The Ledberg Runestone Ög 181
This stone may depict scenes from Ragnarök, the final battle in Norse mythology. The images include a ship, dogs/wolves and several warriors including a corpse. The animal biting a warrior's foot may be Fenrir devouring Odin. Despite the pagan imagery, this stone like so many others in Sweden was raised during Christianity's rapid spread (note the cross on the narrow side). My estimate is that it is from ca 1010-1040.
The last 12 runes are a magic charm in cipher, which decoded reads "thistle, mistletoe, casket (?)." In Old Norse these words rhyme and only have the initial consonant replaced. The meaning of this charm is unknown, but it isn't unique - this kind of wordplay charm was very popular in medieval Europe.
Old Norse:
A: Bisi satti stæin þennsi æftiʀ Þorgaut …, faður
B: sinn ok þau Gunna baði. Þistill/mistill/kistill
English:
A: Bisi placed this stone in memory of Þorgautr … his father
B: and Gunna, both. Thistle, mistletoe, casket (?)
This stone may depict scenes from Ragnarök, the final battle in Norse mythology. The images include a ship, dogs/wolves and several warriors including a corpse. The animal biting a warrior's foot may be Fenrir devouring Odin. Despite the pagan imagery, this stone like so many others in Sweden was raised during Christianity's rapid spread (note the cross on the narrow side). My estimate is that it is from ca 1010-1040.
The last 12 runes are a magic charm in cipher, which decoded reads "thistle, mistletoe, casket (?)." In Old Norse these words rhyme and only have the initial consonant replaced. The meaning of this charm is unknown, but it isn't unique - this kind of wordplay charm was very popular in medieval Europe.
Old Norse:
A: Bisi satti stæin þennsi æftiʀ Þorgaut …, faður
B: sinn ok þau Gunna baði. Þistill/mistill/kistill
English:
A: Bisi placed this stone in memory of Þorgautr … his father
B: and Gunna, both. Thistle, mistletoe, casket (?)