The Replösa Stone (Also Småland Runic Inscription 35, Sm 35, and Ljungby 28:1) is a
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...
in
Replösa near
Ljungby
Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015.
Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
The stone
The stone is made of
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...
, is tall and wide. The runiform ornament and inscription on the stone's southeastern side have high runes. The inscription is from the
11th century
The 11th century is the period from 1001 (represented by the Roman numerals MI) through 1100 (MC) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the 1st century of the 2nd millennium.
In the history of Europe, this period is considered the early ...
.
Inscription
Transliteration
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...
, and normalization to
Old West Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
and
Old East Norse
Old East Norse was a dialect of Old Norse which evolved into the languages of Old Danish and Old Swedish from the 9th century to the 12th century.
Between 800 and 1100, East Norse is in Sweden called '' Runic Swedish'' and in Denmark ''Runic ...
:
Interpretation
The
Danish sounding names Götrad and Åstrad are uncommon. From the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
only a few persons are known to bear the name Åstrad. The name have also appeared on Danish runestones. The name Götrad does not appear on any other known runestone.
Finnveden
Finnveden or Finnheden is one of the ancient ''small lands'' of Småland. It corresponded to the hundreds of Sunnerbo, Östbo and Västbo. Finnveden had its own judicial system and laws, as did the other ''small lands''. Finnveden is situated ar ...
mentioned on the stone was one of the "countries" that would later be included in the province of
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
. Finnveden is mentioned on three runestones: ''Sm 35'', ''Sm 52'' in Småland, and ''
U 130'' in
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.
The name literally ...
. The word "thane" (''þegna'') can be seen in a number of runic inscriptions, but opinions are divided of its meaning. The two main opinions are "free farmer, ''odalman'' (Similar to
yeomen
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...
)" respectively "warrior, member of the king's
hird
The hird (also named "De Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls. Over time, it came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal arm ...
".
The ship setting
Just south of the runestone lies Ljungby 29:1, a damaged, but partly restored,
ship setting
The stone ship or ship setting was an early burial custom in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial was surrounded by slabs or stones in the shape of a boat or ship. The ships vary in size and were ...
. It is long, wide, and made out of seven erected stones that are tall. According to historical data there have been twelve stones.
See also
*
History of Sweden (800–1521)
The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern polar ice cap. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used sto ...
References
{{Reflist
Runestones in Småland
11th-century inscriptions