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.
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.
The Tillinge Runestone inscription consists of a runic text within a serpent. It was initially found within the church wall, but the full inscription could not be read until it was removed from the wall in 1946 and raised in front of the church. [1] Many runestones were reused for materials in the construction of roads, bridges, walls, and buildings before their historical significance was understood. The inscription is dated as being from the first half of the 11th century and is in Old Norse and written using the younger futhark.
The Tillinge Runestone was raised by a man in memory of his brother who died in Serkland, and ends in a prayer for the brother's soul. It may be one of the Ingvar Runestones, [2] but is not included in that group as it does not mention Ingvar the Far-Travelled, the leader of a Swedish Viking expedition to the Caspian Sea. As such, this runestone may be a memorial to a Varangian who died while in service in Asia. [2]
The inscription is unsigned and has been attributed either to runemasters named Torbjörn or Gunnar. [3] The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Pr1, which is also known as the Ringerike style.
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. Most runestones are found in present-day 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 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.
The Hagby Runestones are four runestones that are raised on the courtyard of the farm Hagby in Uppland, Sweden. They are inscribed in Old Norse using the Younger Futhark and they date to the 11th century. Three of the runestones are raised in memory of Varangians who died somewhere in the East, probably in Kievan Rus'.
The Greece runestones are about 30 runestones containing information related to voyages made by Norsemen to the Byzantine Empire. They were made during the Viking Age until about 1100 and were engraved in the Old Norse language with Scandinavian runes. All the stones have been found in modern-day Sweden, the majority in Uppland and Södermanland. Most were inscribed in memory of members of the Varangian Guard who never returned home, but a few inscriptions mention men who returned with wealth, and a boulder in Ed was engraved on the orders of a former officer of the Guard.
The Italy runestones are three or four Varangian runestones from 11th-century Sweden that tell of warriors who died in Langbarðaland, the Old Norse name for Italy. On these rune stones it is southern Italy that is referred to (Langobardia), but the Rundata project renders it rather anachronistically as Lombardy.
The England runestones are a group of about 30 runestones in Northern Europe which refer to Viking Age voyages to England. They constitute one of the largest groups of runestones that mention voyages to other countries, and they are comparable in number only to the approximately 30 Greece Runestones and the 26 Ingvar Runestones, of which the latter refer to a Viking expedition near the Caspian Sea. They were engraved in Old Norse with the Younger Futhark.
The Varangian Runestones are runestones in Scandinavia that mention voyages to the East or the Eastern route, or to more specific eastern locations such as Garðaríki.
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 have 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.
The Baltic area runestones are Varangian runestones in memory of men who took part in peaceful or warlike expeditions across the Baltic Sea, where Finland and the Baltic states are presently located.
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.
The Lovö Runestones are five Viking Age memorial runestones that are located outside the Lovö church on the island of Lovön in Lake Mälaren, which is in Stockholm County, Sweden, and in the historic province of Uppland.
The Lilla Vilunda runestones are three Viking Age memorial runestones that were erected by members of the same family and which are located at Lilla Vilunda in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm County, Sweden, and in the historic province of Uppland.
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 Bjälbo runestones are three Viking Age memorial runestones, one of which has been lost, located at Bjälbo, which is a village in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland, Sweden. One of the inscriptions provides evidence of the existence of guilds in Sweden during this period.
The Fölene Runestones are two Viking Age memorial runestones which are located near the church in Fölene, which is about 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Herrljunga, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, which was in the historic province of Västergötland. The stones are memorials to two men who were described as holding the title drengr.
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.
Västergötland Runic Inscription 8 or Vg 8 is the Rundata listing for a Viking Age memorial runestone located at the church at Hjälstad, which is about one kilometer west of Moholm, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, and in the historic province of Västergötland.