This runic inscription, designated as U 448 in the Rundata catalog, is on 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 Harg, which is about 4 kilometers north of

Märsta Märsta () is a suburb of Metropolitan Stockholm, a locality and the seat of Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 27,034 inhabitants in 2015. The town is situated close to Stockholm's main international airport, Arlanda. Even though ...

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

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 ...

Description

The design of this inscription consists of runic text inscribed within a serpent band, which circles the stylized figures of a man on a horse and of a bird. The stone is composed of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

and is 1.9 meters in height. The inscription is tentatively 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 ...

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 centurie ...

. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads on Pr3 inscriptions are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. Based on stylistic analysis, the inscription has been attributed to the Swedish runemaster

Fot Fot (Old Norse: ''Fotr'') was a runemaster who flourished in mid-11th century Sweden. Career Most early medieval Scandinavians were probably literate in runes, and most people probably carved messages on pieces of bone and wood.Vilka kunde ri ...

,Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
- Rundata entry for U 448. who was active in Sweden in the mid-eleventh century. Fot was noted for the consistency of his use of the

punctuation mark Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. A ...

× between the words in the

runic inscription A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

, which is evident in the runic text of this inscription. The runic text states that the stone was raised by Ígull and Bjǫrn as a memorial to their father Þorsteinn. The name Þorsteinn contains as a

theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that dei ...

element the

Norse pagan Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic people ...

god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, and means "Thor's Stone." One word of the runic text, ''sinn'', has been implied based upon similar inscriptions on memorial stones for a portion of the text that was damaged and lost. The inscription includes a depiction of a bird and a figure on a horse. The bird in the upper center of the inscription has been identified, due to its tail, as possibly being a

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

, which in the early

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 ...

was used as a symbol of rebirth and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

. pp. 127-128. Alternatively, the bird may also be a forest bird such as a

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

or capercaillie. 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 that include depictions of horses include DR 96 in Ålum, N 61 in Alstad, Sö 101 in Ramsundsberget, Sö 226 in Norra Stutby, Sö 239 in Häringe, Sö 327 in Göksten, U 375 in Vidbo, 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.

Inscription

Runic text

:_ᚴᚢᛚ᛫ᛅᚢᚴ᛫ᛒᛁᚢᚱᚾ᛫ᛚᛁᛏᚢ᛫ᚱᛅᛁᛋᛅ᛫ᛋᛏᛅᛁᚾ᛫ᛂᚠᛏᛁᛦ᛫ᚦᚢᚱᛋᛏᛅᛁᚾ᛫ᚠᛅᚦᚢᚱ____Unicode for runic text.

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:(i)kul × auk × biurn × litu × raisa × stain × eftiʀ × þurstain × faþur ...

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Ígull ok Bjǫrn létu reisa stein eptir Þorstein, fǫður

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

:Ígull and Bjǫrn had the stone raised in memory of Þorsteinn, their father.

References and notes

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