The Västra Nöbbelöv Runestone, listed as DR 278 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

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 ...

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

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 ...

located in Västra Nöbbelöv, which is about 3 kilometers east of Skivarp,

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...

, Sweden, and was in the historic province of

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

Description

The inscription on the Västra Nöbbelöv Runestone 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 r ...

within a single text band that runs up the stone, arches over, and then goes to the ground. The inscription 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 increas ...

RAK, which is the oldest style. This is the classification for runic text where the text bands have straight ends and without any attached beast or serpent heads. The runestone, which is 2.3 meters in height, was discovered around 1745 split into two pieces at a rectory, and has been repaired and raised on the church grounds. The runic text states that the stone was raised by Tóki in memory of his brother Auðgi. The name Auðgi is given some prominence in the inscription with its placement at the top of the arch in the runic text. p. 469. The text describes the deceased man Auðgi as being "a very good

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there w ...

" or "þegn," with the runes for thegn no longer readable on the stone. The term thegn was used in the late Viking Age in Sweden and Denmark to describe a class of retainer. About fifty memorial runestones described the deceased as being a thegn. Of these, the runic text on other sixteen runestones use the same

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 ...

phrase ''harða goðan þegn'' or "a very good Þegn," including Vg 59 in Norra Härene, Vg 62 in Ballstorp, Vg 102 in Håle gamla, Vg 113 in Lärkegape, Vg 115 in Stora Västölet, Vg 151 in Eggvena, Vg NOR1997;27 in Hols, DR 86 in Langå, DR 106 in Ørum, DR 115 in

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).DR 121 in Asferg, DR 123 in Glenstrup, DR 130 in Giver, DR 213 in Skovlænge, DR 294 in Baldringe, and DR 343 in Östra Herrestads. In addition, four inscriptions use a different word order, ''þegn harða goðan'', include Vg 74 in Skolgården, Vg 152 in Håkansgården, Vg 157 in Storegården, and Vg 158 in Fänneslunda. The stone is known locally as the ''Västra Nöbbelövstenen''. It has been given a Danish Rundata listing as Scania was part of the historic Denmark.

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:: tuki : risþi : stin : þainsi : iftiʀ : auþka : bruþur : sin : harþa : kuþan : ¶ ----Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
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entry for DR 278.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Toki resþi sten þænsi æftiʀ Øþga, broþur sin, harþa goþan �ægn''

Translation in English

:Tóki raised this stone in memory of Auðgi, his brother, a very good �egn

References