The Norsta runestone is an 11th-century
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 ...
inscribed in
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 ...
with 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 ...
that stands near
Wik Castle
Vik Castle (''Viks slott'') is situated in Uppsala municipality and Balingsta district in Uppsala County, in the historical province of Uppland, Sweden. The name of the castle is sometimes spelled Wik or Wijk, which is a spelling according to o ...
outside
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
,
Sweden. It is notable because of the mention of two people named "maiden" and Sweyn. The form ''møy'' which appears on this runestone is the accusative form of
Old East 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 settlement ...
''māʀ'' which meant "maiden" and this is the only attestation of this word as the name of a girl, in
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 ...
, besides a mention in the ''
Hervarar saga'', where a ''Mær'' ("maiden" in
Old West 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 settlement ...
) married the Swedish king
Inge I. Her brother was
Blot-Sweyn, who succeeded Inge. As the runestone is from about the same time as Blot-Sweyn, it is likely that the Sweyn mentioned in the runestone is the same as the Swedish king Blot-Sweyn.
Transliteration
:sihikþurn ' ...
isa * stin' uk ' bru ' kera : at : aterf : sun : uk ' a(t) ' mai : tutor : sin : eþorn : uk : suen : uk ' (u)ikþu-... ' sikb--... ...(ʀ) ' isi
Transcription into Old Norse
:Sigþorn ... ræisa stæin ok bro gærva at Adiarf, sun, ok at Møy, dottur sina, Æiþorn ok Svæinn ok Vigþo
n... ...
Translation in English
:Sigþorn ... the stone raised and the bridge made in memory of Ádjarfr, (his) son, and in memory of Mey, his daughter; Eiþorn and Sveinn and Vígþorn ..
See also
* List of runestones
Notes
{{reflist
Sources
*
Sveriges runinskrifter
' (1922) by Erik Brate
* Rundata
Runestones in Uppland
Runestones raised in memory of women
11th-century inscriptions