In the late 10th Century, a rune stone was erected in Hällestad, Sweden in memory of a fallen warrior: (Photo Wikimedia Commons)ĭuring the 5th century, a grieving father in Rogaland County carved the following words into a stone in order commemorate his son: « Haduleik rests here. One of three runestones used as building material in Hällestad church. The runes on memorial stones were used in order to pay tribute to deceased persons, to show who had erected a bridge, who retained power in a certain area etc. This translates as: “We travelled to meet the valiant men of Frisia (and) we divided the spoils of the fight. The following is inscribed on a silver neck ring dating from around 1000 AD found in Senja in Troms County: Fórum drengja Fríslands á vit ok vígs fótum vér skiptum. Probably the bracteate was carried around the neck like a good luck charm. = Gyda tells you to go home.Ī bracteate of gold from the first half of 500’s, found in Sandnes in Rogaland, has an image of a human head and an inscription with the runes meaning T A U. To a man who possibly used a little too much time in the pub: Gyða segir at þú gakk heim. (Photo Nationalmuseets database, danske runeindskrifter ) The personal name can mean sea-servant or law-servant. Shield-handle mount of silver from Illerup, approximately 250 AD, with the runic inscription Laguþewa / LaguþewaR. = Ingebjørg loved me when I was in Stavanger. The vast mountains will begin to sway before I’ll forget her.Įminent woman, we love each other so that the earth bursts apart.īefore I discard the wise woman, the raven shallīe white as the snow lying on the mountains.Ĭarved on a piece of wood: Hér ferr Hafdjarfr/hafdjarfr. “Here sails Hafdjarfr/the seabold.”Ī rune stick tells the following: « Torkel Mintmaster is sending you pepper».Ī man in Bergen put about some gossip, or perhaps he was just boasting, when he wrote: Ingibjörg unni mér þá er ek var í Stafangri. This love poem was inscribed on a square-edged rune stick: On a vertebral of a cattle this request is carved: kyss mik. = “Kiss me because I am troubled”.Īt Bryggen in Bergen, a series of runic inscriptions were discovered that provide insight into the daily life of people in the Middle Ages. Was Sigrid the name of one of the women buried in the Oseberg ship?Īn inscription found in Gol Stave Church, Bygdøy says: Kyss á mik, þvíat ek erfiða. This is interpreted as meaning “Man knows little”Ĭarved on a bucket found in the Oseberg Ship are the words asikriR which translates as “Sigrid owns”. The word litiluism is carved on a wooden rod, perhaps part of an oar, in the Oseberg Ship. Runes constitute contemporary documentation, but it can be difficult to decipher the runes and there are often several interpretations of an inscription. Sometimes the runic inscription is read from left to right, sometimes from right to left. Runes were carved on weapons, tools, jewellery, amulets, bones, pieces of wood, memorial stones, church walls etc. Note that one does not write but rather carves a rune. Runes have a form such that they are easy to carve into a hard material. Although used by all Germanic peoples, most of them, however, are discovered in Scandinavia. Just as he was about to die, he found the runes, grabbed them and earned his life.Ī more prosaic explanation is that the runes were developed in the firsth century AD, possibly inspired by the Latin alphabet. He hung on the wind-blown tree for nine nights and days. The old poem Hávamál explains that Odin discovered the runes when he hung himself from the world tree Yggdrasil in order to learn wisdom. Runes are woven into Norse religion and are closely associated with Norse magic ( seiðr) and skaldic poetry. Odin sacrifices himself on the world tree Yggdrasil and discovers the runes.
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