The Eggeby stone, designated as U 69 under the Rundata catalog, is 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 Germ ...

memorial

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 d ...

that is located at Eggeby, which is 2 kilometers northwest of Central Sundbyberg, Sweden, which was in the historic province of

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' 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. On the small uninhab ...

Description

The Eggeby stone inscription consists of runic text contained within bands. The inscription has been attributed to the runemaster Gunnar,Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
- Rundata entry for U 69. who signed inscription U 225 in Bällsta. The inscription has been classified as having been carved 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 increa ...

RAK, which is considered to be the oldest style. This is the classification for inscriptions with text bands that have straight ends without any attached serpent or beast heads. The reference to bridge-building in the runic text is fairly common in runestones during this time period. Some are Christian references related to passing the bridge into the afterlife. At this time, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

sponsored the building of roads and bridges through the use of

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...

s in return for the church's intercession for the soul of the departed.* pp. 490-492. There are over one hundred examples of bridge stones dated from the eleventh century, including inscriptions Sö 101 in Ramsund, Sö 328 in Tynäs, U 489 in Morby, U 839 in Ryda, and U993 in Brunnby. Consistent with this interpretation of the bridge referring to the passage to the afterlife, the text includes a prayer for the soul of Ônundr. It has been pointed out that the final portion of the inscription is in verse: Another runestone raised by a woman where the normal memorial formula is followed by

alliterative Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

text is the Danish inscription DR 97 in Ålum.

Inscription

Transliteration

:raknilfʀ × lit × kirua × bru × þasi × iftiʀ × anunt + sun + s n) � kþan × kuþ ---bi × ons × ant × uk × salu × bitr × þan × on krþi × til × munu × iki × mirki × miʀi × uirþa × muþiʀ × karþi × i(f)tiʀ × sun × sin × ainika ×

Transcription

:Ragnælfʀ let gærva bro þessi æftiʀ Anund, sun sinn goðan. Guð iali hans and ok salu bætr þan hann gærði til. Munu æigi mærki mæiʀi verða, moðiʀ gærði æftiʀ sun sinn æiniga.

Translation

:Ragnelfr had this bridge made in memory of Ônundr, her good son. May God help his spirit and soul better than he deserved. No landmark will be more (great). The mother made in memory of her only son.

References

{{coord, 59, 23, 51, N, 17, 55, 20, E, region:SE_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Runestones in Uppland