A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Rök Stone (in Swedish, Rökstenen‘) is the Ninth-century memorial granite block coated with the longest runic inscription ever found. The 4-ton stone is positioned between two small villages (Väderstad och Ödeshög) in Östergötland County, Sweden.
The textual content is filled with obscure, obscure, allusions. This enigmatic and interesting inscription have attracted many researchers who created fanciful interpretations. Photo: Bengt A. Lundberg/KMB
Rök Stone shouldn’t be solely a monumental memorial but additionally an historical literary work of nice significance. As many as 725 runes of a Swedish-Norwegian runic alphabet of 16 characters bear readable (generally tough to interpret ) textual content containing verses of epic nature, allusions to heroic myths, hero songs, legends, and secret formulation, most likely a curse.
Also carved on the stone are 9 traces within the older runic alphabet (futhark). Varin (Varinn), the rune carver, additionally used cipher for magical functions.
An entire stanza in the course of the inscription is believed to concern Theodoric the Great (454-526 AD), king of the Ostrogoths (from 471). This king invaded Italy in 488 and accomplished the conquest of nearly the whole peninsula together with Sicily by 493.
Image through Riksantikvarieämbetet, Stockholm, Sweden
Theodoric turned king of Italy (493-526) and established his capital at Ravenna in northeastern Italy. Varin wrote the textual content within the 800s to tribute his useless son, Vämod (Vaemod).
This stone is without doubt one of the fascinating rune stones. Of all of the runes carved within the 800s, just a few are preserved, and Rök Stone is essentially the most notable.
Rök Stone’s inscription is Sweden’s most outstanding textual content from historical instances. It is a novel memorial to a younger man. The textual content is filled with obscure, difficult-to-understand allusions. An enigmatic and interesting inscription has attracted many researchers who created fanciful interpretations.
Sophus Bugge (1833 – 1907), a Norwegian philologist and linguist who in 1878 made the primary interpretation of the stone, was satisfied that the textual content should be in regards to the deceased Vaemod.
A very totally different interpretation was proposed later by the Swedish literary historian Henrik Schück, who believed the textual content was a textual content enriched with some obscure myths.
Rök Stone has an historical message, maybe a number of messages however likely it can’t be deciphered. The myths and legends talked about within the textual content don’t hold collectively, and since they’re lengthy since forgotten, we’ve no capability to know the deeper that means of the textual content. Photo: www.avrosys.nu
In 1920, a really suggestive and prolonged, extensively accepted interpretation gave Otto von Friesen, the Swedish linguist and runologist, who noticed within the textual content an intense attraction to the younger dynasty to avenge Vaemod, who had fallen in battle.
Many different interpretations have additionally been proposed, involving revenge motifs and mysticism. One belongs to the Norwegian Ottar Grønvik, who prompt that the mysterious textual content is a unprecedented act of worship.
Rök Stone has an historical message, maybe a number of, however can’t be deciphered. The myths and legends talked about within the textual content don’t hold collectively, and since they’re lengthy forgotten, we can not perceive the deeper that means of the textual content.
Many researchers imagine that solely up to date individuals with Varinn who shared his tradition might perceive his textual content.
As many as 725 runes – being of a Swedish–Norwegian runic alphabet of 16 characters – bear readable (generally tough to interpret) textual content containing verses of epic character, allusions to heroic myths, hero songs, legends and secret formulation, most likely a curse. Photo: visitostergotland.se
The textual content reads:
“In reminiscence of Vaemod stand these runes…”
“And Varin wrote them, the daddy of the useless son. I say the individuals of reminiscence, which the 2 opposite adjustments had been, which twelve instances had been taken as fight altering from man to man. I say that the second, who 9 generations in the past misplaced his lifetime of reidgoterna and died in them on account of its debt.”
“Then there was Tjodrik the Bold, sjökrigarnas chieftain of Reid Mediterranean shore. Now he sits armed on his Gothic horse, defend over his shoulder, the foremost of Märingar”.
“I say that the twelfth was Gunn’s horse (wolf) sees meals on the battlefield, the place twenty kings lie. I say that the thirteenth, to which twenty kings sat on Zealand for 4 winters, with 4 names, sons of 4 brothers. 5 (named) Valke, Rådulvs sons, 5 Reidulv, Rugilvs sons, 5 Haisl, hords sons, 5 Gunn Mund, Bjorn’s sons.
Now, I say recollections utterly. Someone … (the stone is broken right here, studying and interpretation unsure ) I say the individuals of reminiscence, who Ingvald descendants who turned gäldad by his spouse’s sacrifice. I say a individuals’s reminiscence, to which a fighter descendant born. Vilen it. He might crush a large. Vilen it. I say a individuals reminiscence: Tor. Sibbe from we graduated ninety years outdated (a son).”
Written by – A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Updated on October 30, 2022
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