The Snottsta and Vreta stones are individual

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 known as U 329, U 330, U 331 and U 332. They are found on the homesteads of Snottsta (also spelled Snåttsta) and Vreta, and they tell 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 ...

with the younger futhark about the family story of Gerlög and Inga in 11th century

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 ...

, together with the Hillersjö stone (U 29) and the runestone U 20/21. The inscriptions are classified as being carved in the

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 ...

Pr3, which suggests that they were carved in the period 1050–1080. They were carved first, then U 20/21, and last Gerlög's Hillersjö stone. The four runestones say that Ragnfast, Inga's husband has died. Ragnfast was the sole inheritor of the homestead Snottsta after his father Sigfast. The runestone standing at Vreta gives the central information "she inherited her child". This statement agrees with what is said on the Hillersjö stone (U 29), which is that Inga inherited her son, a son who was not named, probably because he was very young. The central message of these runestones is that Inga inherited Snottsta after Ragnfast died. Further information which is provided by the runestones is that Ragnfast had a

housecarl A housecarl (; ) was a non- servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conquest in the 11th centur ...

named Assur. Why this is important is not mentioned, but it is likely that Assur had a strong position in the

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 ...

and may have inherited some of Ragnfast's property. Furthermore, the runestone U 329 contains some information about a third and a fourth woman,

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 ...

and Gyrid. It says that Ragnfast is the brother of Gyrid and Estrid, and the reason why this is mentioned is possibly because there was a disagreement about the inheritance. What is clear is that they are mentioned to explain how they relate to Inga. Estrid is probably the same person as the Estrid who is mentioned on a number of 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 ...

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 (

Broby bro Runestones At Broby bro in Uppland, Sweden there are six runestones. U 139, U 140 and U 151 still stand by the road, but U 135, U 136 and U 137 have been moved a distance away from the road. The last three stones are in the style Pr2 and thus dated t ...

Hargs bro runic inscriptions The Hargs bro runic inscriptions, or U 309, U 310 and U 311, are 11th century Younger Futhark inscriptions in Old Norse on bedrock in Skånela Parish, Uppland, Sweden. U 309 and U 310 constitute a twin monument in the style Pr4 and they are ...

and

Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147 The runestones known as U 101 is located in Sollentuna, and U 143 and U 147 are located in Täby; all three are in Uppland, Sweden. They are all in the style Pr4 and thus dated to the period 1060-1100 during which they were carved in connection ...

). 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 inscription on U 329, where Ragnfast's sister Estrid is mentioned, has been attributed to 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, married Östen of Täby and married for the second time in Harg near Snottsta.

U 329

This rune stone is raised beside a field along a dirt road. It was raised by Inga in memory of her husband Ragnfastr, and it mentions his two sisters Gyríðr and Ástríðr. This should be compared to U 331, below, which says that Ragnfastr was the only heir of the property and U 332 which says that Inga inherited her and Ragnfastr's children. Among the three women, it was Inga who eventually owned Snottsta.

U 330

This rune stone is raised at the foot of a hill in the centre of a field. It tells that Inga had it made together with a bridge and other stones (U 329 and possibly others that have disappeared) in honour of her husband Ragnfastr. It adds Assurr/Özurr, who was Ragnfastr's

(a professional warrior), and it is probably to show visitors that Assurr was an important and valued person at the estate, and who probably had rights of inheritance. Assurr is identified with Andsvarr (an

allomorph In linguistics, an allomorph is a variant phonetic form of a morpheme, or in other words, a unit of meaning that varies in sound and spelling without changing the meaning. The term ''allomorph'' describes the realization of phonological variatio ...

of ''Özurr'' and ''Assur'') who was commemorated by his daughter Guðlaug on U 328, and Guðlaug may be the same Guðlaug as the one who raised the runestones U 133 and U 141 in memory of her son Holmi who fell in Italy, and who would be Assur's son.Pritsak 1981:391–392.

U 331

U 331 is not a rune stone, but a flat rock on which the inscription has been written down. In this inscription Inga told that her husband Ragnfastr had died and that he was the sole inheritor of his father Sigfastr. This should be compared with U 329, where his sisters are mentioned, sisters who consequently did not inherit their father.

U 332

The runestone at Vreta, U 332, has disappeared. Its inscription and designs are, however, known thanks to an 18th-century drawing. This rune stone was also raised by Inga, and it adds that both her husband Ragnfastr and their children were dead, as she had inherited them. The text also states that a staff was raised in memory of Ragnfastr. Other inscriptions that indicate that a staff was raised include Sö 196 in Kolsundet, Vs 1 in Stora Ryttern, U 226 in Bällsta, and the now-lost U 849 in Balingsta.Zilmer 2005:156. On three other inscriptions, DR 40 in Randbøl, Sm 16 in Nöbbele, and Sö 56 in Fyrby, the word "staff" may refer to the staves of the runes in the text. The Hillersjö stone (U 29) ends the family saga by telling that Inga had died without living children and that the property had passed to her mother Gerlög on the island of Färingsö.

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