The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 670
medieval runic inscription
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
s on wood (mostly
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
) and bone found since 1955 at ''
Bryggen'' and its surroundings in
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It has been called the most important runic find in the twentieth century. Before the find of these inscriptions, there was doubt whether the runes were ever used for anything else than inscriptions of names and solemn phrases. The Bryggen find showed the everyday use that runes had in this area, and presumably in other parts of
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 ...
as well. Another important aspect of the find was that many of the inscriptions were obviously at least as recent as the 14th century. Previously it was believed that the use of runes in Norway had died out long before.
The inscriptions have numbers for Bergen finds, mostly "B" followed by three figures.
Many of the inscriptions follow the formula ''Eysteinn á mik'' (''Eysteinn owns me,'' B001), and were most likely used as markers of property – like modern-day
name tags. Some contain short messages of different types, such as ''Ást min, kyss mik'' (''my darling, kiss me,'' B017) and others have longer messages such as business letters and orders. Yet others contain short religious inscriptions, often in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, such as ''Rex Judæorum In nomine Patris Nazarenus'' (B005) and may have been intended as amulets.
The inscriptions are currently kept at ''
Bryggens Museum'' in Bergen, and some are on display.
Examples found at Bryggen or nearby
Other interesting inscriptions
* One of the inscriptions, listed as
N B145, refers to the
pagan Norns. It has both a complete
Skaldic dróttkvætt verse and
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's famous verse "Omnia vincit amor et nos cedamus amori" engraved.
* Another one, listed as N B368 M
was written on the
wax tablet
A wax tablet is a tablet (disambiguation), tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a "double-leaved" diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in classical antiquity, ...
and was supposed to be hidden under the layer of wax with some trivial writing.
[The excavation of Bryggen, Bergen, Norway Asbjorn E. Herteig in Recent archaeological excavations in Europe edited by Rupert Bruce-Mitford, page 65, Routledge, 1975 - Social Science - 335 page]
/ref> It was a top-secret message calling to someone to change the sides in the civil war: "I would ask you this, that you leave your party. Cut a letter in runes to Ólafr Hettusveinn's sister. She is in the convent in Bergen. Ask her and your kin for advice when you want to come to terms. You, surely, are less stubborn than the Earl." The letter was continued on another wax tablet. Ólafr Hettusveinn is probably Olav Ugjæva, died in 1169.
* N B257 (dated ca. 1335) is a poetic charm, apparently a piece of love magic, similar in content to a curse in the Eddaic poem '' Skírnismál''.
* Likewise, N B380 contains a pagan inscription, reading ”May you be healthy, and in good spirits. May Þórr receive you, may Óðinn own you.”
See also
* Birch bark document
* List of runestones
References
{{Reflist
External links
Database with the runes from Bryggen
Bibliography
*Spurkland, Terje (2005): ''Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions'', Translated by Betsy van der Hoek, Boydell Press, Woodbridge
Skaldic poetry
Runic inscriptions
History of Bergen