Reaping sickle slash
Sec vezh from the shoulders
A ran stag
Lil red crying.
And they became rdyany
From steel to icy
Drunken armor
Abusive fun.
(Egil, the son of Grim the Bald. "Redemption of the head." Translation by S. V. Petrov)
Simultaneously with the spread of the tradition of installing runestones in Scandinavia at the same time, the so-called picture or "picture" stones became popular. Some of the researchers date the time of their appearance to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. and note that the ancestral home of this tradition is the island of Gotland and the southeastern region of Sweden. This is due to the fact that Gotland, already in the early Iron Age, was a sacred place where numerous necropolises and more than 400 cairns (iconic stone mounds) were discovered, while in Kauparva, under one of them, even a conical stone tower of the Bronze Age was found. also served for burial. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of the island of Gotland were politically independent for a long time and preserved their distinctive culture and mythology, which were quite different from both Swedish and general Scandinavian. The main source of information on the mythology and history of the island is "Gutasaga" - the code of agreements concluded between the islanders and Sweden, and also includes an essay on the history of the island, including the legends about its origin in pre-Christian times.
Photo of 1924. Boys sit on a rock with drawings from the Bronze Age (c. 1800-500 BC).
Many stones from Gotland are very informative. So, for example, on one of the stones of the VIII century. phallic form in its upper part depicts an equestrian warrior in a helmet with a barmitsa and a large round shield with a spiral ornament. The stirrups are not visible, although, judging by the position of the legs, they should be, but on the rider, wide trousers are clearly visible, downright "broad Cossack". That, of course, opens up a wide field of activity for lovers of "folk history".
Photo of 1933. Stone from the island of Gotland. On it we see fighting horsemen, ships sailing on the sea and hunting scenes.
These figurative stones usually look like flat slabs set vertically, and their shape is called mushroom-shaped, phallic or anthropomorphic. According to the first version, she could symbolize the hope for the rebirth of the deceased in a new body, while, according to those who consider her anthropomorphic, such stones were the container of his soul. Moreover, stelae similar to these Scandinavian ones were widespread throughout Western Europe and also to the south - in the Mediterranean. The main motive of such steles of the 2nd-7th centuries is boats, or ships, crossing the waters of death. Later steles began to include images of waterfowl, wild animals and various monsters. A popular motif, clearly borrowed from the Younger Edda, was the motif of the mask that Loki wore to transform into a giantess. It is believed that these could be boundary pillars. However, the most reasonable version is still the opinion about the funeral purpose of these stones.
Scientists are painting pictures of a picture stone.
Around 800, the tradition of drawing stones was combined with runic stones: now stones can contain both texts and drawings, often of an ornamental nature. Both traditions are widespread in southern Scandinavia. At the same time, the images on the stones themselves undergo changes. So, instead of boats with a coffin, images of sailing ships (drakkars) with a crew appeared. The stones themselves begin to be cut in the form of slabs, which was usually not done before.
The stones of this period began to resemble the Celtic and Pictish stone statues, which manifested itself, for example, in the spread of such ornamental motifs as "plait" or "Irish knot". However, it should be noted that the writing of the Picts was hieroglyphic, while the runic writing of the Scandinavians was an alphabet.
That is, we can say that, although a certain commonality between the Celtic, Pictish and Scandinavian pictorial traditions existed, based on the art of the megalithic time - the temples of Malta, the ornamented dolmens of the Iberian Peninsula, and the alleys of the menhirs of Brittany and Britain - in each region the fine arts developed quite independently, and the similarity in traditions was not based on direct borrowing, but was the result of similar development processes.
Runestone from Ardre (Gotland, Sweden). Above depicts the arrival of a deceased warrior on Odin Sleipnir's horse to Valhalla. The lower part of the stone is an illustration of the legend about the blacksmith Völund, who was captured by king Nidud. (State Historical Museum, Stockholm)
As for Scandinavia, the tradition of installing runestones here continued until the middle of the 12th century. And then the runes were preserved only among the Scandinavian peasants, being an alternative to the official Latin alphabet. The most recent monuments are carved runic calendars dating back to the 18th - 19th centuries. By the way, one can see in them a synthesis of Christian and pagan traditions. In Denmark, Futhark was used until 1400, and with its help, texts were written not only in the Middle Danish language, but even in Latin.
Painted Stone (National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen)
Today, runestones are the object of serious study, although it is difficult, as noted in the first part of this material, by a number of circumstances. Many stones, due to their fame, even received their own names. However, despite all its "fame" reading them is under an hour rather hypothetical.
Here, for example, the oldest runestone - Kühlver - which dates back to about 400 according to the accompanying inventory of the cemetery burials where it was found, although there is no reason to think that it was not carved either earlier or later than the time it was made in this place. found burials. The inscription on it consists of a simple listing of all 24 futark runes, and ends with a "Christmas tree" sign, which is considered to be the shape of the "t" rune. So this is how to decipher it? According to one version, such an inscription was made in order to protect nowadays living people from the dead, according to another - on the contrary, to help in communication between ancestors and their descendants. Perhaps the writing of the runes was preceded by a certain ritual, which was called "strengthening the stone with runes." At the same time, the enumeration of all the runes could, for example, mean that the rune carver in this way enlisted the support of all the gods.
"Kulver Stone". Photo of a stone from the Kulturmiljöbil image database of the Swedish Council for the Preservation of National Treasures. (State Historical Museum in Stockholm).
According to the third version, the inscription was made for a completely mundane occasion, for example, the purpose of teaching children runes, and this stone ended up in the cemetery by accident.
Stora-Hammar stone in the form of a phallus.
A stone from Thune in Norway, dating from the late 4th century, is a clear example of how difficult it is to translate runic texts. In the twentieth century, the inscription on it was read by three researchers, after which four versions of the text were obtained at once, which were quite different in meaning from one another.
So, at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries, Sophus Bugge read the inscription on it as follows: “I, Viv, carved these runes for my partner Vodurid. And he set this stone. The three daughters divided the inheritance [because] they were the next of kin. " Everything seems to be logical and understandable, isn't it?
But in 1930 Karl Marstrandder made his own version of the translation: “I, Viv, made a stone tomb for Vodurid, the bread giver (my patron). My daughters, who also served Vodurid, wished that I put this stone, since he had no close relatives and heirs."
Ottar Grönvik (1981) suggested another option: “I, Vivaz, put this stone for my master Voduridaz. For me, Voduridaz, three daughters, the most prominent of the heirs, made this stone."
In 1998, Grönvik decided to revise the previous version of his reading and published the following text: “I, Viv, after [the death] of Vodurid, who fed me with bread, carved runes on this stone for him. Three daughters at the funeral received beautiful husbands and they will have beautiful heirs."
All of these options sparked a lively discussion. It mainly concerned the following question: could the women mentioned in the text inherit property from Vodurid. Is it possible that the successful major-domo Viv, after the death of his master, received not only his movable property, but also had to take care of Vaudurid's daughters and give them in marriage?
Runic inscription, mid-11th century, Ed, Kirksti-gan, Uppland. It is a commemorative inscription of a Swede who served in the Varangian Guard in Byzantium. It reads: "Rongwald carved these runes: in Greece he was the commander of the fighters."
And here is the runic inscription made on a memorial stone from Uttergard, in Uppland (Sweden), enclosed in the body of a Midgard serpent. The texts inscribed in runes speak of three campaigns in England at the beginning of the 11th century. a certain Ulf. The inscription reads: “Carey and Herbjorn put a stone in memory of Ulf, their father. God and the Mother of God, save his soul. Ulf received Danegeld three times in England. Tosti was the first to pay, Torkel the High was the second, then Knut paid. When Tosti paid, we do not know, but Torkel and Knut paid danegeld, that is, the ransom, respectively in 1012 and 1016. That is, the stone was erected not earlier than this time, and besides, it was clearly placed by Christians.
Stone from Utergard.
The Einang stone (IV century) was found in the Gardberg necropolis, which has been used for burial since the Neolithic times. Both burials under the kurgan and cairns, that is, stone mounds, were found here. The inscription on the Einang stone is primarily interesting because it contains the oldest mention of the word "runes". The text can be read as "I, […] the guest carved these runes." It is believed that this stone was a tombstone, but, perhaps, we are talking about a person who visited this necropolis so that the souls of the dead would help him in solving some important problem, since even the supreme god Odin asked for help from the souls of the dead.
A stone in memory of a Viking who fell "in the east in Garda", that is, in Gardariki. (Church of Turinde, municipality of Nukvarn, Sweden)
The Tiangvide stone erected in memory of Kjörluf is interesting for its images, reflecting the pagan ideas of the Scandinavians. The lower part of the stone depicts the Vikings on the ship, which suggests that Kjörluf died on the campaign, and this stone was his tombstone. In the upper right part there is a horseman and a woman with a horn in her hands. The rider is also holding a goblet in his hand, so it may be that this scene depicts a Valkyrie meeting Kjörluf on Valhalla. According to another version, Kjörluf died while hunting and therefore there is a hunting scene on the stone. According to the third version, this image is an illustration for the Völsungs saga: the rider is Sigurd, who defeated Fafnir, and he is met by Grimhild, with a horn full of witchcraft.
Stone erected in honor of Kjörluf of Tiangvide (VIII-IX centuries)
The Pilgards Stone (9th century), erected in honor of four brothers who died crossing the Aifur Rapid, is proof of the presence of the Vikings in Eastern Europe. Aifur is the Nenasytetsky threshold on the Dnieper, which is named so in the treatise "On the management of the empire" by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, where the names of the Dnieper rapids are given, among other things, in Slavic. The Pilgards stone with the inscription about the death on Aifur confirms that these names of the rapids were used by the Vikings.
The famous Ryok stone with the longest inscription to date, consisting of 762 runes.
But the original place where the stone from the Røk was located is unknown today, but it can be assumed that it could have stood not far from its present place at the church of the Røk parish in the commune of Edeshog, Östergötland county. The inscription on the stone allows it to be dated to the first half of the 9th century. The stone is covered with runes from all sides, and even from above. All inscriptions are made using the so-called "minor runes".
When reading and interpreting individual runes of the stone from the Ryoka, scientists showed a rare unanimity, but the meaning of the text is still unsolved. Again, no one doubts that this stone is a memorial stone, as indicated by the beginning of the text: “These runes speak about Vemud. Varin folded them in honor of his fallen son. But what is being said further is difficult to say, although all the words seem to be clear:
Tell me, memory, what prey there were two, which was mined twelve times on the battlefield, and both were taken together, from person to person.
Tell me more who is in nine knees
lost his life among the Ostrogoths
and still all the first in the battle.
Thjodrik ruled
brave in battle, helmsman of warriors
ready at sea.
Now he sits, holding your shield, on a gothic horse, the leader of the mehring.
It is possible that Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths, is named after Thodrik. But this is all that can be assumed on the basis of this!
