Rune Stones and Rock Carvings in Sweden - "Rökstenen", Rune Stone at Rök Church, Östergötland, Sweden


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	"Rökstenen", Rune Stone at Rök Church, Östergötland, Sweden






	"Rökstenen", Rune Stone at Rök Church, Östergötland, Sweden The famous rune stone at Rök church in Östergötland is very old. It is dated back to the first half of the 9th century. It is not known where it was raised from the beginning, but it was probably not far from its present location. When the old Rök church was built, the stone was built into the wall of an adjacent storehouse. Not a very unusual thing in those days. When the old church and the storehouse were demolished in 1843, it was discovered that the stone had runes on all sides, even on the top. The stone was built into the new church but was removed in 1862 and raised outside the church. The stone very mighty. It is 2,5 m high over the ground and 1,4 m wide. The runes, over 750 of them, are of different types. The main runic alphabet used consists of so called short-twig runes (in Swedish “kortkvisttyp”). There are also runes from the Old Futhark and encrypted runes. The code is made either by displacement, by number codes or by using cipher runes. Most rune experts agree on the reading of the runes, but the interpretation of the text and its meaning is still under discussion. At the rune stone in Rök, the Swedish National Heritage Board has placed an information board. On this, one possible interpretion of the runes is mentioned:

Line	Translation to Swedish	Approx. Translation to English
1.	Till minne av Vämod står dessa runor	In memory of Vämod stand these runes
2.	Varin skrev dem, fadern, till minne av den döde sonen	Varin wrote them, the father, in memory of the dead son
3.	Jag säger de unga det, vilka de två stridsbytena var	I say to the young men, which the two booties of fight were
4.	som tolv gånger blev tagna som krigsbyte	which twelve times were taken as booties of war
5.	båda på en gång från man efter man. Det säger jag som det and-	both together from various men. I say this sec-
6.	ra vem som för nio släktled sedan miste livet	ond to who nine generations ago lost his life
7.	hos reidgoterna och han dog	with the Reidgoths and he died
8.	hos dem till följd av sin skuld	at them for his guilt
9.	Då rådde Tjodrik den dristige, sjökrigarnas	Then Tjodrik the bold, the sea-warriors'
10.	hövding över Reidhavets kust. Nu sitter han rustad på	chief ruled the Reid Sea coast. Now he sits armed on
11.	sin gotiska häst, med sköld över axeln, den främste av Märingar	his Gothic horse, his shield over his shoulder, the First of the Märings
12.	Det säger jag som det tolfte var Gunns häst	I say this the twelfth, where the horse of Gunn
13.	ser föda på slagfältet, där tjugo konungar	sees fodder on the battlefield, where twenty kings
14.	ligger. Det säger jag såsom det trettonde, vilka	lie. This I say as thirteenth, which
15.	tjugo konungar satt på Själland under fyra	twenty kings sat on Zealand for four
16.	vintrar, med fyra namn, födda	winters, of four names, born
17.	åt fyra bröder. Fem med namnet Valke, Rådulfs sö-	of four brothers. Five with the name Valkis, Rådult's so-
18.	ner, fem Reidulf, Rugulfs söner, fem Haisl, Hord-	ns, five Reidulf, Rugulf's sons, five Haisl's, Hord-
19.	s söner, fem Gunnmund, Björns söner	s sons, five Gunnmund, Björn's sons
20.	Nu för de unga säger fullständigt envar (?)... eftersporde (?)	Now I say the tales in full. Someone (?)... asked (?)
21	Jag säger de unga det, vem av Ingvalds-	I say it to the young men, which of the Ingvald
22.	ättlingarna som blev gäldad genom en hustrus offer	descendants were repaid by a wife's sacrifice
23.	Jag säger de unga, åt vilken kämpe en ättling	I say to the young men, to which a valiant a relative
24.	är född. Vilen är det. Han kunde krossa	is born. Vilen it is. He could crush
25.	en jätte. Vilen är det.	a giant. Vilen it is.
26.	Jag säger de unga: Tor	I say to the young men: Tor
27.	Sibbe viets väktare	Sibbe the watcher of the holy place,
28.	avlade nittioårig (en son)	begot ninety years age (a son)

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	© 2008 Lars Henriksson. Updated: 2010-01-15.