Norrtil Runestones
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The Norrtil Runestones are two monuments 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 U 410 and U 411, standing at Norrtil, Saint Olovs parish,
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. Both
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 ...
s were erected at the second part of 11th century along the ancient road leading from
Sigtuna Sigtuna () is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,444 inhabitants in 2010. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta. Sigtuna is for historical reasons often still referre ...
to already existed at that time settlement of Til.


U 410

The stone is located on the south-eastern side of a hill , which was evidently a local burial ground in 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 ...
. Several graves of that period marked by stone settings are in the near proximity to the monument. Material is grey granite. Height — 1.55 m, width — 0.75 m. The inscription is partly damaged due to the stone surface is subject to flaking. Lost text fragments fortunately reconstructed with help of older drawings, the first of which was made by
Johan Hadorph Johan Hadorph (May 6, 1630 – July 12, 1693) was a Swedish director-general of the Central Board of National Antiquities. He was appointed National Antiquarian at the government agency for antiquities, and he became its director-general. Hadorp ...
in 1682. Runes are carved on the bodies of two serpents which have their heads and tails bound together. The cross is placed in the middle.


Transliteration into Latin characters

: × sturbiarn • l t • rais . stai . . . ftiʀ • s kt n • faþur - - - broþur hulmst . . .
Elias Wessén Elias Wessén (15 April 1889 – 30 January 1981) was a prominent Swedish linguist and a professor of Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-Eu ...
, Sven B. F. Jansson, ''Upplands Runinskrifter''. Del. 2, H. 2, Uppsala, 1953. S. 186


Old Norse transcription

: ''Styrbiorn let ræisa stæi ætiʀ Sigstæin, faður
inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
broður Holmst ¦is.''


English translation

: Styrbjôrn had the stone raised in memory of Sigsteinn, his father, Holmsteinn's brother.


U 411

The monument is standing 190 m west of the U 410 stone . Material is pink granite, height — 1.74 m, width — 0.93 m. The text is carved on a serpent. Its body forms a loop following the contour of the stone. Inside the loop under the cross the serpent's head and tail many times interlaced with a snake of smaller size. All runes well preserved.


Transliteration into Latin characters

: × ilturi × lit × raisa × stin × eftiʀ × sukiʀ × faþur × sin × kuþ × hialbi • ant • ahns ×Elias Wessén, Sven B. F. Jansson, ''Upplands Runinskrifter''. Del. 2, H. 2, Uppsala, 1953. S. 187


Old Norse transcription

: ''ilturi let ræisa stæin æftir Syggæiʀ(?), faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans.''


English translation

: had the stone raised in memory of Siggeirr/Seygeirr, his father. May God help his spirit. The U 411 is the only runic stone bearing the personal name ilturi. Moreover this name is unknown from other Scandinavian Medieval sources. Yet in the list of landmarks between Swedish provinces
Värend Värend was in the Middle Ages the most populous of the constituent "small lands" of the province Småland, in Sweden. Early on, Växjö became its center. Around 1170, Värend broke out of the diocese of Linköping, and formed its own diocese of ...
and Njudung, dated by 1320, the place-name Illdorabech was presented, probably comprising the personal name Illdore.Elias Wessén, Sven B. F. Jansson, ''Upplands Runinskrifter''. Del. 2, H. 2, Uppsala, 1953. S. 188


See also

*
History of Sweden The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used st ...
*
Risbyle Runestones The Risbyle Runestones are two runestones found near the western shore of Lake Vallentunasjön in Uppland, Sweden, dating from the Viking Age. Description The Risbyle Runestones, listed in the Rundata catalog as U 160 and U 161, were engraved in ...


References

{{Reflist Runestones in Uppland