- Tjängvide image stone
The Tjängvide [
IPA IPA|/ɕɛŋviːdə/] image stone (G 110) is animage stone which was discovered in 1844 on the farm of Tjängvide onGotland , but it is presently located in theSwedish Museum of National Antiquities inStockholm .The article " [http://runeberg.org/nfci/0129.html Tjängvidestenen] " in "Nordisk familjebok " (1919)] It is a flat slab oflimestone which measures 1.7 metres in height, is 1.2 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick. The stone is probably pagan in origin as no trace of Christian elements has been found. One of the images on the stone has been taken as the logo of the Swedish museum of National Antiquities.Imagery
The stone is decorated with several figures in an upper and a lower field, which are separated by a braided pattern that resembles
valknut s. In the upper field, there is a large eight-footed horse and a small rider who is offered adrinking horn by a lady, and there are also some other figures, such as a quadruped animal and some less discernible images.The rider on his horse is usually identified with
Odin on his eight-legged horseSleipnir , or a dead man who is arriving atValhalla on Odin's horse. [http://www.historiska.se/historia/jarnaldern/vikingar/hedniskagudar/relaterade-bilder-hedniska-gudar/ryttare/ The presentation of the logo] of theSwedish Museum of National Antiquities inStockholm , retrieved March 9, 2008.] Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 86] The lady is identified as avalkyrie .There are also alternative interpretations of the imagery, and it has been suggested that the rider is
Sigurd who is riding onGrani (an offspring of Sleipnir) and that the welcoming lady isGrimhild who is welcoming Sigurd to the court of the Gjukungs. It is also possible that the eight legs symbolize the high speed of the horse and that the rider is a living man who is welcomed by his wife. The man behind the lady appears to carry a bow and he may be a dead man who is hunting and the quadruped may be his dog.The lower field of the stone is almost completely filled with the image of a
longship with tall aft and stern. The sail is almost as wide as the ship is long.Inscription
The
runic inscription to the left of the field is the runic row, but several of the runes are lost. In the runic inscription to the right of the lower field, half of the runes may be lost. The runic inscription does not separate the words from each other and the runes areshort-twig runes . Below follows the inscription as it is presented by theRundata project:Rundata ]Transliteration
*A fuorkhn... ...fuþr-...
*B ... (r)aisti stainin aft iurulf bruþur sin ÷ sikuif(i)r(t)(u)(a)(n)k(i)sifilTranscription into Old Norse
*A
...
*B ... ræisti stæininn æftiR Hiorulf/Iorulf, broður sinn ...Translation in English
*A
...
*B ... raised the stone in memory of Hjôrulfr/Jórulfr, his brother ...References
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