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The Late Viking Age Runestones of Västergötland on Ornamentation and Chronology

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The Late Viking Age Runestones of Västergötland on Ornamentation and Chronology The Late Viking Age Runestones of Västergötland On Ornamentation and Chronology BY ANNE-SOFIE GRÄSLUND Gräslund, Anne-Sofie. 2015. The Late Viking Age Runestones of Västergötland: On Ornamentation Abstract and Chronology. Lund Archaeological Review 20 (2014), pp. 39–53. The runestones of Västergötland are investigated as to ornamentation in order to find out whether there is a possibility to divide them chronologically, as has previously been done with regard to the runestones of Uppland. A certain number of the Västergötland runestones show iconographic elements responding positively to such an inquiry, some of them with zoomorphic ornamentation, others with elements typical of Ringerike ornamentation. Apparently, the runestone fashion flourished in Västergötland from the end of the 10th century up to the middle of the 11th. The inscription on one of the youngest traditional runestones tells that the stone was laid over a mother by her three sons. This shows that the time of standing memorial stones was over, replaced by gravestones lying in horizontal position or early Christian box-tombs, in all probability at a consecrated burial ground, perhaps even a churchyard. Anne-Sofie Gräslund, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-75126 Uppsala, Sweden. [email protected]. Earlier research consisting of a general introduction to the runic inscriptions of Västergötland as well as The task of publishing the rich runestone a catalogue of inscriptions on other objects material of the province of Västergötland was than rune- stones or grave-slabs. The five originally given to the philologist Hugo Jung- fascicules together form volume 5 of Sveri- ner by the Royal Academy of Letters. The aim ges runinskrifter (Västergötlands runinskrifter was to publish the volume in the series Sve- 1940-1970). riges runinskrifter. Before his death in 1940, In April 2012, an all-day seminar was held Jungner managed to publish two fascicules of at the Department of Scandinavian Langu- plates. After Jungner’s death, the task was as- ages at Uppsala University, dedicated to Eli- signed to the runologist Elisabeth Svärdström, sabeth Svärdström’s achievements in Swedish who worked with this for many years, con- runology. Naturally, the runestones of Väs- temporaneously with other duties. In 1958, tergötland played an important role at this fascicule 3 (Runic inscriptions on runestones seminar. This article is a fuller version of my and grave-slabs from the county of Skaraborg) contribution there. and fascicule 4 (Runic inscriptions on rune- Elisabeth Svärdström reports 130 real rune- stones and grave-slabs from the counties of Älvs- stones (erected stones) and 67 gravestones borg and of Göteborg and Bohus) appeared. with runic inscriptions (lying slabs, lid- and Finally, in 1970, fascicule 5 was published, gable-slabs of box-tombs, so-called Eskilstuna THE LATE VIKING AGE RUNESTONES OF VÄSTERGÖTLAND: ON ORNAMENTATION AND CHRONOLOGY 39 sarcophagi, as well as coffin-shaped slabs). In linguistic possibilities. my opinion, this is an understandable but It is interesting to note that Ragnar Kinan- questionable division, as several erected sto- der, who published the first fascicule of the nes, at least in Uppland, have a clear connec- runic inscriptions of the province of Småland tion to Late Viking Age graves and some of in 1935, had a more open-minded approach the latest runestones in all probability served to the question of chronology than Svärd- as gravestones in churchyards (Gräslund 1987 ström. His starting point was certainly the & 1991a). shape and sound value of the runes, but also In a section of her introduction with the the concept of the arrangement of the runes, subtitle Inskrifternas anordning. Ornamentik. where he tries to classify the design and layout Runristare (The arrangement of inscriptions. of the inscriptions. In Småland, the propor- Ornamentation. Rune carvers, 1970, XXVIII tion of zoomorphic runestones is only 10%, ff.), Svärdström mentions the “ancient ar- to be compared with the provinces of Väster- rangement of the inscription without framing götland and Östergötland, both of them with lines” that is represented on four out of the 25% zoomorphic design of the total number 128 erected runestones inscribed with runes of runestones. of the younger futhark (Vg 5, 39, 116, 119 y; Kinander classified the layout of non- Vg 5, according to Svärdström, is dubious). zoomorphic inscriptions into three groups: Her opinion is that the later so common fra- row system, central loop pattern and edge-fol- ming lines originally were dividing lines, and lowing loop pattern (Kinander 1935, 10 f.). probably at the same time ledger lines. She With the exception of the oldest inscriptions, points out that in close to half of the number where the runes were placed in horizontal or of erected runestones the frame of the inscrip- vertical rows in an arbitrary order, he regards tion has no decoration. When ornamentation carvings where the inscription runs vertically occurs, it could be a spiral, either at the end in one or more rows as the earliest (cf. for ex- of the loop or at the beginning. For 20 stones, ample Vg 2, Vg 18 and Vg 160). When two she notices that the runic band begins with a such rows are connected through a bow, he serpent’s head seen from above, while for ten calls the pattern central loop if the rows are stones it begins with an animal head seen in close to each other and leave broad margins profile with an eye. Most of these heads are, at the carved surface (for example Sm 33 and in her view, clumsily and awkwardly executed. Sm 36). If, on the contrary, the rows are edge- Moreover, there are bird’s heads and inter- following and leave an open space in the twined knots and junctions. She has no centre of the surface area, he calls the pattern further comments on ornamentation, and edge-following loop (cf. Vg 33, Vg 35 and Vg does not attempt to use it for dating. 155). There could also be several windings of Her section of the introduction with the the inscription band, more or less covering subtitle Tidsbestämning (Chronology, XLIX the whole surface, as on Vg 4, Stora Ek, Ek ff.) turns out to be founded almost entirely parish. Depending on how many windings on linguistic grounds. She declares that she the rune band consists of, Kinander opera- has deliberately laid the main stress on gra- tes with some subgroups. For the runestones phic and linguistic indications and only secon- of Uppland, von Friesen (1913) indicates darily considered the ornamental content of a chain of evolution of the edge-following the stones. She refers to Hans Christiansson’s loop design that coincides rather well with stylistic thesis (1959, see more below), and Kinander’s subgroups. comments that he had underestimated the A scholar who should be mentioned with 40 ANNE-SOFIE GRÄSLUND regard to the study of the runestones of Väs- logical, historical, genealogical, ornamental tergötland is the art historian Harald Wideen, and archaeological grounds is very weak and whose thesis Västsvenska vikingatidsstudier far from exact. Nor is a relative dating, based (Viking Age Studies of western Sweden) appeared on ornamental grounds, possible in his view, as in 1955. He pays a good deal of attention to the ornamentation is partly too general, partly the runestones of Västergötland, their location too individual to permit fine distinctions. He and their ornamentation. He classifies the ru- argues that the Southern Scandinavian style nestones according to their physical shape occurs simultaneously with Central Scandi- (Wideen 1955, 137 ff.). When it comes to navian style and that the difference is regio- chronology, his dating is mainly based on com- nal. However, as the Southern Scandinavian parisons with Danish historical inscriptions as style largely corresponds to the Mammen and well as with Swedish historical inscriptions Ringerike styles and the Central Scandinavian concerning the Danegeld (large payments of style corresponds to the Urnes style, I cannot tribute as a result of Viking expeditions to accept his conclusion. Artefacts decorated in England 991–1018) and inscriptions on the Mammen, Ringerike and Urnes style clearly stones mentioning the Ingvar expedition to demonstrate through their archaeological find Serkland (248 f.). With regard to layout of contexts that we have to consider a chrono- the ornamentation, he finds a close connec- logical sequence. tion between runestones from the northern part of Jutland and Västergötland. In his thesis from 1959, Sydskandinavisk Dating on stylistic grounds stil: Studier i ornamentiken på de senvikinga- tida runstenarna (South Scandinavian Style: My own interest in runestones is of an old Studies in the Ornamental Art on the Late Vi- date, but during the first half of the 1990s, king Runestones), Hans Christiansson deals when I took part in an interdisciplinary re- with the runestones from Västergötland and search project on the Christianization of Swe- those from Jutland, Skåne, Södermanland and den, I found it necessary to work with their Ringerike. Having analysed in detail a large chronology. The runestones are extremely number of the runestones of south Scandina- important as source material for research on via he finds that they represent a specific style. the course of the mission, and I strongly felt His definition of the south Scandinavian style a need for a closer dating than merely to the is that details are included in a symmetrical 11th century, which was the traditional opin- pattern that destroy the symmetry, and that ion. I regarded a chronological stratification there may be a “concealed” pattern in relation as an indispensable basis for the historical in- to the “evident” pattern, as well as other il- terpretation. lusions and optical phenomena. The line pat- Previously, the inscriptions were mainly tern or the line rhythm is made up of mainly dated on linguistic grounds.
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