Sö Fv1948;295 is the

Rundata The Scandinavian Runic-text Database () is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of transliterated runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way for future resea ...

catalog number for a

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

memorial

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 ...

that is located in Prästgården, which is just west of

Jönåker Jönåker is a locality situated in Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 617 inhabitants in 2010. Jönåker is known locally for being situated right on a steep hill by local standards and the trading house, the so-called "Kal ...

Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...

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 ...

. It commemorates two men who are described as being

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

Description

This runestone was found in two pieces during construction work at a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

at the Lunda church in 1947. pp. 293-297. The stone was repaired and raised in the nearby churchyard cemetery. The inscription consists of runic text in the younger futhark carved on a serpent that encircles a

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

. The runestone, which is 2.3 meters in height, 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 ...

Fp. This is the classification for inscriptions with text bands that end in serpent or beast heads depicted as seen from above. Runestones are often dated based upon comparative

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and stylistic analysis, and the inscription on the stone at Prästgården has been dated to approximately the period of 1020 to 1050 C.E. A portion of the runic text was damaged but was reconstructed based upon similar language on other runestones. The text states that Halfdan raised the stone in memory of his father Ragnvaldr and his brother Dan. Although it might seem unusual for one family to have two brothers that are named Dan and Halfdan, a similar situation in another family is documented on runestone U 511 in Mälsta. The father Ragnvaldr and the brother Dan are described as being Þegns or

s. The exact status of thegns in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

is unclear, although the term was borrowed from England, where it was used for royal or military retainers. Scandinavian thegns appear to have been powerful local landowners but it is unclear whether their status reflected royal sponsorship or power. The last portion of the runic text, sin þrutaʀ þiak(n)a, is located outside of the serpent. The runes sin þrutaʀ are located on each side of the base of the cross, with the final ʀ rune Runic letter algiz

being represented in the shape of the tongue of the serpent. The runes þiak(n)a for ''þegna'' or "Þegns" are hidden in the base of the cross as "secret runes." The phrase ''þróttar þegna'' or "Þegns of strength" is also used on Sö 367 in Släbro and in its singular form on Sö 90 in Lövhulta, Sö 112 in Kolunda, Sö 151 in Lövsund, Sö 158 in Österberga, and Sö 170 in Nälberga. p. 197. The Rundata designation for this Södermanland inscription, Sö Fv1948;295, refers to the year and page number of the issue of ''

Fornvännen (), ''Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research'' is a Swedish academic journal in the fields of archaeology and Medieval art. It is published quarterly by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden. The jou ...

'' in which the runestone was first described.

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:: halftan ÷ rasþi : st(a)- ...si : at : raknualt : faþur : sin : ouk : tan * bruþur sin þrutaʀ þiak(n)aProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
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entry for Sö Fv1948;295.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Halfdan reisti stei þenn at Ragnvald, fôður sinn, ok Dan, bróður sinn, þróttar þegna.''

Translation in English

:Halfdan raised this stone in memory of Ragnvaldr, his father, and Dan, his brother, Þegns of strength.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodermanland Runic Inscription Fv1948295 Runestones in Södermanland 11th-century inscriptions