List of runestones

Last updated March 09, 2024

There are about 3,000 runestones in Scandinavia (out of a total of about 6,000 runic inscriptions).^[1]

There are also runestones in other areas reached by the Viking expansion, especially in the British Isles.^[3] Most of these were on the Isle of Man where 31 from the Viking era have been found. Four have also been discovered in England, fewer than eight in Scotland and one or two in Ireland.^[4] There are scattered examples elsewhere (the Berezan' Runestone in Eastern Europe,^[5] and runic graffiti on the Piraeus Lion from Greece but today in Venice, Italy).^[6]

The vast majority of runestones date to the Viking Age and the period immediately following the Christianisation of Scandinavia (9th to 12th centuries). A small number predates the 9th century; one of the last runestones was raised in memory of the archbishop Absalon (d. 1201).^[7] A small number of runestones may date to the late medieval to early modern period, such as the Fámjin stone (Faroe Islands), dated to the Reformation period. Modern runestones (as imitations or forgeries of Viking Age runestones) began to be produced in the 19th century Viking Revival.

The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base (Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runestones in the Rundata database.^[8]

Elder Futhark runestones

The vast majority of runestones date to the Viking Age. There is only a handful Elder Futhark (pre-Viking-Age) runestones (about eight, counting the transitional specimens created just around the beginning of the Viking Age).

Årstad Stone (390–590 AD)
Einang stone (4th century)
Tune Runestone (250–400 AD)
Kylver Stone (5th century)
Möjbro Runestone (5th or early 6th century)
Järsberg Runestone (transitional, 6th century)
Björketorp Runestone (transitional, 7th century)
Stentoften (transitional, 7th century)
Eggjum stone (8th century)
Rök runestone (transitional, ca. 800 AD)
Hogganvik runestone (350–500 AD)

Younger Futhark runestones

The England runestones

The England runestones are a group of about 30 runestones located mostly in Sweden, with some in Norway, Denmark and northern Germany, which refer to Viking Age voyages to England.^[9]

Scandinavia proper

Sweden

The number of runestones in Sweden is estimated at between 1,700^[2] and 2,500 (depending on definition).^[2]

The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391).^[10]

Varangian Runestones – inscriptions that mention voyages to the East (Austr) or the Eastern route (Austrvegr).
Ingvar Runestones – 26 Varangian runestones that were raised in commemoration of those who died in the Swedish Viking expedition to the Caspian Sea of Ingvar the Far-Travelled.
Serkland Runestones – six or seven runestones which are Varangian Runestones that mention voyages to Serkland, the Old Norse name for the Muslim world in the south.
Greece Runestones – 29 Varangian runestones that talk of voyages to Greece, i.e. the Byzantine Empire.
Viking Runestones – Stones that mention Scandinavians who participated in Viking expeditions in western Europe, and stones that mention men who were Viking warriors and/or died while travelling in the West.
Jarlabanke Runestones – a collection of 20 runestones written in Old Norse related to Jarlabanke Ingefastsson and his clan.
Frösöstenen
The Ramsund carving
Sparlösa Runestone
Rökstenen – the longest runic inscription in the world, located in the province of Östergötland in Sweden

District of Uppland

Färentuna Runestones (U 20, U 21 and U 22)
Broby bro Runestones (U 135, U 136 and U 137)
Hagby Runestones (U 152, U 153, U 154 and U 155)
Lingsberg Runestones (U 240, U 241 and U 242)
Hargs bro runic inscriptions (U 309, U 310 and U 311)
Snottsta and Vreta stones (U 329, U 330, U 331 and U 332)
Granby Runestone (U 337)
Näsby Runestone (U 455)
Vaksala Runestone (U 961)
Krogsta Runestone (U 1125)

District Östergötland

Högby Runestone
Kälvesten Runestone
Ledberg stone

District Gästrikland

Gästrikland Runic Inscription 7 (Gs 7)

Denmark

Denmark has a total of 250 known runestones.^[2]

Norway

Norway has a total of 50 known runestones.^[2]

Dynna stone (11th century AD)
Fåberg stone
Granavollen Runestone (11th century AD)
Grindheim stone (11th century AD)
Hønen Runestone (11th century AD)
Klepp I Runestone
Kulisteinen (11th century AD)
Norwegian Runic Inscription 239
Oddernes stone (11th century AD)
Svingerud Runestone (between 1st and 3rd centuries AD)
Vang stone (11th century AD)

North Atlantic

British Isles

Manx runestones: 31 surviving stones.^[4]
Princes Street Gardens Runestone, Edinburgh, Scotland

Faroe Islands

Sandavágur stone (13th century)
Kirkjubøur stone (11th century)
Fámjin stone (16th century)

Greenland

Kingittorsuaq Runestone

Other

Germany

Hedeby stones, Hedeby (10th century AD)
Sigtrygg Runestones (934 AD)
Stone of Eric (10th century AD)

Italy

Piraeus Lion, coming from Greece and today in Venice
Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo, Apulia (South Italy)

Ukraine

Berezan' Runestone, Berezan' Island

Image stones

The Ardre image stones
The Stora Hammars stones and the Tängelgarda stone, Lärbro parish

Modern runestones

A number of notable runestones of modern origin exist. Some of them are intended as hoaxes, their creators attempting to imitate a Viking Age artefact. Especially since the late 20th century, runestones in the style of the Viking Age were also made without pretense of authenticity, either as independent works of art or as replicas as museum exhibits or tourist attractions.^[11]

This concerns especially runestones found in North America. There is also a limited set of early modern runestones created after the end of the Viking Age but before the "Viking Revival".

Related Research Articles

A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones date from the late Viking Age. Most runestones are located in Scandinavia, but there are also scattered runestones in locations that were visited by Norsemen during the Viking Age. Runestones are often memorials to dead men. Runestones were usually brightly coloured when erected, though this is no longer evident as the colour has worn off. The vast majority of runestones are found in Sweden.

The Funbo runestones constitute a group of four runestones originally from Funbo in the province of Uppland, Sweden, which were raised by members of the same family during the eleventh century.

The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base 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 research. The database is freely available via the Internet with a client program, called Rundata, for Microsoft Windows. For other operating systems, text files are provided or a web browser can be used to interact with the web application Runor.

This Viking Age runestone, listed under Rundata as runic inscription U 489, was originally located in Morby, Uppland, Sweden, and is a memorial to a woman.

The Stone of Eric, listed as DR 1 in the Rundata catalog, is a memorial runestone that was found in Northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.

Fot was a runemaster who flourished in mid-11th century Sweden.

The Hedeby stones are four runestones from the 10th century found at the town of Hedeby in Northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.

The Tillinge Runestone, designated as U 785 under Rundata, is a Viking Age memorial runestone that was found at the church of Tillinge in Uppland, Sweden.

Ragnvaldr was a captain of the Varangian Guard in the first half of the 11th century. He may appear on several runestones, some of which suggest that he was the son of an Ingvar connecting him to the Jarlabanke clan.

Adelsö Church is a church located on the Lake Mälaren island of Adelsö, in Ekerö Municipality in central eastern Sweden.

Arkils tingstad is the remains of the Viking Age thing or assembly location of a hundred in Uppland, Sweden. It is situated on the outskirts of Stockholm. The remains consist of a rectangular stone formation and two runestones.

The Stenkvista runestone, designated as runic inscription Sö 111 in the Rundata catalog, is a memorial runestone located near the church at Stenkvista, which is two kilometers east of Skogstorp, Södermanland County, Sweden, which was formerly part of the historic Södermanland, and which features a depiction of Thor's hammer, Mjöllnir. This runestone is one of several runestones in Scandinavia that has a dedication to Thor. While the tradition of carving inscriptions into boulders began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, most runestones in Scandinavia date from the late Viking Age.

The Björklinge runestones are five Viking Age memorial runestones designated in the Rundata catalog as U 1045, U 1046, U 1047, U 1048, and U 1050 that are located at the church in Björklinge, Uppsala County, Sweden, which is in the historic province of Uppland. In addition, there is a small fragment of a runestone with a partial runic text i * lit * rita * meaning "had erected" that has been given the catalog number U 1049.

Uppland Runic Inscription 181 or U 181 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone located at Össeby-Garn, which is about one kilometer east of Karby, Uppsala County, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skern Runestone</span>

The Skern Runestone, designated as Danish Runic Inscription 81 or DR 81 in the Rundata catalog, is a Viking Age memorial runestone located in the small village of Skjern, Denmark between Viborg and Randers. The stone features a facial mask and a runic inscription which ends in a curse. A fragment of a second runestone designated as DR 80 was also found in Skjern.

The Kyrkogården Runestones are three Viking Age memorial runestones located at the cemetery of St. Mary's Church in Sigtuna, Stockholm County, Sweden, in the historic province of Uppland. One of the runic inscriptions documents the existence of a Viking Age mercantile guild in Sweden.

The Ålum Runestones are four Viking Age memorial runestones which are located at the church in Ålum, which is 9 km west of Randers, Denmark. One of the stones refers to a man with the title drengr and two of the other stones were raised by the same family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Källby Runestones</span> Two Viking age memorial runestones

The Källby Runestones are two Viking Age memorial runestones located in Källby, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Västergötland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uppland Runic Inscription 171</span>

Uppland Runic Inscription 171 or U 171 is the Rundata catalog listing for a Viking Age memorial runestone that is located in Söderby, which is four kilometers west of Vaxholm, Stockholm County, Sweden, and in the historic province of Uppland.

The Swedish Runestone, designated U 1173 in the Rundata catalogue, is an 11th-century Swedish Viking Age runestone which was located in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, below Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, within a fenced enclosure adjacent to Ramsay Garden. Due to security concerns it was removed from there on 19 December 2017 and in the Autumn of 2020 was re-located at 50 George Square, Edinburgh just outside the University of Edinburgh's Department of Scandinavian Studies.

References

↑ Zilmer, Kristel (2005), "He Drowned in Holmr's Sea": Baltic Traffic in Early Nordic Sources (PDF), Tartu University Press, ISBN 978-9949-11-089-6, archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2022, retrieved 24 May 2020 p. 38.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Olstad, Lisa (16 December 2002). "Ein minnestein for å hedre seg sjølv". forskning.no. Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
↑ Page, Raymond I. (1995). Runes and Runic Inscriptions: Collected Essays on Anglo-Saxon and Viking Runes . Parsons, D. (ed.) Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 207–244
1 2 Jesch, Judith (2001). Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Boydell Press. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-0-85115-826-6.
↑ Pritsak, O. (1987). The Origin of Rus'. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. Sawyer, Birgit. (2000). The Viking-Age Rune-Stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia . Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 306.
↑ "Runsten", Nationalencyklopedin (1995), volume 16, pp. 91–92.
↑ Jansson 1997:166
↑ Bianchi, Marco. "Ladda ned Samnordisk runtextdatabas – Institutionen för nordiska språk – Uppsala universitet". www.nordiska.uu.se. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
↑ Harrison, D.; Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 199. ISBN 978-91-27-35725-9.
↑ Harrison, D. & Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo, p. 138.
↑ "In December 1997 I moved to Adelsö, the Island there the kings lived in the viking period, near the Island of Birka [...] My capabilities to live on my handicraft became bigger and I extend with guided tours in the ancient area, protected by UNESCO. On a piece of land, near this area, I build up my place of work and exhibition. [...] The year 2000 I got honored to carve a runestone as a memory of Leif Eriksson who did the exploration of North America, thousand year ago. The runestone was carved here at Adelsö. When the work was completed, the stone transferred to Canada and became raised at the northern point of Newfoundland / Vineland." (Kalle Dahlberg, runstonecarver.com Archived 10 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine ) "The three types of contemporary runestone carvings highlighted in the article are those that are "exact copies of existing stones", "explicitly contemporary", and "new, but with Old Norse"." (ireadrunes.blogspot.com Archived 19 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 2012)

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[Zilmer38-1] Zilmer, Kristel (2005), "He Drowned in Holmr's Sea": Baltic Traffic in Early Nordic Sources (PDF), Tartu University Press, ISBN 978-9949-11-089-6, archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2022, retrieved 24 May 2020 p. 38.

[forskning.no-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Olstad, Lisa (16 December 2002). "Ein minnestein for å hedre seg sjølv". forskning.no. Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2008.

[page-3] Page, Raymond I. (1995). Runes and Runic Inscriptions: Collected Essays on Anglo-Saxon and Viking Runes . Parsons, D. (ed.) Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 207–244

[Jesch-4] 1 2 Jesch, Judith (2001). Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Boydell Press. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-0-85115-826-6.

[Pritsak306-5] Pritsak, O. (1987). The Origin of Rus'. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. Sawyer, Birgit. (2000). The Viking-Age Rune-Stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia . Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 306.

[natenc-6] "Runsten", Nationalencyklopedin (1995), volume 16, pp. 91–92.

[jansson166-7] Jansson 1997:166

[8] Bianchi, Marco. "Ladda ned Samnordisk runtextdatabas – Institutionen för nordiska språk – Uppsala universitet". www.nordiska.uu.se. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

[9] Harrison, D.; Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 199. ISBN 978-91-27-35725-9.

[Harrison192-10] Harrison, D. & Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo, p. 138.

[11] "In December 1997 I moved to Adelsö, the Island there the kings lived in the viking period, near the Island of Birka [...] My capabilities to live on my handicraft became bigger and I extend with guided tours in the ancient area, protected by UNESCO. On a piece of land, near this area, I build up my place of work and exhibition. [...] The year 2000 I got honored to carve a runestone as a memory of Leif Eriksson who did the exploration of North America, thousand year ago. The runestone was carved here at Adelsö. When the work was completed, the stone transferred to Canada and became raised at the northern point of Newfoundland / Vineland." (Kalle Dahlberg, runstonecarver.com Archived 10 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine ) "The three types of contemporary runestone carvings highlighted in the article are those that are "exact copies of existing stones", "explicitly contemporary", and "new, but with Old Norse"." (ireadrunes.blogspot.com Archived 19 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 2012)

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v t e Runestones
Western route and unspecified expeditions abroad	Viking runestones (main) England runestones Hakon Jarl runestones Gunnar's bridge runestones
Eastern route	Varangian runestones (main) Baltic area runestones Greece runestones Italy runestones Ingvar runestones
Other journeys	Nä 29, U 158, U 258, U 605, U 614, 699, U 925, U 948, U 954, 1028, U 1048, Sö 16, Sö 47, Sö 49, Sö 174, Sö 333, Sö 360, Vg 40, Vg 81, Sm 48, G 207, DR 259, DR 330, N 239
Jomsvikings and the Battle of Fýrisvellir	Högby Runestone Hällestad Runestones Sjörup Runestone Karlevi Runestone Egtved Runestone Aars stone
Viking Age women	Vs 24, U 15, U 337, U 455, U 489, U 861, Sr 139, Vg 67, N 68, N 225, DR 55, DR 114, DR 143 Gerlög and Inga: Färentuna Runestones, Hillersjö stone, Snottsta and Vreta stones Estrid: Broby bro Runestones, Hargs bro runic inscriptions, Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147
Norse mythology and Old Norse religion	"May Thor hallow": Vg 150, Sö 140 (?), DR 110, DR 209, DR 220 Thor's hammer: U 1161, Vg 113, Sö 86, Sö 111, DR 26, DR 48, DR 120 Cursed stones: Vg 67, DR 81, DR 83, DR 209, DR 230, DR 338, DR 357, DR 360 Other: Sö 154, Ög 136, Ög 181, Öl 1, Vg 63, Vg 119, Thorwald's Cross
Runestone monuments	Jarlabanke Runestones, Hunnestad Monument, Jelling stones
Other	Sö 113
Resources	List of runestones Rundata Runic inscriptions online interactive map Runic transliteration and transcription