Skåäng Runestone
The Skåäng Runestone, designated as Sö 32 under Rundata, is an Iron Age runestone located in Skåäng, Södermanland, Sweden, which is inscribed in Proto-Norse with the elder futhark. During the Viking Age, a second runic inscription was added in Old Norse using the younger futhark.
| Skåäng Runestone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created | 6th Century |
| Discovered | Skåäng, Södermanland, Sweden |
| Rundata ID | Sö 32 U/V |
| Runemaster | Unknown |
| Text – Native | |
| Proto-Norse and Old Norse :See article. | |
| Translation | |
| See article. | |
Description
The Skåäng Runestone consists of a younger futhark inscription that is within a serpent on the edge of the stone and an older inscription in the center of the stone. The younger futhark inscription was discovered in 1830, but the older central inscription was not noticed until 1867.[1]
The Elder Futhark inscription is harija ÷ leugaz which is interpreted as the Proto-Norse names Harija and Leugaz. The name Harija is a hypocoristic form of names ending with -harjaz ("warrior"), or a name beginning with Harja-, and it is part of the place name Häringe.[2] The name Leugaz is a nomen agentis of the same word as the Gothic liugan ("swear an oath")[2] and means "oath taker." Between the two names there is a 
rune (the shape of younger futhark rune hagall), but there is no consensus on how to interpret it. Two different forms of the z rune algiz are used in this inscription, the first a double or mirrored form similar to that used in the inscription on the Charnay fibula and the second the standard form.[1]
The younger futhark inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style Fp. The text on the serpent states that the stone was part of "landmarks" made by Skammhals and Ólôf in memory of their father Sveinn. The prayer at the end of this text uses the Norse word salu for soul, which was imported from English and is first recorded as being used on a different runestone dating from the tenth century.[3]
Inscription
Runic
- §A ᚺᚨᚱᛁᛃᚨᚼᛚᛖᚢᚷᚨᛉ7
- §B ᛋᚴᛅᚾᛘᛅᛚᛋ ᛅᚢᚴ × ᚬᛚᛅᚢᚠ × ᚦᛅᚢ × ᛚᛁᛏᚢ × ᚴᛁᛅᚱᛅ × ᛘᛂᚱᚴᛁ × ᚦᛅᚢᛋᛁ × ᛂᚠᛏᛁᛦ × ᛋᚢᛅᛁᚾ × ᚠᛅᚦᚢᚱ × ᛋᛁᚾ × ᚴᚢᚦ × ᚼᛁᛅᛚᛒᛁ ᛋᛅᛚᚢ ᚼᛅᚾᛋ
Transliteration of the runes into Latin characters
- §A harijah ÷ leugaz
- §B skanmals auk × olauf × þau × litu × kiara × merki × þausi × eftiʀ × suain × faþur × sin × kuþ × hialbi salu hans[4]
Transcription into Proto Norse and Old Norse
- §A Harja, Leugaz
- §B Skammhals ok Olof þau letu gæra mærki þausi æftiʀ Svæin, faður sinn. Guð hialpi salu hans.[4]
Translation in English
- §A Harja, Leugaz
- §B Skammhals and Ólôf, they had these landmarks made in memory of Sveinn, their father. May God help his soul.[4]
References
- Looijenga, Tineke (2003). Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions. Leiden: Brill. p. 335. ISBN 90-04-12396-2.
- Peterson, Lena (2007). "Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn" (PDF). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-18. (Lexicon of Nordic personal names before the 8th century)
- Spurkland, Terje (2005). Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions. van der Hoek, Betsy (trans.). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 133–135. ISBN 1-84383-186-4.
- Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk - Rundata.
Other sources
- The article Skåängstenen in Nordisk familjebok (1917).
- Peterson, Lena (2007). "Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn" (PDF). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-18.(Lexicon of Nordic personal names before the 8th century)