Runestones At Aspa
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The Runestones at Aspa are a set of four
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 located at Aspa, about six kilometers north of
Runtuna Runtuna (local pronunciation ''Runntúna'') is a locality situated in Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula i ...
,
Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg ...
,
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 ...
, where a road has passed a creek since prehistoric times. One of the stones, Sö Fv1948;289, is the oldest surviving native Scandinavian source that mentions the
Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a 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 country by both area ...
beside the runestones DR 344 and DR 216. Another stone, Sö 137, was apparently raised in memory of a Viking who had spent time in the west.


Tingshögen and Eriksgata

Aspa was the location of the local assembly called the '' Tingshögen'' for the
Rönö Hundred A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in northern Germanic countries and related colonies, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions. The equivalent term in Swedish is (in Uppland also ...
administrative area until 1600, and the newly elected king passed the stones during his
Eriksgata Eriksgata (i.e. "Erik's Road") was the tour traditionally taken in the Middle Ages by a newly-elected Swedish king through the important provinces of the realm to have his election confirmed by the local assemblies. The actual election took place ...
. The Eriksgata was the traditional journey of the newly elected medieval Swedish kings through the important provinces to have their election confirmed by the local assemblies. The actual election took place at the
Stone of Mora In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
in Uppland. Runestones at other locations that tradition holds were associated with the Eriksgata include U 793 at Ulunda and Vg 4 at Stora Ek. Originally there were several runestones and standing stones erected at the ''Tingshögen'', but today only a few remain, and some of these were recovered from having been reused as construction materials at a bridge.


Sö Fv1948;289

The inscription on this stone consists of tightly bound columns of text within bands that end in snake heads, and may be indicative of the influence of earlier Danish inscriptions on decorated runestones in Sweden. This granite runestone, which is 2.07 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, which is the classification for inscriptions with bands that end in animal heads. It was raised in memory of a two men who died in Denmark. The runic text says that they were the ablest men in Sweden. The runestone was found in 1937 during trench work near a bridge and was moved adjacent to Sö 141. Originally, the stone was probably located at the ''Tingshögen'', and later reused at the bridge. The
Södermanland runic inscription 140 Södermanland runic inscription 140 (Sö 140) is a Viking Age runestone inscribed in Old Norse with the Younger Futhark runic alphabet. It and Södermanland runic inscription 139, Sö 139 stand close together on the south side of the road next t ...
ends with a similar message. 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 ...
designation for this Södermanland inscription, Sö Fv1948;289, 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


Latin transliteration

: ostriþ : lit : -ira : ku(m)... ...usi ÷ at : anunt ÷ auk : raknualt : sun : sin ÷: urþu : ta...ʀ : - (t)an...-...(k)u : ua-u : rikiʀ : o rauniki : ak : snialastiʀ : i : suiþiuþuProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
-
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 ...
.


Old Norse transcription

: ''Astrið let ra kum
l þa L, or l, is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''el'' (pronounced ), plural ''els''. History Lame ...
si at Anund ok Ragnvald, sun sinn. Urðu da ði Dan aru, va rikiʀ a Rauningi ok sniallastiʀ i Sveþiuðu.''


English translation

: Astrid had this memorial made after Anund and Ragnvald, her son. (They) died in Denmark, were powerful in Rauningi and the ablest in Sweden.


Sö 136

Runestone Sö 136 was documented during the surveys of runestones conducted in the late 17th century, but has since been lost. The inscription, however, is known from records. It is classified as having been carved in runestone style Pr1.


Inscription


Latin transliteration

: '': suain : iuk : sluia * þaiʀ : raisþu : ---... ... ...-nu * at : faþur : sin : hirsi * uksniauin ian uas : unt hifni bistr


Old Norse transcription

:''Svæinn ok Sloði(?) þæiʀ ræisþu ... ... ... at faður sinn, hærsi(?) hugsniallan(?). Hann vas und hifni bæztr.''


English translation

:Sveinn and Slóði(?), they raised ... ... ... in memory of their father, an able-minded(?) chieftain(?) He was the best under heaven.


Sö 137

This granite runestone, which is 2 meters in height, is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK, which is the classification for inscriptions with bands that are straight and do not end in animal heads. It was engraved with both long-branch runes and staveless runes. In the last row all the words but the last one were written with staveless runes. Sö 137 is also considered to be one of the
Viking runestones The Viking runestones are runestones that mention Scandinavians who participated in Vikings, Viking expeditions. This article treats the runestone that refer to people who took part in voyages abroad, in western Europe, and stones that mention men ...
. The runic inscription emphasizes that the stone was originally located at the ''Tingshögen''.


Inscription


Latin transliteration

: A þura : raisþi : stin : þ--si at : ubi : buanti : sin : B : stain : saʀ:si : stanr : at : ybi : o þik*staþi : at ¶ : þuru : uar : han : uestarla : uakti : karla ¶ a þar* sunr þaþ * raknasuatau(k)i(f)maʀ ua''


Old Norse transcription

: A ''Þora ræisþi stæin þ nni at Øpi, boanda sinn.'' : B ''Stæinn saʀsi standr at Øpi a þingstaði at Þoru ver. Hann vestarla væknti(?) karla, sa þaʀ sunʀ það. ...''


English translation

: A Þóra raised this stone in memory of Œpir, her husbandman. : B This stone stands in memory of Œpir, on the Assembly-place in memory of Þóra's husband. He armed(?) (his) men in the west. The son saw this there ...


Sö 138

This granite runestone, which is 2.1 meters in height, is classified as being carved in runestone style Fp. Similar to Sö 138, it has runic text written in the present tense, and was probably originally located at the ''Tingshögen''.


Inscription


Latin transliteration

:: hiar : stainr : stin : at : kuþan : ybis : arfa : ak : þurunaʀ kylu : broþurs : kuþ hialbin : at :


Old Norse transcription

:''Hier stændr stæinn at goðan Øpis arfa ok Þorunnaʀ, Gyllu broðurs. Guð hialpin and.''


English translation

:Here stands the stone in memory of Œpir's and Þórunnr's good heir, Gylla's brother. May God help (his) spirit.


Sö 141

This granite runestone was raised by two parents in memory of their son and has 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 ...
near the top of the inscription. The reference to bridge-building in the runic text is fairly common in runestones during this time period. Some are
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
references related to the soul passing the bridge into the afterlife. At this time, the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
sponsored the building of roads and bridges through the use of
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
s in return for the church's intercession for the soul of the departed.* pp. 490-492. There are many examples of these bridge stones dated from the 11th century, including runic inscriptions Sö 101, U 489, and U 617.


Inscription


Latin transliteration

: sloþi auk * rahnfriþ * þau * litu * biþi * bro * k(i)ara * a... * (s)...in * ra-(s)n * eftiʀ ihulbiarn * sun sin *


Old Norse transcription

: ''Sloði ok Ragnfriðr þau letu baði bro gæra o s æn ræ a æftiʀ Igulbiorn, sun sinn.''


English translation

: Slóði and Ragnfríðr, they both had the bridge made and the stone raised in memory of Ígulbjôrn, their son.


Gallery

Ludgo 61 2 sida B.JPG, Side B of Sö 137. Ludgo 61 2 sida A.jpg, Side A of Sö 137. Ludgo 61 2 och Ludgo 61 1.JPG, Sö 137 and Sö 138. Ludgo 61 1 sidan 1.JPG, Side of Sö 138. Ludgo 61 1 sidan 2.JPG, Side of Sö 138.


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 ...


References


External links


Runeindskrifter fra Södernmanland
- Drawing of Sö 136


An English Dictionary of Runic Inscriptions of the Younger Futhark, at the university of Nottingham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runestones At Aspa Runestones in memory of Viking warriors Runestones in Södermanland