The Ardre image stones are a collection of ten

rune Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

and

image stone A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age or Viking Age Scandinavia, and in the greatest number on Gotland.The article ''Bildstenar'' in ''Nationalencykloped ...

s, dated to the 8th to 11th centuries, that were discovered at Ardre Church, in Ardre,

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

, Sweden. The principal edition is by Sune Lindqvist.

Description

The Ardre image stones were re-used as paving under the wooden floors of the local church in the Ardre parish of

. Before the historical significance of rune and image stones was understood or appreciated, they were often used as materials in the construction of roads, bridges, and buildings. The image stones were re-discovered when the church was being restored around 1900. The stones are now preserved in the

Swedish Museum of National Antiquities The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Ardre VIII

The largest and most noted of the stones is the Ardre VIII stone, dated to the 8th or 9th century, depicts scenes from

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, notably the Lay of Weyland the smith,

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

fishing for

Jörmungandr In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encir ...

, the punishment of

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

for the death of

Baldr Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...

, and

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

riding to

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...

Sleipnir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse: ; "slippy"Orchard (1997:151). or "the slipper"Kermode (1904:6).) is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

. Other images on this stone, such as the woman on the right with two swords, are not currently understood as they do not conform to any known Norse myth that has survived to the present time. The image-stone's

longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

motif with its mariners somewhat resembles a depiction found on the Överhogdal tapestry No. III from

Härjedalen Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norway, Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jä ...

. The main study of this stone is by Ludwig Buisson.Ludwig Buisson, ''Der Bildstein Ardre VIII auf Gotland: Göttermythen, Heldensagen und Jenseitsglaube der Germanen im 8. Jahrhundert n. Chr.'', Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse, third series, 102 (Göttingen 1976).

Ardre III

The inscription on one of the two sides of the Ardre III

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

, which is listed in

Rundata The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base ( sv, Samnordisk runtextdatabas) 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 f ...

as Gotland Runic Inscription 113, consists of twin figure eight serpents with runic text in a band on the edge of the stone, while the second side has a single intertwined serpent with runic text on the edge of the stone. The inscription is classified as probably being in

runestone style :''The term "runestone style" in the singular may refer to the Urnes style.'' The style or design of runestones varied during the Viking Age. The early runestones were simple in design, but towards the end of the runestone era they became increas ...

Pr3. The runic text, which is signed by a

runemaster A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones. Description More than 100 names of runemasters are known from Viking Age Sweden with most of them from 11th-century eastern Svealand.The article ''Runristare'' in ''Nationalencyklo ...

with the normalized name of Likraiv, indicates that it was raised as a memorial with different sponsors for the inscriptions on each side of the stone.

Inscription

=Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

= :§A ÷ utar + ak + kaiʀuatr + ak + aiuatr + þaʀ + setu + stain + ebtir + likna(t) + faþur ÷ sen + :§B ÷ raþialbr + ak + kaiʀaiau(t)- + þaiʀ kiarþu + merki + kuþ + ubtir + man + saaran ÷ likraibr + risti + runaʀProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
–

entry for G 113.

=Transcription into Old Norse

= :''§A Ottarr ok Gæiʀhvatr ok Æihvatr þæiʀ sattu stæin æftiʀ Liknhvat, faður sinn.'' :''§B Raðþialfʀ ok Gæiʀniut þæiʀ gærðu mærki goð æftiʀ mann snaran. Liknræifʀ risti runaʀ.''

=Translation in English

= :§A Óttarr and Geirhvatr and Eihvatr, they placed the stone in memory of Líknhvatr, their father. :§B Ráðþjalfr and Geirnjótr, they made the good landmark in memory of ... man. Líknreifr carved the runes.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Photo of Ardre VIII
–

Swedish National Heritage Board The Swedish National Heritage Board ( sv, Riksantikvarieämbetet; RAÄ) is a Swedish government agency responsible for World Heritage Sites and other national heritage monuments and historical environments. It is governed by the Ministry of Cult ...

Photograph of Ardre III side B
– Swedish National Heritage Board

(Swedish) 8th-century inscriptions 9th-century inscriptions Rune- and picture stones on Gotland Thor in art