Danish Runic Inscription 48 or DR 48 is the

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 ...

catalog number for a

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

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 ...

from Hanning, which is about north of Skjern,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The runic inscription features a depiction of a hammer, which some have interpreted as a representation of the

Norse pagan Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic people ...

god

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 ...

, although this interpretation is controversial.

Description

The inscription on DR 48 consists of four lines of horizontal and one line of vertical runic text on a granite block. The stone dates from the 12th century and was reused after being shaped in the construction of the south

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

wall of a church in Hanning. Before the historic nature of runestones was understood, they were often re-used as material for the construction of roads, bridges, and buildings. Although clearly visible in the wall for several centuries, the existence of the runestone was first reported in 1843. Because the stone was shaped for use in the wall, a portion of the text has been lost. The inscription also depicts a hammer within the runic text after the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

word ''sina'', which has been interpreted as being Thor's hammer Mjöllnir. Thor's hammer was used on several memorial runestones in Sweden and Denmark, perhaps as a parallel to or a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

reaction to the use of the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

by Christians. Other surviving runestones or inscriptions depicting Thor's hammer include runestones U 1161 in Altuna, Sö 86 in Åby, Sö 111 in Stenkvista, Vg 113 in Bjärby, Öl 1 in Karlevi, DR 26 in Laeborg, DR 120 in Spentrup, and DR 331 in Gårdstånga. Because of the dating of the inscription to the 12th century based upon linguistic analysis, which is some 200 years after the

Christianization of Denmark The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_ ...

, some have questioned whether the hammer is actually a statement of heathenism. It has been suggested that the hammer is not a depiction of Mjöllnir but is instead a symbol identifying a blacksmith or other occupation. However, there are no parallels of such symbolic depictions on other

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

runestones, and the hammer is very similar to that on DR 26 in Laeborg, which is considered to be a depiction of Mjöllnir. The inscription indicates the stone was raised as a memorial by a man possibly named Vagn who was the son of Tófi in memory of his mother Gyða. The vertical line of text likely names the

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 ...

who hewed or cut the runes.

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:ua-- : tofa : su(n) ¶ rsþi : sten : þene × ¶ eftir : Gyþu : moþ-¶r : sina ×÷: ¶ (×) (e)--kil : h...Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
-

entry for DR 48.

Transcription into Old Norse

:'', Tofa sun resþi sten þænne æftir Gyþu, moþ sina. ...kell h o''

Translation in English

:, Tófi's son, raised this stone in memory of Gyða, his mother. ...-kell (cut).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danish Runic Inscription 048 Runestones in Denmark Danish Runic Inscriptions