The Orkesta Runestones are a set of 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 da ...
s engraved in
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 ...
with 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 r ...
alphabet that are located at the church of
Orkesta
Orkesta was a parish with 1103 inhabitants (2003), located in Vallentuna Municipality, Stockholm County in Sweden. The parish is since 2006 a part of Vallentuna parish.
See also
*Orkesta Runestones
The Orkesta Runestones are a set of 11th-cent ...
, northeast of
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Several of the stones were raised by, or in memory of, the Swedish Viking
Ulf of Borresta
Ulf of Borresta (Old Norse: ''Ulfr í Báristöðum'', modern Swedish: ''Ulf i Borresta'') was a runemaster in the eleventh century Uppland, Sweden, and a successful Viking who returned from England three times with a share of the Danegeld. He is ...
, who during the 11th century returned home three times with
danegeld. The leaders of the three expeditions were
Skagul Toste
Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) is a legendary 10th century chieftain from the Swedish province of West Gothland. Snorri Sturlusson recounts in ''Heimskringla'' that he was a great Viking who often waged war and that ...
(Tosti),
Thorkell the Tall (Þorketill), and
Canute the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...
(Knútr). This Ulfr also made the
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 ...
in the same region, and he was mentioned on the lost
runestone U 343.
There are two other runestones that mention the danegeld and both of them are found in the vicinity:
runestones U 241 and
U 194.
U 333
This runestone is in
runestone style Pr3, which is also known as
Urnes style
Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th centuries ...
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animals heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks.
Transliteration
:usnekin ' uk ' sikne(o)t ' uk ' sihuiþ(r) ' lata ' reis(a) s(t)iin ' eft
'b
u)s(a) ' faþur sin
Transcription in Old Norse
:Osnikinn ok Signiutr ok Sigviðr lata ræisa stæin æftiʀ Brusa, faður sinn.
Translation in English
:Ósníkinn and Signjótr and Sigviðr have raised the stone in memory of Brúsi, their father.
U 334
This runestone is in runestone style Pr4, which is also known as Urnes style.
Transliteration
:(k)u
s --þ
.. stiain ' iftiʀ ' fa
u ...
(b)iaorn * u(k) moþur * siena ' ...(f)(t)(n)-... ...-bi sialu ...
tl * risti
Transcription in Old Norse
:... stæin æftiʀ faðu
in Biorn ok moður sina ...
ial
Ial or Yale ( cy, Iâl) was a commote of medieval Wales within the cantref of Maelor in the Kingdom of Powys. When the Kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of the Princely realm of Powys Fadog (Lower Powys or Madog's Powys), and belo ...
i sialu ... Kætill risti.
Translation in English
:... the stone in memory of his father Bjôrn and his mother ... may help the soul ... Ketill carved.
U 335
The runestone U 335 was raised to commemorate the building of a new bridge by Holmi. He dedicated the bridge and the runestone to his father Hæra, who was the
Housecarl of a lord named Sigrøðr. The reference to bridge-building in the runic text is fairly common in rune stones during this time period. Some are
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
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
indulgences in return for intercession for the soul.
[Gräslund 2003:490-492.] There are many examples of these bridge stones dated from the eleventh century, including runic inscriptions
Sö 101,
U 489, and
U 617.
Like many other runestones, it was discovered in the walls of a church, where it still remains.
Transliteration into Latin letters
:ulmi × lit × risa × stin × þina × uk × bru þisi × i(f)tiʀ × iru × faþur sin × uskarl × sifruþaʀ
Transcription in Old Norse
:Holmi let ræisa stæin þenna ok bro þessi æftiʀ Hæru(?), faður sinn, huskarl Sigrøðaʀ.
Translation in English
:Holmi had this stone raised and this bridge (made) in memory of Hæra, his father, Sigrøðr's
housecarl
U 336
The runestone U 336 is raised by
Ulf of Borresta
Ulf of Borresta (Old Norse: ''Ulfr í Báristöðum'', modern Swedish: ''Ulf i Borresta'') was a runemaster in the eleventh century Uppland, Sweden, and a successful Viking who returned from England three times with a share of the Danegeld. He is ...
, in memory of his uncle Ónæmr. Ulf adds that they both lived at Borresta (
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 ...
: Báristaðir). The name Ónæmr, which means "slow learner," is also mentioned on two nearby runestones,
U 112 and
U 328, and so the three runestones are held to refer to the same person.
[Pritsak 1981:389] This inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK.
Transliteration
:
lʀ × lit × risa stin × þi
× iftiʀ × unim × faþurs×bruþr sin þiʀ × buku × baþiʀ × i × baristam
Transcription
:Ulfʀ let ræisa stæin þenna æftiʀ Onæm, faðursbroður sinn. Þæiʀ byggu baðiʀ i Baristam.
Translation
:Ulfr had this stone raised in memory of Ónæmr, his father's brother. They both lived in Báristaðir.
U 343
This runestone was possibly in
style Pr3
:''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 increas ...
. It formed a monument together with
U 344, below in Yttergärde. Although it has disappeared, the inscription was recorded during a survey of runestones in the 1700s. This runestone is attributed to 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 ...
Åsmund, as is U 344. For the word ''moðiʀ'', "mother," Åsmund left off the final ʀ rune.
[Källström 2008:241] He also left off this final ʀ rune for the same word on
U 241, on the word for "rune" on U 884, and possibly on the name Guðælfr on the now-lost U 1003.
Transliteration
:
, kuþs muþi''
Transcription in Old Norse
:Karsi ok ... þæiʀ letu ræisa stæi
þenna æftiʀ Ulf, faður sinn. Guð hialpi hans ... ok Guðs moðiʀ.
Translation in English
:Karsi and ... they had this stone raised in memory of Ulfr, their father. May God help his ... and God's mother.
U 344
The runestone U 344, in the
style Pr3
:''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 increas ...
, was found in 1868, at Yttergärde, by
Richard Dybeck
Richard Dybeck (1 September 1811 – 28 July 1877) was a Swedish jurist, antiquarian, and lyricist. He is mainly remembered as the author of the lyrics to what is now the de facto Swedish national anthem, '' Du gamla, Du fria''.
Biography
Dybeck ...
,
[Enoksen 1998:122] but it is today raised at the church of Orkesta. The runes are written from right to left with the orientation of the runes going in the same direction, but the last words outside the runic band have the usual left-right orientation.
[Enoksen 1998:122] It can be dated to the first half of the 11th century because of it still uses the
ansuz rune
Ansuz is the conventional name given to the ''a''-rune of the Elder Futhark, .
The name is based on Proto-Germanic ''*ansuz'', denoting a deity belonging to the principal pantheon in Germanic paganism.
The shape of the rune is likely from Neo ...
for the a and æ phomenes, and because of its lack of dotted runes.
[Enoksen 1998:124]
This stone is notable because it commemorates that the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
Ulf of Borresta
Ulf of Borresta (Old Norse: ''Ulfr í Báristöðum'', modern Swedish: ''Ulf i Borresta'') was a runemaster in the eleventh century Uppland, Sweden, and a successful Viking who returned from England three times with a share of the Danegeld. He is ...
had taken three danegelds in England.
The first one was with
Skagul Toste
Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) is a legendary 10th century chieftain from the Swedish province of West Gothland. Snorri Sturlusson recounts in ''Heimskringla'' that he was a great Viking who often waged war and that ...
,
[Pritsak 1981:343] the second one with
Thorkel the High and the last one with
Canute the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...
.
Since there were many years between the danegelds, it is likely that Ulfr returned to Sweden after each danegeld to live as a wealthy magnate.
[Enoksen 1998:125] It is a remarkable feat in itself to summarize his adventurous life in so few unsentimental words.
U 344 is considered to be one of the
England runestones.
Transliteration
:in ulfr hafiʀ o, , onklati ' þru kialt, , takat þit uas fursta þis tusti ka-t ' þ(a) ---- (þ)urktil ' þa kalt knutr
Transcription in Old Norse
:En Ulfʀ hafiʀ a Ænglandi þry giald takit. Þet vas fyrsta þet's Tosti ga
. Þa
alt
Alt or ALT may refer to:
Abbreviations for words
* Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account
* Alternate character, in online gaming
* Alternate route, type of highway designation
* Alternating group, mathema ...
Þorkætill. Þa galt Knutʀ.
Translation in English
:And Ulfr has taken three payments in England. That was the first that Tosti paid. Then Þorketill paid. Then Knútr paid.
See also
*
List of runestones
There are about 3,000 runestones in Scandinavia (out of a total of about 6,000 runic inscriptions). p. 38.
The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia:
The majority is found in Sweden, estimated at between 1,700 and 2,500 (depending o ...
Notes
Sources
*Enoksen, Lars Magnar. (1998). ''Runor: Historia, Tydning, Tolkning''. Historiska Media, Falun.
*
*
*
Pritsak, Omeljan
Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvar ...
. (1981). ''The Origin of Rus
'''. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. {{ISBN, 0-674-64465-4
Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk-
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 ...
*Information provided on location by the Swedish National Heritage Board.
External links
An English Dictionary of Runic Inscriptions of the Younger Futhark, at the university of Nottingham
Runestones in memory of Viking warriors
Runestones in Uppland