Tillinge Runestone
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The Tillinge Runestone, designated as U 785 under
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 ...
, is a
Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
memorial
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 ...
that was found at the church of Tillinge in
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 ...
.


Description

The Tillinge Runestone inscription consists of a runic text within a serpent. It was initially found within the church wall, but the full inscription could not be read until it was removed from the wall in 1946 and raised in front of the church. Many runestones were reused for materials in the construction of roads, bridges, walls, and buildings before their historical significance was understood. The inscription is dated as being from the first half of the 11th century and is 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 ...
and written using the younger futhark. The Tillinge Runestone was raised by a man in memory of his brother who died in
Serkland In Old Norse sources, such as sagas and runestones, Serkland (also ''Særkland'', ''Srklant'', ''Sirklant'', ''Serklat'', etc.) was the "land of the ''Serkir''", usually identified with the Saracens. The exact etymology is disputed. ''Serk''- may ...
, and ends in a prayer for the brother's soul. It may be one of the
Ingvar Runestones The Ingvar runestones () is the name of around 26 Varangian Runestones that were raised in commemoration of those who died in the Swedish Caspian expeditions of the Rus, Viking expedition to the Caspian Sea of Ingvar the Far-Travelled. The Ingvar ...
, but is not included in that group as it does not mention
Ingvar the Far-Travelled Ingvar the Far-Travelled (Old Norse: ''Yngvarr víðfǫrli'', Swedish: ''Ingvar Vittfarne'') was a Swedish Viking who led an expedition that fought in the Kingdom of Georgia. The Rus' undertook several Caspian expeditions in the course of t ...
, the leader of a Swedish Viking expedition to the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
. As such, this runestone may be a memorial to a
Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary
were
The inscription is unsigned and has been attributed either to
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 ...
s named Torbjörn or Gunnar.Project 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 ...
entry for U 785.
The inscription 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 ...
Pr1, which is also known as the Ringerike style.


Inscription


Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:uifas-- ... : risa : s(t)in : þ(t)ino : ub : at : k-þmunt : bruþur : sin : han : uarþ : tuþr : a : srklant- kuþ halbi : ant : ans


Transcription into Old Norse

:''Vifas r etræisa stæin þenna upp at G °mund, broður sinn. Hann varð dauðr a Særkland Guð hialpi and hans.''


Translation in English

:Véfastr had this stone raised up in memory of Guðmundr, his brother. He died in Serkland. May God help his spirit.


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 ...
*
Varangian runestones The Varangian Runestones are runestones in Scandinavia that mention voyages to the East () or the Eastern route (), or to more specific eastern locations such as ''Garðaríki'' in Eastern Europe. There are also many additional runestones in Sca ...


References

{{reflist, 2 Runestones in Uppland 11th-century inscriptions