U1034 Tensta kyrka - KMB - 16001000254384

Uppland Runic Inscription 1034 or U 1034 is the Rundata catalog number for a

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 ...

on 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 d ...

located at the

Tensta Church Tensta Church ( sv, Tensta kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in the Archdiocese of Uppsala in Uppsala County, Sweden. It is a representative example of the Brick Gothic style in Sweden. History and architecture Tensta Church was probably commi ...

, which is three kilometers northwest of

Vattholma Vattholma is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, 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 Swe ...

Uppsala County Uppsala County ( sv, Uppsala län) is a county or ''län'' on the eastern coast of Sweden, whose capital is the city of Uppsala. It borders the counties of Dalarna, Stockholm, Södermanland, Västmanland, Gävleborg, and the Baltic Sea. Prov ...

, Sweden, and 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 ...

, that was carved in the late 11th or early 12th century. While the tradition of carving inscriptions into boulders began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, most runestones date from the late

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 ...

Description

The

states that it was ''Øpiʀ risti'' ("Öpir carved"), indicating that it was carved by the runemaster

Öpir Öpir or ''Öper'' (Old Norse: ''Øpiʀ''/''Œpir'', meaning "shouter") was a runemaster who flourished during the late 11th century and early 12th century in Uppland, Sweden.The article ''Öpir'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1996). He was the ...

, who was active in the late 11th or early 12th century. The inscription is 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 ...

Pr5, also known as the

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 are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The runestone shows a cross with the inscription within a serpent around the edge. Although damaged at the top, the runestone formerly had a man's mask above the Christian cross, a motif used on some other runestones such as Sö 86 in Åby ägor, Sö 112 in Kolunda, Sö 367 in Landshammar, Na 34 in Nasta, and U 678 in Skokloster. Other inscriptions with masks but without crosses include DR 62 in Sjelle, DR 66 in Århus, DR 81 in Skern, DR 258 in Bösarp, the now-lost DR 286 in Hunnestad, DR 314 in Lund, DR 335 in Västra Strö, Vg 106 in Lassegården, Sö 367 in Släbro, U 508 in Gillberga, U 670 in Rölunda, U 824 in Holms, and U 1150 in Björklinge, and on the

Sjellebro Stone The Sjellebro Stone is a Viking Age image stone located at Sjellbro, which is about 12 kilometers southeast of Randers, Denmark. The stone is inscribed with a facial mask. Description The Sjellbro Stone is about 1.7 meters in height and features t ...

. Although the runestone is marked with a Christian cross, three of the personal names mentioned in the inscription contain 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 ...

as a name element. The name Þorbjôrn translates as "Thor Bear," Þorsteinn as "Thor's Stone," and Þorfastr as "Thor Fast" (fast in the sense of holding one's ground in battle). These three names in the inscription also reflect a common practice of that time in Scandinavia of repeating an element in a parent's name in the names of children. p. 750. Here the ''Þor'' from the father's name, Þorfastr, is repeated in the names of two of his sons, Þorbjôrn and Þorsteinn, to show the family relationship. The name of the third son, Styrbjôrn, means "Battle Bear."

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:þorbia(r)n ' auk ' þorstain ' uk ' styrbiarn ' litu raisa stain ' eftiʀ ' þorfast ' faþur sin ybir ristiProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
- Rundata entry for U 1034.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Þorbjôrn ok Þorsteinn ok Styrbjôrn létu reisa stein eptir Þorfast, fôður sinn. Œpir risti''.

Translation in English

:Þorbjôrn and Þorsteinn and Styrbjôrn had the stone raised in memory of Þorfastr, their father. Œpir carved.

References

External links

{{commons category, Upplands runinskrifter 1034
Photograph of runestone in 2010
- Swedish National Heritage Board
Maskesten - Billedsten fra Vikingtiden
- Arild Hauge webpage on mask stones Uppland Runic Inscription 1034