Uppland Runic Inscription 308 or U 308 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 designation for a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

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 is located in Ekeby, Stockholm 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 the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, which was 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 ...

. 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

This inscription is carved on a rock that is north-west of Skånela Church and consists of 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 ...

surrounded by a runic text within a serpent band. The inscription is about 1.2 meters tall by 1 meters wide. The runic text indicates that it was carved by Þorgautr, which is often

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

as Torgöt, and states that he is the son of 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 ...

Fot, who was an active

in southern Uppland during the late Viking Age.Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk
-

entry for U 308. Two other surviving runestones listed in the Rundata catalog, U 746 in Hårby and U 958 in Villinge, are listed as being signed by Þorgautr, and several others are attributed either to him based on stylistic analysis. This runestone is considered to be similar in style to those carved by Þorgautr's father, Fot, and 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 ...

Pr4, which is 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 runic text states that that stone was raised by a man named Gunni in memory of himself. There are over twenty other runestones in which the sponsor states that the stone was raised in memory of himself, including Sö 55 in Bjudby, U 127 in Danderyds, the now-lost U 149 in Hagby, U 164 and U 165 in Täby, U 171 in Söderby, U 194 in Väsby, U 212 in Vallentuna, U 261 in Fresta, the now-lost U 345 in Yttergärde, U 433 in Husby-Ärlinghundra, U 734 in Linsunda, U 739 in Gådi, U 803 in Långtora, U 962 in Vaksala, U 1011 in Örby, U 1040 in Fasma, the now-lost U 1114 in Myrby, U 1181 in Lilla Runhällen, U Fv1958;250 in Sigtuna, Vs 17 in Råby, Vs 32 in Prästgården, and DR 212 in Tillitse. Of these, five stones known as 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 ...

were sponsored by the same person in memory of himself. The name Þorgautr contains the Norse pagan 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

theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that d ...

element and means "Thor-Goth."

Inscription

Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters

:kuni lit rista runaʀ þisar eftʀ sik * kuikhan þurhkutr * risti runa þisar fots arfi

Transcription into Old Norse

:''Gunni lét rista rúnar þessar eptir sik kvikvan. Þorgautr risti rúnar þessar, Fóts arfi.''

Translation in English

:Gunni had these runes carved in memory of himself while alive. Þorgautr, Fótr's heir, carved these runes.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Photograph of U 308
in 1985 - Stockholm Läns Museum Uppland Runic Inscription 0308