The Färentuna runestones are 11th century

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 ...

s labelled U 20, U 21, and U 22 in the Rundata catalog that are located in Färentuna,

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 ...

, Sweden. Runestones U 20 and U 21 were registered separately although they come from the same original runestone and consequently are called U 20/21. The runestone U 20/U 21 is probably most interesting as it, together with the

Hillersjö stone The Hillersjö stone, listed in the Rundata catalog as U 29 and located at Hillersjö, which is about four kilometers north of Stenhamra on Färingsö, is a runic Younger Futhark inscription that tells, in Old Norse, the tragic real life family ...

and the

Snottsta and Vreta stones The Snottsta and Vreta stones are individual runestones known as U 329, U 330, U 331 and U 332. They are found on the homesteads of Snottsta (also spelled Snåttsta) and Vreta, and they tell in Old Norse with the younger futhark about the family s ...

, tells the story of the family of

Gerlög and Inga Gerlög or Geirlaug and her daughter Inga were two powerful and rich women in 11th-century Uppland, Sweden. Gerlög and Inga had their dramatic and tragic family saga documented for posterity on several runestones. They lived in a turbulent time ...

. All of the Färentuna runestones are inscribed in the

younger futhark The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries. The ...

U 20/U 21

The two fragments named U 20 and U 21 were originally part of the same runestone and were discovered under the plaster of a wall during the renovation of the church at Färentuna.Svärdström 1970:301-305. It is likely that other fragments of this runestone may also be part of the church but have their inscriptions facing inwards. They are held to tell of the same family as the

and the

. This runestone is believed to have been raised by Inga in memory of her husband Eric (Eiríkr) and her father Godric (Guðríkr). The runestone has been attributed to the runemaster known as Torbjörn or Þorbjôrn Skald, who signed the Hillersjö stone.

U 22

The runic text of U 22 is within a serpent that circles the edge of the stone. This runestone is classified as being carved in either

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 ...

Pr2 or Pr3.

References

Sources

*
Inga och Estrid - en såpa för tusen år sedan: Människor, händelser och platser i Ingas och Estrids liv. A page at the Museum of Stockholm County.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farentuna Runestones Runestones, Gerlög and Inga Runestones in Uppland 11th-century inscriptions

U 20/U 21

U 22

See also

References

Sources