GP 32 Boge kyrka

Context and Discovery
The known find history of stone has been described by H. Gustavson in the manuscript for the third, as yet uncompleted, part of Gotlands runinskrifter. As noted by Gustavson, the information is vague and partly contradictory regarding the year when the stone was found. According to a remark on a drawing by P. A. Säve, the stone was found in 1866 in front of the west door to the church tower in Boge, a little under the ground (Säve 1873, hs R 625:11). The upper part of the tower was damaged in a storm in 1857 and fell down in 1858, upon which it was torn down completely and rebuilt in 1867–1892 (Wollin 1935, p. 134; BeBR). S. Söderberg examined the stone in 1891. He indicates that it was discovered by chance in 1867, when the old tower was to be torn down. The stone was first moved to the belfry. Later, it was moved to the north side of the church and placed as a stepstone at the west entrance. On this occasion, the lower part of the stone was cut off in order to make it fit better but the rest of the stone was complete. However, it was further damaged in later moves. According to S. Lindquist, the stone was broken in 1859 when the tower fell down (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 28). When P. A. Säve examined the stone in the churchyard, it consisted of five fragments. A small piece in the lower part of the stone is missing on the drawing but was found later. The fragments were brought to Gotland Museum in 1893 and mounted together. When the stone was moved from the monument hall, it broke horizontally in the old breaking point. At the time when H. Gustavson described the stone in the manuscript for the third part of Gotlands runinskrifter, it was still broken and situated in the museum store (GR 3: Boge socken, G 276).

Boge kyrka was first built in 1190. We may presume that the picture stone was built into the tower when it was built in the early 13th century (Wollin 1935, pp. 134–136; BeBR). In 1695, there was an outbreak of fire in the tower (Wollin 1935, p. 138; BeBR), but it is unknown whether this may have affected the picture stone.

There are several ancient remains in the vicinity of the church, such as a house foundation and stone fences (Sw. stensträngar) (Wickman/Nydolf, 2006, p. 6). The Boge area is well-known for its harbour, trading activities with contacts across the eastern Baltic, and silver hoards. The harbour was situated immediately to the east of the church. The Boge area has been described both as a center for the use of early Viking runic inscriptions (Källström, 2012, p. 58) and a prolific locality for hoarding, with, e.g, the huge hoards at Spillings (Kilger 2012, p. 58). In the same parish, there are four other picture stones (GP 30, GP 31, GP 33, GP 34; see Lindqvist 1962, p. 19–21; 1963, p. 65). In the vicinity, a runic plate made of copper (G 278) and the famous late 10th or early 11th-century Pilgårds runestone (G 280) have been found, and in addition there are two whetstones with runic inscriptions (G 279, G 281) in the same parish.
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GP0030
GP0031
GP0033
GP 34 Boge Laxarve 2

Measurements, Material and Condition
Limestone. The stone is broken into several pieces. When examined on 22 and 24 November 2022, the three largest fragments were stored on three different pallets. Fragment 1, the top part, is 106 cm wide and 92 cm high. Fragment 2, the lower part to the right with the end of the runic inscription, 48 cm high wide and 81 cm high. Beside it on the same pallet is fragment 4, with the tail of the runic animal, a triangular piece of 30 x 16 cm. Fragment 4 is the lower part to the left with the head of the runic animal, 78 cm wide and 60 cm high. Together, the present height of the runestone is 1.60 m, largest width 1.06 m, thickness 0.15–0.21 m. The present width at the neck is 100 cm. The height of the runes is 7–10.5 cm.

This is a picture stone of type C or D that has been recut and reused as a runic picture stone (Nylen 2003, p. 181). Some traces of an older carving were noticed in our examination in 2022. Along the edge, there is an incised line that partly runs parallel to the runic serpent that may be the remains of an older border ornament. In the lower right corner of the stone, the line continues along the edged while the runic serpent turn inwards. Beneath the lower lip of the runic serpent, there are remains of a sail. Some traces of an older carving may also be seen at the same height on the stone as the third row of the horizontal runic inscriptions across the neck. In addition, the stone has been broken into pieces, perhaps when it fell from the tumbling church tower. The root has been cut off or broken off, with the effect that the beginning and the end of the inscription are missing. There is additional damage on the left part of the stone, on its top and on the right middle part. There is damage to the carving surface in the middle part. The upper edge to the right has been dressed and the carving surface in that area has been worn by trampling. The other parts of the carving surface are mostly uneven and rough. Gustavson appreciates that up to 15 runes may be lost due to the damage on the lower left part of the stone. This section ought to have included the names of one or more sponsors who raised the stone together with Gunnar and Gunnraif (GR 3: Boge socken, G 276). The carving surface is smooth, according to Lindqvist probably dressed, and somewhat worn by trampling. The edges of the slab are almost perpendicular to the carving surface and without sharp borders to the backside. The right corner of the head has been secondarily cut off and the broken surface was levelled (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 28).
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Description of Ornament and Images
The stone has carving from two periods, firstly, traces of an original picture stone carving, probably from the 8th–10th century, and secondly, runic ornament and a runic inscription from the 11th century. The head of the runic animal is partly carved in half relief. Downward on the left, under the head, there are remains of a horizontal chequered pattern that is older than the rune carving. Along the edges there are traces of a cut border line, which according to Gustavson belongs to the older carving. There was a relief border along the edges. Above the ribbons with the inscription, there is a 6-cm large equal-armed cross. It cannot be judged whether the cross belonged to the older carving (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, pp. 28–29; Gustavson in GR 3: Boge socken, G 276; Rundkvist 2012, p. 152). Lindqvist suggests that the picture stone had all but lost its original carving by weathering before the runic inscription was applied to it. The original border ornament was of similar width as the later-added rune band, but it was c. 3 cm closer to the edge of the stone. The shape of the slab is unusual as compared to other 11th-century gotlandic runestones; it probably was not reshaped (Lindquist 1941/1942 II, pp. 28–29).

The 11th-century ornament consists of a runic serpent with its ribbon-shaped body following the edges of the stone, carrying the runic inscription. The shape of the head of runic animal appears to belong to style group Pr 2, c. 1020–1050 AD (Gräslund 2002, p. 144). Contrary to the suggestion by C. Säve (see G 276 in GR 3), the stone would then belong to the early phase of gotlandic runestones and contemporary with stones such as G 181 Sanda, G 373 Sproge and G 111 Ardre, although the animal heads of those do not seem particularly good analogies.

The prominent teeth of the runic animal are a rather unusual feature. On runestones, large teeth most often appear in the mouths of four-legged animals (quadrupeds), interpreted as the Fenris wolf (Oehrl 2011), but we find teeth in the runic dragon or serpent on the stones GP 341 Sanda kyrka (G 181), Vs 27 in Västmanland and a number of stones in Uppland and Södermanland (G 181 Sanda, Vs 27 in Västmanland, U 773 and U 814, U 1163 in Uppland, Sö 213, Sö 256, Sö 269, Sö 274, Sö 279 [good example], Sö 281, Sö 286, Sö ATA 7551/92). In the latter area, it appears to be a feature of the first half of the 11th century. A good parallel to the runic animal on GP 32 is the runestone Sö 290, attributed to the carver Halvdan. The dots in the carving are of varying size and appear to have been drilled. Drilled holes seem to be a specific characteristic of the gotlandic runestones (see GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I).

At the neck of the stone, there are two cross ribbons for the runic inscription. As these two ribbons still do not provide enough space for the inscription, there is an additional third row of runes below, without a base-line.

The two cross ribbons carrying runes are paralleled by GP 208 Hogrän kyrka I (G 203), GP 25 Atlingbo kyrka (G 200) and GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I (G 134). The horizontal bands often carry the carver signature, as is the case here and on GP 357† Sjonhem kyrka III (G 136†) as well as on the aforementioned GP 25 (Källström, 2007, p. 172).
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GP 341 Sanda kyrka I
GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I
GP0208
GP 25 Atlingbo kyrka (I)
GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I
GP 357 Sjonhem kyrka III

Interpretation of the Imagery
The stone is one of a few cases where picture stones have been recut and provided with runic inscriptions in the 11th century, such as GP 543 Visby St Hans (G 343). Lindqvist compares the shape of the slab to the C-stones GP 185 Hejnum Rings and GP 37 Bro Eriks I (Lindqvist 1941/1942, s. II:29; GR 3: Boge socken, G 276). Rundkvist understands the re-use of picture stones in the late 10th and the 11th century from the perspective of “a backward-yearning Pagan reactionary stance” (Rundkvist, 2012, p. 150).

As for its later stage, as a runic picture-stone, C. Säve indicated that it belonged to a late stage of the same period as the stones from Sjonhem (GP 355–357) and Hogrän (GP 208) (GR 3: Boge socken, G 276). As such, it belongs to the group often called ‘picture stone shaped runestones’ (see GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I). Gustavson generalized the dating of this group to the middle or second half of the 11th century (GR 3: Boge socken, G 276).

The heads of the gotlandic runestones are often dominated by a large monumental cross standing on the cross ribbon, but in this case there is only a small simple cross. The cross can be classified as A8 in Lager’s classification system for runic crosses (Lager 2002, p. 65). Such small crosses appear on mainland runestones as well, in some cases beside and accompanying a large cross (eg. U 893, U 896). U 893 has four small simple crosses in addition to the runic ornament. Crosses on rune stones have earlier raised the question of whether cross-marked stones had the function of consecrating Christian cemeteries in a missionary period when churchyards were scarce (Gräslund 1987, p. 258).

The close similarity in ornament between runestones in Uppland and Gotland has often been remarked upon (Jansson 1945, pp. 148–149; Snædal Brink/Jansson 1983, p. 441; Svärdström in GR 2, pp. 169; Snædal 2002, p. 230; 2004, p. 32). Analyses of the carving techniques by 3D-scanning indicate that from a handicraft perspective, the direct contact between mainland and Gotland carvers was limited in the first half of the 11th century but increases later in the same century (Kitzler Åhfeldt 2019, p. 110).
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GP 543 Visby St. Hans 3
GP 185 Hejnum Rings
GP0037
GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I
GP 356 Sjonhem kyrka II
GP 357 Sjonhem kyrka III
GP0208

Runic Context and Comments
The inscription states that no fewer than three people took part in the carving. Other examples of sharing the task include, e,g., GP 208 Hogrän kyrka I and several other stones (see GR 3: Boge socken, G 276; Åhlén 1997, p. 58). It has been calculated that c. 12 % of the signed runestones, 33 out of 265, have been signed by more than one carver. This seems to be particularly common on Gotland, even though the number of signed Viking-age runestones is low. Furthermore, Gotland is the only region where we find more than two carver names (Källström, 2007, pp. 185–186).
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GP0208

Type and Dating
The original picture stone was a C- or D stone of the 8th–10th century. The stone was reshaped to a runestone in the first half of the 11th century.

Judging by the head of the runic animal, which can be classified as style group Pr 2 (c. 1020-1050 AD) in Gräslund’s style chronological system (Gräslund 2002, p. 144), the stone was reused, and the runic inscription added in the first half of the 11th century. This is on the condition that the style groups are contemporary in Gotland and the Mälar area, as the system mainly is based on material in the latter. The relevance of the style groups outside the Mälar area has been discussed earlier (Gräslund 2002, p. 146; Källström 2007, p. 68).

As a runestone, Lindquist indicated that it belongs to the third period of large stones, i.e., the 11th century, and that the unusual shape is due to its being a palimpsest (Lindvist 1941/42 II, pp. 28–29). Gustavson dates the stone to the middle or second half of the 11th century (GR 3: Boge socken, G 276). Snædal includes GP 32 in a group of 18 picture stone-shaped runestones with Middle Scandinavian runestone ornament, but she only gives a wide dating frame to the Missionary period 1000–1150 (Snædal, 2002, pp. 66–67, 81).
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References
P. A. Säve Saml. V, pp. 734, 796; Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, pp. 28–29, Fig. 312, 318; Snædal 2002, pp.81f.; Nylén/Lamm 2003, p. 181; Rundkvist 2012, pp.149–152.

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