U1034 Tensta kyrka - KMB - 16001000254384

Uppland Runic Inscription 1034 or U 1034 is 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 ...

catalog number for a

runic inscription A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

on a

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 ...

located at the

Tensta Church Tensta Church () is a medieval Lutheran church in the Archdiocese of Uppsala in Uppsala County, Sweden. It is a representative example of the Brick Gothic style in Sweden. History and architecture Tensta Church was probably commissioned by a lo ...

, which is three kilometers northwest of

Vattholma Vattholma is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, 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 th ...

Uppsala County Uppsala County () is a county or '' län'' on the eastern coast of Sweden, whose capital is the city of Uppsala. It borders the counties of Dalarna, Stockholm, Södermanland, Västmanland, Gävleborg, and the Baltic Sea. Province The nor ...

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 ...

, and in the historic province of

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 ...

, that was carved in the late 11th or early 12th century. While the tradition of carving inscriptions into boulders began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, most runestones date from the late

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 ...

Description

The

states that it was ''Øpiʀ risti'' ("Öpir carved"), indicating that it was carved by 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 ...

Öpir Öpir or ''Öper'' (Old Norse: ''Øpiʀ''/''Œpir'', meaning "shouter") was a runemaster who flourished during the late 11th century and early 12th century in Uppland, Sweden.The article ''Öpir'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1996). He was the m ...

, who was active in the late 11th or early 12th century. The inscription is 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 ...

Pr5, also known as the

Urnes style Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Vikings, Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th ...

. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The runestone shows a cross with the inscription within a serpent around the edge. Although damaged at the top, the runestone formerly had a man's mask above the

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 ...

, a motif used on some other runestones such as Sö 86 in Åby ägor, Sö 112 in Kolunda, Sö 367 in Landshammar, Na 34 in Nasta, and U 678 in Skokloster. Other inscriptions with masks but without crosses include DR 62 in Sjelle, DR 66 in Århus, DR 81 in Skern, DR 258 in Bösarp, the now-lost DR 286 in Hunnestad, DR 314 in Lund, DR 335 in Västra Strö, Vg 106 in Lassegården, Sö 367 in Släbro, U 508 in Gillberga, U 670 in Rölunda, U 824 in Holms, and U 1150 in Björklinge, and on the

Sjellebro Stone The Sjellebro Stone is a Viking Age image stone located at Sjellbro, which is about 12 kilometers southeast of Randers, Denmark. The stone is inscribed with a facial mask. Description The Sjellbro Stone is about 1.7 meters in height and features ...

. Although the runestone is marked with a Christian cross, three of the personal names mentioned in the inscription contain the

Norse pagan Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into distinct branches. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten ...

god

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

as a name element. The name Þorbjôrn translates as "Thor Bear," Þorsteinn as "Thor's Stone," and Þorfastr as "Thor Fast" (fast in the sense of holding one's ground in battle). These three names in the inscription also reflect a common practice of that time in Scandinavia of repeating an element in a parent's name in the names of children. p. 750. Here the ''Þor'' from the father's name, Þorfastr, is repeated in the names of two of his sons, Þorbjôrn and Þorsteinn, to show the family relationship. The name of the third son, Styrbjôrn, means "Battle Bear."

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:þorbia(r)n ' auk ' þorstain ' uk ' styrbiarn ' litu raisa stain ' eftiʀ ' þorfast ' faþur sin ybir ristiProject Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
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entry for U 1034.

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Þorbjôrn ok Þorsteinn ok Styrbjôrn létu reisa stein eptir Þorfast, fôður sinn. Œpir risti''.

Translation in English

:Þorbjôrn and Þorsteinn and Styrbjôrn had the stone raised in memory of Þorfastr, their father. Œpir carved.

References

External links

{{commons category, Upplands runinskrifter 1034
Photograph of runestone in 2010
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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 ...

Maskesten - Billedsten fra Vikingtiden
- Arild Hauge webpage on mask stones

Uppland Runic Inscription 1034 Uppland Runic Inscription 1034 or U 1034 is the Rundata catalog number for a runic inscription on a runestone located at the Tensta Church, which is three kilometers northwest of Vattholma, Uppsala County, Sweden, and in the historic province of U ...