Sven Birger Fredrik Jansson (1906–1987) was a foreign lecturer 1933–39 at universities such as
Reykjavik, antiquarian at the
Swedish National Heritage Board
The Swedish National Heritage Board (; RAÄ) is a Swedish government agency responsible for World Heritage Sites and other national heritage monuments and historical environments. It is governed by the Ministry of Culture.
The goals of the agen ...
(1947–55), professor of
Runology
Runology is the study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics.
History
Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was interested in the ling ...
at
Stockholm University
Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
(1955–66) and
National Antiquarian (1966–72).
[Entry ''Sven B.F. Jansson'' in ]Nationalencyklopedin
(; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version.
History
The project was ...
, retrieved 22 January 2021.
Career and personal life
His Ph.D. discussed the
Old Icelandic
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
Vinland sagas. He was also the editor of several tomes in ''
Sveriges runinskrifter ( English: "Sweden's rune inscriptions", ) is a multi-volume catalog of rune inscriptions found in various Swedish provinces. The earliest volume of this ongoing series dates to 1900, and, by 1981, 15 volumes had been published.
established the ...
'', in which many interpretations are based on his work.
[
Through radio shows and personal connections at field surveys, Jansson was to be widely known. He was a colourful speaker, and his sense of humour and his enthusiasm for the topic was important in creating a wider interest in the public for runes and Scandinavian pre-history.][
He was the father of Gunnel Engwall.][
]
Works
*Gotlands runinskrifter, del 1 (1962), Sveriges runinskrifter 11, tillsammans med Elias Wessén.
*Gästriklands runinskrifter, Sveriges runinskrifter 15:1 (1981).
*Isländsk-svensk ordbok, Íslenzk-Sænsk Orðabók, Rabén & Sjögren Bokförlag, Kungälv (1989).
*Närkes runinskrifter, Sveriges runinskrifter 14:1 (1975).
*"Pireuslejonets runor", Nordisk Tidskrift för vetenskap konst och industri, utgiven av Letterstedtska Föreningen. Stockholm (1984).
*Runes of Sweden. Stockholm (1987).
*Runinskrifter i Sverige, Stockholm (1963, 1984).
*Sagorna om Vinland – handskrifterna till Erik den rödes saga, Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm (1945).
*Upplands runinskrifter, del 1–4 (1940–58), Sveriges runinskrifter 6–9, tillsammans med Elias Wessén.
*Värmlands runinskrifter, Sveriges runinskrifter 14:2 (1978).
*Västmanlands runinskrifter, Sveriges runinskrifter 13 (1964).
*Norstedts isländsk-svenska ordbok, sjunde upplagan (2005).
References
{{Authority control
Runologists
Linguists from Sweden
Linguists of Germanic languages
Old Norse studies scholars
Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy
1906 births
1987 deaths