Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: The majority are found in Sweden, estimated at between 1,700 [2] and 2,500 (depending on definition). Denmark has 250 runestones, and Norway has 50. [2] There are also runestones in other areas reached by the Viking expansion, especially in the British Isles. [3]
Sweden has between 1,700 [5] and 2,500 [3] [8] 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. [8] Outside of Scandinavia, the Isle of Man stands out with its 30 runestones from the 9th century and early 11th century. [10]
The division into Scandinavian, North Sea (Anglo-Frisian), and South Germanic inscriptions makes sense from the 5th century. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Elder Futhark script was still in its early phase of development, with inscriptions concentrated in what is now Denmark and Northern Germany .
The runestone styles were part of the general evolution of art in Scandinavia. This is a part of the decoration of the Urnes stave church which is in the same as the later runestone styles. The term "runestone style" in the singular may refer to the Urnes style. The style or design of runestones varied during the Viking Age.
Geographic distribution of the Sigurd stones. The Sigurd stones form a group of eight or nine Swedish runic inscriptions (five or six runestones, two natural rocks, and a baptismal font) and one picture stone that depict imagery from the Germanic heroic legend of Sigurd the dragon slayer.
The name "Rök Stone" is something of a tautology: the stone is named after the village, "Rök", but the village is probably named after the stone, "Rauk" or "Rök" meaning "skittle-shaped stack/stone" in Old Norse. The stone is unique in a number of ways. It contains a fragment of what is believed to be a lost piece of Norse mythology.
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.
The runestones were not carved by the same man, and so it appears that the runestone reflects a specific tradition in Blekinge during the 7th century. Compared to the Stentoften inscription, the one on the Björketorp stone has a fuller, more formal and less archaic style.