The Istaby Runestone, listed in 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 as DR 359, is 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 ...

with an inscription in

Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a ...

which was raised in Istaby,

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, during the

Vendel era In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period ( sv, Vendeltiden; 540–790 AD) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. This is a period wit ...

(c. 550-790).

Inscription

Transliteration into Latin characters

:AP :AQ :B Projektet Samnordisk runtextdatabas
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entry for DR 359.

Transcription into Proto-Norse

:AP :AQ :B

English translation

:AP In memory of Hariwulfar. Haþuwulfar, Heruwulfar's son, :AQ Haþuwulf(a)r, Heruwulfar's son, in memory of Hariwulfar :B wrote these runes.

Interpretation

The Istaby,

Stentoften Runestone The Stentoften Runestone, listed in the Rundata catalog as DR 357, is a runestone which contains a curse in Proto-Norse that was discovered in Stentoften, Blekinge, Sweden. Inscription Transliteration :AP niuhAborumz ¶ niuhagestumz ¶ hAþuwol ...

and

Gummarp Runestone The Gummarp Runestone, designated as DR 358, was a runestone from the Vendel era and which was located in the former village of Gummarp in the province of Blekinge, Sweden. Description The Gummarp Runestone was removed and taken to Copenhagen, w ...

inscriptions can be identified with the same clan through the names that are mentioned on them.Looijenga (2003:188). The names have

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 ...

first name element combined with a lycophoric second element that represent an aristocratic naming tradition common among chieftains.Sundqvist & Hultgård (2004:584-85). The

Björketorp Runestone The Björketorp Runestone ( DR 360 U) in Blekinge, Sweden, is part of a grave field which includes menhirs, both solitary and forming stone circles. It is one of the world's tallest runestones measuring 4.2 metres in height, and it forms an imposi ...

lacks names and is raised some tens of kilometers from the others. However, it is beyond doubt that the Björketorp runestone is connected to them, because in addition to the special runic forms, the same message is given on the Stentoften Runestone. Of these, on stylistics grounds, the Istaby runestone may be the oldest. The name ''Hariwulfa'' is a combination of ''hari'' meaning "warrior" and ''wulafa'' "wolf," while the ''haþu'' of ''Haþuwulfz'' means "battle" and the ''heru'' of Heruwulfar, when combined in personal names, means "sword." The latter name also has a suffix indicating paternal descent, so the name Heruwulfar in full means "of the family of Sword-Wolf." A shortened form of the name Hariwulfa survived into the

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 ...

and is attested in the inscription on the

Hærulf Runestone The Hærulf Runestone is a Viking Age runestone located north of Hovslund's station in Southern Jutland, Denmark. Description The Hærulf Runestone dates from the 10th century and is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK. This is the ...

. It has been suggested that the assignment of such lycophoric names is related to ritualistic practices and religious wolf-symbolism used in the initiation of young warriors.Gräslund (2006:125). The Istaby runestone is currently located at 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 ...

. The stone has a Danish Rundata catalog number as Blekinge was part of the historic Denmark.

References

Sources

* *Jacobsen, Lis & Moltke, Erik: ''Danmarks Runeindskrifter''. 3rd tome. 1941. * *{{Cite book , last1=Sundqvist , first1=Olof , last2=Hultgård , first2=Anders , editor-last=van Nahl , editor-first=Astrid , editor2-last=Elmevik , editor2-first=Lennart et seq. , contribution=The Lycophoric Names of the 6th to 7th Century Blekinge Runestones and the Problem of Their Ideological Background , title=Namenwelten: Orts- und Personennamen in Historischer Sicht , publisher=Walter de Gruyter , year=2004 , location=Berlin , pages=583–602 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VShM6kAU_4C , isbn=3-11-018108-8

External links

Photograph of stone in 1999
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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 ...

6th-century inscriptions 7th-century inscriptions 8th-century inscriptions Haþuwulf's runestones Proto-Norse language Runestones in Blekinge Elder Futhark inscriptions