A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones.
A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones.
More than 100 names of runemasters are known from Viking Age Sweden with most of them from 11th-century eastern Svealand. [1] Many anonymous runestones have more or less securely been attributed to these runemasters. [1] During the 11th century, when most runestones were raised, there were a few professional runemasters. They and their apprentices were contracted to make runestones and when the work was finished, they sometimes signed the stone with the name of the runemaster. [2] Many of the uncovered runic inscriptions have likely been completed by non-professional runecarvers for the practical purposes of burial rites or record-keeping. [3] Due to the depictions of daily life, many of the nonprofessional runecarvers could have been anything from pirates to soldiers, merchants, or farmers. [4] The layout of Scandinavian towns provided centers where craftspeople could congregate and share trade knowledge. [5] After the spread of Christianity in these regions, and the increase in runic literacy that followed, runes were used for record-keeping and found on things like weapons, ivory, and coins. [6]
Most early medieval Scandinavians were probably literate in runes, and most people probably carved messages on pieces of bone and wood. [2] However, it was difficult to make runestones, and in order to master it one also needed to be a stonemason. [2]
Some attributions were given to runic skalds, or poets, indicating that many of the runemasters were likely authors of skaldic poetry and oral tradition who had connection to royalty by way of documenting their deeds and offering counsel. [7]
A number of historians have theorized that there may be a connection between the word erilaz (individual proficient in runes) in the proto-Scandinavian priesthood and the old Norse title "jarl" (chieftain, heir to the throne). This suggests that it is possible that those who were versed in runic arts formed their own secular upper class of learned runemasters. [8] This claim is corroborated by the geographical distribution of runestones throughout Eastern Norway, [9] but there is not enough linguistic or philological evidence to strongly support it. Whether or not a linguistic link can be made, however, it is likely that the runemasters in Norway during the Viking Age would have formed an upper class due to their portrayal in ruins as near the top of the social hierarchy but still subservient to the chieftain. [8]
Towards the middle of the 11th century, the practice of carving runes that depict figures in Norse mythology decreased, and instead traditional religious imagery began to hybridize with Christian imagery. This continued with the increasing prominence of runestones that accompanied the rise of Christianity. [10] Runemasters began to document the indulgences offered by the Catholic Church in exchange for public works projects such as the construction of bridges and roads, a donation to a church, or the beginning of a pilgrimage. Many of the runic inscriptions carved during this time were done so "for the pleasure of God," or to ensure the safe passage of one's soul. [11]
Runes were often erected by long-distance explorers seeking to document their visits or memorialize their fallen comrades. Runecarvers on commission or on their own carved memorials and gravestones more than anything else. [12] In addition, memorial runes could provide additional details about an individual's death with more accuracy than oral tradition. [7]
Notable runemasters of the 11th to early 12th centuries include:
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.
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 Dynna Stone is a runestone from the late Viking Age that was originally located in Gran, Norway.
The Odendisa Runestone, sometimes called the Hassmyra Runestone, is a Viking Age runestone erected at Hassmyra, Västmanland, Sweden. It is exceptional in that it has a metric inscription, and in commemorating a woman.
The Ingvar Runestones is the name of around 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.
Fot was a runemaster who flourished in mid-11th century Sweden.
The Lingsberg Runestones are two 11th-century runestones, listed as U 240 and U 241 in the Rundata catalog, and one fragment, U 242, that are engraved in Old Norse using the younger futhark. They are at the Lingsberg farm about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of Vallentuna, which is about 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of the center of Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was part of the former province of Uppland.
The Sigurd stones form a group of eight or nine Swedish runic inscriptions and one picture stone that depict imagery from the Germanic heroic legend of Sigurd the dragon slayer. They were made during the Viking Age and constitute the earliest Norse representations of the matter of the Völsung cycle that is the basis of the Middle High German Nibelungenlied and the Sigurd legends in the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and the Völsunga saga.
The Viking runestones are runestones that mention Scandinavians who participated in Viking expeditions. This article treats the runestone that refer to people who took part in voyages abroad, in western Europe, and stones that mention men who were Viking warriors and/or died while travelling in the West. However, it is likely that all of them do not mention men who took part in pillaging. The inscriptions were all engraved in Old Norse with the Younger Futhark. The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: Denmark has 250 runestones, Norway has 50 while Iceland has none. Sweden has as many as between 1,700 and 2,500 depending on definition. The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391.
Uppland Runic Inscription 308 or U 308 is the Rundata catalog designation for a memorial runestone that is located in Ekeby, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Uppland. 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.
This runic inscription, designated as U 839 in the Rundata catalog, is on a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Ryda kungsgård, which is about 6 kilometers north of Enköping, Uppsala County, Sweden, and in the historic province of Uppland.
This runic inscription, designated as U 448 in the Rundata catalog, is on a Viking Age memorial runestone located in Harg, which is about 4 kilometers north of Märsta, Stockholm County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Uppland.
The Holmfast Inscriptions are two Viking Age memorial runic inscriptions and one image that are designated as Sö 311, Sö 312, and Sö 313 in the Rundata catalog. They are located in Södertälje, Stockholm County and the province of Södermanland, Sweden by the eponymous road Holmfastvägen.
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.
Södermanland Runic Inscription 178 or Sö 178 is the Rundata catalog number for a Viking Age memorial runestone which is located at Gripsholm Castle, Södermanland County, Sweden, which is in the historic province of Södermanland.
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.
The Aringsås Runestones are two runestones located at the Aringsås Church in Alvesta, Kronoberg County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Småland. A third runestone is believed to be hidden within a churchyard wall.
The Vidbo Runestones are two Viking Age memorial runestones that are located in the churchyard of the Vidbo church, which is about 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Knivsta, Uppsala County, Sweden, in the historic province of Uppland.