;263
in Helenelund.
The Vaksala Runestone was used as building material for the construction of a wall in the churchyard. Many runestones were used in the construction of buildings, roads, and bridges before their historical importance was understood. It has been removed from the wall and placed in its present location in the churchyard.
Of the personal names listed in the runic inscription, Ketilbjôrn means "Kettle Bear" and Rúnfríðr combines Rún, a word which means "Secret" or "Mystery" and which is related in Old Norse to "rune" and "writing," and Fríðr, which means "Peace." The runic text is missing a possessive pronoun
, the word "her" before "husbandman." Öpir is known to have left off pronouns in some of his other inscricriptions, such as U Fv1976;107 at the Uppsala Cathedral
, U 984 in Ekeby, and U 993
in Brunnby.
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, is 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 that is located in Vaksala parish near Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, 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....
.
Description
The Vaksala Runestone is one of the approximately forty runestones made by the successful runemasterRunemaster
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...
Öpir
Öpir
Öpir or Öper was a runemaster who flourished during the late 11th century and early 12th century in Uppland, Sweden...
, who signed this inscription and was active in the late eleventh and early twelfth century in Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
. The inscription is classified as being in runestone style Pr4, which is also known as the Urnes style
Urnes style
The Urnes style was the last phase of Scandinavian animal art during the second half of the 11th century and in the early 12th century. The preceding phases of Scandinavia's Viking Age animal ornamentation are usually categorized as Oseberg style, Borre style, Jelling style, Mammen style and...
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The runic inscription states that Ígulfastr arranged and Öpir carved the runestone on the behest of the widow and the daughter of the deceased. Ígulfastr is otherwise known from his signature on inscription U Fv1953;263
Uppland Runic Inscription Fv1953;263
Uppland Runic Inscription Fv1953;263 or U Fv1953;263 is the Rundata catalog listing for a Viking Age memorial runestone that was discovered at Helenelund, which is in Barkarby, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Uppland....
in Helenelund.
The Vaksala Runestone was used as building material for the construction of a wall in the churchyard. Many runestones were used in the construction of buildings, roads, and bridges before their historical importance was understood. It has been removed from the wall and placed in its present location in the churchyard.
Of the personal names listed in the runic inscription, Ketilbjôrn means "Kettle Bear" and Rúnfríðr combines Rún, a word which means "Secret" or "Mystery" and which is related in Old Norse to "rune" and "writing," and Fríðr, which means "Peace." The runic text is missing a possessive pronoun
Possessive pronoun
A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that substitutes for a noun phrase that begins with a possessive determiner . For example, in the sentence These glasses are mine, not yours, the words mine and yours are possessive pronouns and stand for my glasses and your glasses, respectively...
, the word "her" before "husbandman." Öpir is known to have left off pronouns in some of his other inscricriptions, such as U Fv1976;107 at the Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral is a cathedral located centrally in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. It dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 m is the tallest church building in Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the...
, U 984 in Ekeby, and U 993
Uppland Runic Inscription 993
Uppland Runic Inscription 993 or U 993 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Brunnby, which is one kilometer west of Gunsta, Uppsala County, Sweden, which was part of the historical province of Uppland....
in Brunnby.
Inscription
A transcription of the runic inscription into roman letters is:- h(u)(l)-a + lit + raisa stain + þina at kitilbiarn ' faþur ' sin + auk runfriþ ' at ' bonta ' auk ihulfastr ' riþ ' in ' ubiR
See also
- Runic alphabetRunic alphabetThe 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...