The Saleby Runestone, designated as Vg 67 in the Rundata catalog, was originally located in Saleby,

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

, Sweden, which is in the historic province of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

, and is one of the few

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 ...

s that is raised in memory of a woman.

Description

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 ...

and is classified as being 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 ...

RAK. This is the classification for inscriptions where the runic bands do not have any serpent or beast heads at the ends, and is considered to be the oldest style. The Saleby Runestone was discovered in 1794 within the walls of the church of Saleby and then moved to its current location near Dagsnäs Castle. The stone is 2.7 metres in height and about 0.45 meters in width. The runic text states that the stone was raised by Freysteinn as a memorial to his wife Þóra, who is described as being "the best of her generation." The inscription ends with a curse on anyone who destroys the memorial. A similar curse also appears on the Glemminge stone in Sweden, and the Sønder Vinge runestone 2, the

Tryggevælde Runestone Tryggevælde Runestone, designated as DR 230 under Rundata, is a runestone housed in the National Museum of Denmark, in Copenhagen. It is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK, and is dated to about 900 CE. Description In 1555, the ...

and the

Glavendrup stone The Glavendrup stone, designated as DR 209 by Rundata, is a runestone on the island of Funen in Denmark and dates from the early 10th century. It contains Denmark's longest runic inscription and ends in a curse. Description The runestone forms ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. There is some disagreement regarding the translation of one of the words in these curses, ''rita''/''rata'', which has been translated as "wretch", "outcast", or "warlock". Warlock is the translation accepted by Rundata. However, the use of warlock is not that the destroyer would gain any magical powers, but be considered to be unnatural and a social outcast. The inscription also uses the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 overseas settlemen ...

word ''kona'' or ''konu'', which translates as "woman", in two different ways, showing that the meaning of the word depended on its context. The first use of ''konu'' is to refer to Þóra as Freysteinn's wife. The second is in the phrase '' argʀi konu'' or "maleficent woman" in the curse, which appears to be related to the practice of seiðr, a type of sorcery. Runologist

Erik Moltke Erik Moltke (4 April 1901 – 19 October 1984) was a Danish runologist, writer, and editor. Through his leadership, the Runologist Section of the National Museum of Denmark became a world centre for the scientific study of runology Runology is ...

has suggested that ''argʀi'' represents the most loathsome term the runemaster could imagine calling someone. The idea that a warlock or sorcerer was an evil perversion predated the conversion of

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 ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The text is carved 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 ...

and contains one bind rune, which is a

ligature Ligature may refer to: * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture used to shut off a blood vessel or other anatomical structure ** Ligature (orthodontic), used in dentistry * Ligature (music), an element of musical notation used especially in the me ...

of two runes. On Vg 67 the runemaster combined a u-rune with a k-rune in the word au=k ("and"). Both of the personal names in the inscription have names of

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 ...

gods as an element of the name. Freysteinn means "

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

's Stone" and Þóra is a female diminutive form of

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 ...

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:+ fraustin + karþi + kubl * þausi + aftiʀ + þuru + kunu + sino + su ... ...(s) + tutiʀ bast + miþ + altum + uarþi at + rata + au=k + at arkʀi '+ kunu + saʀ + ias haukui + krus + -... + uf + briutiProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
- Rundata entry for Vg 67.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Frøystæinn gærði kumbl þausi æftiʀ Þoru, konu sina. Su a� ... dottiʀ, bæzt með aldum. Verði at ok at argʀi konu saʀ es haggvi krus, ... of briuti.''

Translation in English

:Freysteinn made these monuments in memory of Þóra, his wife. She was ... daughter, the best of her generation. May he who cuts to pieces ... breaks ... become a warlock and a maleficent woman ...

References

External links

A Swedish site with a picture of the runestone.A third Swedish site with a picture, and some information.
{{runestones Runestones in Västergötland Runestones with curses Runestones raised in memory of women