Hargs Bro Runic Inscriptions
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The Hargs bro runic inscriptions, or U 309, U 310 and U 311, are 11th century Younger Futhark inscriptions in
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
on bedrock in Skånela Parish,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. U 309 and U 310 constitute a twin monument in the style Pr4 and they are thus dated to the period 1060–1100. They belong to a group of c. 20
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 ...
s called the
Jarlabanke Runestones The Jarlabanke Runestones () is the name of about 20 runestones written in Old Norse with the Younger Futhark rune script in the 11th century, in Uppland, Sweden. They were ordered by what appears to have been a Germanic chieftain, chieftain ...
that are connected to the local strongman Jarlabanke and his
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
. Together with the Broby bro Runestones and the Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147 these particular runestones, however, treat the female matriarch of the clan called
Estrid Estrid (Old Norse: ''Æstriðr'', ''Ástríðr'') was a rich and powerful 11th-century Swedish woman whose long family saga has been recorded on five or six runestones in Uppland, Sweden. This Estrid was the maternal grandmother of the chieftain ...
. U 310 tells that Estrid had a husband named Ingvar, and he had a son prior to marrying Estrid, named
Ragnvald Ragnvald, Rögnvald or Rognvald or Rægnald is an Old Norse name (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'', modern Icelandic ''Rögnvaldur''; in Old English ''Regenweald'' and in Old Irish, Middle Irish ''Ragnall''). Notable people with the name include: * Ragnval ...
who died. Estrid constructed a bridge, apparently a tradition in her family. U 309 mentions Sigvid, Ingvar and Jarlabanke in a way that suggests that they are Estrid's sons. This Jarlabanke is not the same one as the Jarlabanke who raised the runestones in
Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 76,700 inhabitants in 2024. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sw ...
, because he was the son of an Ingefast and a Jorun. These runestones show a peculiarity to this family: the sons often have the same name as their fathers. Estrid is the same person as the Estrid who is mentioned on a number of runestones in
Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 76,700 inhabitants in 2024. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sw ...
and other locations (the Broby bro Runestones and Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147). This Estrid was the maternal ancestor of a great clan called the Jarlabanke clan, and she was the maternal grandmother of the powerful Jarlabanke who claimed to own all of Täby. The carver of the Snottsta runestone called U 329, where an Estrid and her brother Ragnfast are mentioned, is believed to be the
runemaster A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones. Description More than 100 names of runemasters are known from Viking Age Sweden with most of them from 11th-century eastern Svealand.The article ''Runristare'' in ''Nationalencyklo ...
named Fot who also made the runestones for the Jarlabanke clan. This strongly suggests that Estrid was born in Snottsta (also spelled Snåttsta), married Östen of Täby and married for the second time in Harg near Snottsta.


U 309

This runic inscription is in the style Pr4 (second half of the 11th century) and it was made by Jarlabanke Ingvarsson and his brothers Sigviðr and Ingvarr in memory of their father Ingvarr and their brother Ragnvaldr.


U 310

Like the previous runic inscription, this inscription is in the style Pr4 (second half of the 11th century) and it was made in memory of Ingvarr and Ragnvaldr. However, this one was made on the orders of Estrid (Ástríðr), Ingvar's wife who was not Ragnvald's mother.


U 311

This inscription was made later, and it is in the style Pr5 which dates it to the late 11th century or the early 12th century. It is not known how the people mentioned in it are related to those mentioned in the previous two inscriptions. {{fs interlinear , spacing=0.5 , class1=bold , indent=2 , inkriþ ' lit ' kiara ' bro ' iftiʀ * inkikiari ' totur ' sin inkihualtr ' inkimar ' karl ' litu ' at ' systur s'i , Ingrið {} let {} gæra {} bro {} æftiʀ {} Ingigærði, {} dottur {} sina. Ingivaldr, {} Ingimarr, {} Karl {} letu {} at {} systur sina. , Ingríðr had the bridge made in memory of Ingigerðr, her daughter. Ingivaldr (and) Ingimarr (and) Karl had (it made) in memory of their sister.


Gallery

Image:U 309, Hargs bro (1940).jpg, A picture from 1940, where U 309 has been painted. Image:U 310, Hargs bro (1940).jpg, A picture from 1940, where U 310 has been painted.


How to find them?

In the gallery is a rough map of the area. You can find the stones by finding the Harsbro bus stop. From there go south over the bridge and soon after you will find a grass-path to the right into the forest. Follow it until you see the small information sign on the left of the path.


See also

*
List of runestones There are about 3,000 runestones in Scandinavia (out of a total of about 6,000 runic inscriptions). p. 38. The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: The majority are found in Sweden, estimated at between 1,700 and 2,500 (depending ...


Sources

*
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 ...

Inga och Estrid - en såpa för tusen år sedan: Människor, händelser och platser i Ingas och Estrids liv.
A page at the Museum of Stockholm County website. Runestones, Estrid Runestones in Uppland 11th-century inscriptions