Södermanland Runic Inscription 226 or Sö 226 is the Rundata catalog listing for a

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 Germ ...

memorial

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 ...

located in Norra Stutby, which is about eight kilometers north of

Sorunda Sorunda is a locality situated in Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 1,307 inhabitants in 2010. It is the hometown of Ulla Akselson, Moa Martinsson, and Harry Martinsson. Sorunda church Sorunda church is an unusually large ...

, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...

Description

The inscription on Sö 226 consists of runic text 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 ...

that is carved on a serpent that circles along the outline of the stone, which is about 1.8 meters in height. A figure of a horse is in inside the serpent at the top of the stone. The horse, which is clearly a stallion as indicated by the phallus, is depicted with crossed legs to indicate powerlessness. The combination of symbols of fertility and powerlessness on the horse may indicate regeneration or salvation. Several other

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

n runestones include depictions of horses, including DR 96 in Ålum, N 61 in Alstad, Sö 101 in Ramsundsberget, Sö 239 in Häringe, Sö 327 in Göksten, U 375 in Vidbo, U 488 in Harg, U 599 in Hanunda, U 691 in Söderby, U 855 in Böksta, U 901 in Håmö, U 935 at the

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran t ...

, and U 1003 in Frötuna. The inscription on Sö 226 is classified as being carved in

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 ...

Fp, which is the classification for runic text bands with attached serpent or beast heads that are depicted as seen from above. The inscription based on stylistic analysis is attributed to a runemaster named Amunde, who signed inscriptions on the now-lost Sö 215 in Sorunda, Sö 223 in Trollsta, Sö 268 in Söderby, and the now-lost Sö 271 in Täckeråker. The runic text states that the stone was raised by four men named Bjôrn, Vébjôrn, Hrafni, and Ketilbjôrn in memory of their father Geirbjôrn. The names of three of the brothers share the common name element ''bjôrn'', which is

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

for "bear," with their father. A common practice at that time in Scandinavia was the repeating one of the name elements from a parent's name in the names of the children to show the family connection. p. 750. The missing portion of the damaged runic text was reconstructed as the words ''ræistu stæin'' or "raised the stone" based upon similar wording on other inscriptions.

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:+ biairn + auk + uibiarn × auk: hrafni + auk + ketilbiarn + r---(t)(u) × (s) in: at + kairbirn faþurProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
- Rundata entry for Sö 226.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Biarn ok Vibiarn ok Hrafni ok Kætilbiarn r �isu stæin at Gæiʀbiarn, 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 ...

Translation in English

:Bjôrn and Vébjôrn and Hrafni and Ketilbjôrn raised the stone in memory of Geirbjôrn, their father.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodermanland Runic Inscription 226 Runestones in Södermanland