The Snoldelev Stone, listed as DR 248 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, is a 9th-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 ...

that was originally located at Snoldelev,

Ramsø Ramsø was a municipality (Danish '' kommune'') in the former Roskilde County on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark until January 1, 2007. The municipality covered an area of and had a total population in 2005 of 9,320. Its last ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Description

The Snoldelev Stone, which is 1.25 meters in height, is decorated with painted scratches depicting a design of three

drinking horn A drinking horn is the horn of a bovid used as a drinking vessel. Drinking horns are known from Classical Antiquity, especially the Balkans, and remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period in ...

s interlocking as incomplete

Borromean rings In mathematics, the Borromean rings are three simple closed curves in three-dimensional space that are topologically linked and cannot be separated from each other, but that break apart into two unknotted and unlinked loops when any one of the ...

(similar to the

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and family' ...

three crescents emblem). The stone was first noted in 1810, and was turned over to the national Antiquities Commission in 1811. The runestone is now housed at the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. The inscription on the Snoldelev Stone shows an early version of 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 ...

. Like the late

Elder Futhark The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Peri ...

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 ...

, it uses an a-rune which has the same form as the h-rune has in the long-branch version of the younger futhark. This a-rune is transliterated with capital A below. The Snoldelev runestone also retains the elder futhark

haglaz *Haglaz or *Hagalaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the ''h''-rune , meaning "hail" (the precipitation). In the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, it is continued as ''hægl'', and, in the Younger Futhark, as ''hagall''. The corresponding Goth ...

rune () for the h-phoneme and this is represented by capital H in the transliteration below. Another feature from the elder futhark is the use of the

ansuz 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 N ...

rune (ᚨ) which is here specifically used to symbolize a long nasal a, often transcribed as
á
which is similar but not identical to its Scandinavian decendent "å". The last character in the runic text is damaged, but is clearly a 10px, and represents the first use of this rune for an 'm' in Denmark. The text is arranged in two lines of different size. It has been suggested that this may have been done in imitation of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

manuscripts, which have the first line in long slender characters with the following lines in shorter, stubbier text. The inscription states that Gunnvaldr is a ''Þulʀ'', which signifies some office or rank, perhaps a priest or a

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

, compare

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 ...

''þula'' meaning "litany." It is related to the later Norse '' Þulr'', a position described as being a wise man or sage associated with

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n chieftains and royalty. The translation offered by the Rundata project suggests ''reciter''. The location Salhaugar in the text has been identified as referring to the modern town Salløv, which was in the vicinity of the original site of the runestone. The literal translation of the Old Norse ''Salhøgum'' combines ''sal'' "hall" with '' hörgar'' "mounds," to form "on the hall mounds," suggesting a place with a room where official meetings took place.

Inscription

Runes

: :

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:kun'uAlts, , stAin ' sunaʀ ' ruHalts ' þulaʀ ' o salHauku(m)Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
-

entry for DR 248.

Transcription into Runic Danish

:''Gunwalds sten, sonaʀ Roalds, þulaʀ á Salhøgum.''

Translation in English

:Gunnvaldr's stone, Hróaldr's son, thyle of Salhaugar.

Gallery

Image:Snoldelevsunwheel.jpg, Detail of

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

found on the stone Image:Snoldelevhorns.JPG, Detail of the interlaced horns Image:Snoldelev-three-interlaced-horns.svg, Snoldelev interlaced horns design (illustration)

References

External links

Inscriptions from the second period (Viking period), 750-1025
presentation by Moltke {{coord, 55, 34, 18, N, 12, 07, 17, E, region:DK-84_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Runestones in Denmark Swastika 9th-century artifacts