GP 3 Alskog kyrka

Context and Discovery
The picture stone was found in 1850 by Per Arvid Säve (Säve 1852). It was positioned in the church ‘as a common flagstone’. In 1873, it was transferred to Stockholm and brought to SHM (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, 13).

Measurements, Material and Condition
Stone of the type that Lindqvist referred to as cist stone, i.e. a trapezoidal monument with a wave-shaped upper edge. This stone was worked into a roughly rectangular slab in order to fit into the church floor.
Sune Lindqvist describes the stone as follows (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 13): ‘Limestone slab, 15 cm thick. The obverse is naturally smooth and now largely worn down by footsteps. Of the original narrow sides, only one piece of 7 cm length is preserved, 19–26 cm away from the present upper right corner: the section of the upper edge that is curved furthest down, inside of the right corner post. The narrow side is carefully flattened here at right angles towards the obverse for a width of at least 8 cm. The reverse is raw and unworked. In order to be used as a base for a baptismal font, the stone has been trimmed all around into an almost square shape (height 105–108 cm, width 112–114 cm), and in the slab’s middle, there has been made a cuplike depression of 23 cm width with a hole in its bottom that penetrates the stone. The cup damaged parts of the image field and of the horizontal border that forms the lower limit. Also, the size of the image panel was decreased by the trimming of the edge of the left narrow side, albeit mostly towards the bottom and to some extent also at the middle of the upper edge. Apart from this, the secondary trimming of the edges significantly affected the border, which is 13 cm wide at the surviving section of the upper edge. At the extreme right, the height of the image field is 48 cm, 10 cm further to the left, it is 45 cm, in the middle, at least 57 cm. Its upper width probably survived almost entirely: 100 cm; at the bottom, it can be calculated to have been about 110 cm. The lower horizontal border is about 12 cm wide, including the straight upper band defining it.
The rich decoration is defined by grooves for contour lines, carved up to 2 mm deep and wedge-shaped in cross section, after which the background field was chiselled.’

In the early 2020s, the stone still carrys Lindqvist’s original painting; the lower, chiselled-out parts are painted black.

SO / MH

Description of Ornament and Images
The structure of the rich imagery and the relationship between the figures is not immediately understandable. Sune Lindqvist chose to break down the imagery into eleven elements (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II pp. 13–15; cf. Oehrl 2009a). For reasons of comprehensibility, we follow Lindqvist’s categorisation and numbering.
Border ornament
‘The pattern of the lower horizontal border is regularly composed of two parallel zigzag bands running in longitudinal direction, intersecting each other incessantly, and with a knot in each angle. At the very top, the right border features an animal in a figure-of-eight shape (cf. pattern “a” of the border of Ardre VIII). Below, a section of a two-stranded band pattern with [double] loops. The pattern of the upper border appears, despite being severely damaged, to have been of the same kind as “b” of Ardre VIII’ (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 13).

1. Bottom left: four-wheeled wagon
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II pp. 13–14: ‘Bottom left, a four-wheeled wagon. The front of the wagon’s body is cut off; the undercarriage is made up of two intersecting crossbeams and a rod below, which presumably is split at the rear and connects the axles. The wagon appears to be drawn by a horse, which, however, probably (just like each of the visible wheels) represents two, between which runs the almost horizontal part of the drawbar, which ascends from the front axle in an arc and disappears at the horse’s tail root. Further down, a straight band from the edge of the front wheel to the horse’s leg, which probably is supposed to represent a dragline attached to the front axle. Above the drawbar, a rein is running along the horse’s back and is held by the one person sitting in the front (of at least two travelling in the wagon); those persons presumably sit on a kind of padding (cushion? see scene 5), which is indicated by a row of short vertical lines. The front part of the rein is visible in front of the horse’s chest and appears to be attached to the extreme end of a long bit shank protruding downwards from the horse’s mouth. The approximately right angle between rein and shank seems to be divided in the middle by a strap of the same width, but this possibly is due only to a natural ridge in the background field that was chiselled away only insufficiently. The usually sharp angle between the lines of the back and the neck of the horse is replaced by a hump, only vaguely differentiated from the rein, on the front part of the horse’s back, presumably a saddle or a harness crook, more probably the former, as almost exactly beneath, a double band – stirrup leathers? – is protruding from the front part of the horse’s barrel. It is, at least, conceivable that this double band was connected to the badly damaged area of the background field seen slightly above the bottom edge of the image panel in front of the horse’s front hind leg. The double band can hardly represent the chest, while the latter area in all probability was supposed to depict the hoof of the horse’s foreleg, with its tread surface turned upwards.’
Wagons or carriages are also depicted on GP 231 Levide kyrka (I), GP 360 Sproge kyrka, and GP 71 Ekeby kyrka.

2. Bottom, middle: Lying body and sitting woman under roof
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 14: ‘At the bottom, directly to the right of the cup-like depression. Close to the bottom of the image panel, the lower half of a human body, in a horizontal position with the toes pointing downwards and probably clad in common male costume. The upper half of the body has been destroyed by the cup-like gouging. To the right, a woman, sitting in a Klotzstuhl [a chair worked in one piece from a tree trunk], turned towards the prostrate man. Above the man’s body, a three-pointed star or the head of a serpent attached to an arched roof (?) that is decorated with simplified twisted-cord pattern. The one surviving end of the roof, curving upwards, extends so far to the right that the sitting person appears to be supporting it with its neck and top knot.’
What Lindqvist describes as a three-pointed star or the head of a serpent, has later been re-read as a large bird that puts his long neck through an opening and points its wide open beak into the inside of the house (Böttger-Niedenzu 1982, p. 73; Staecker 2004, 57; Oehrl 2009a, p. 543; Oehrl 2019a, p. 54). Oehrl describes this scenes as follows: ‘... partly damaged depiction of a building indicated by a convex roof. In a chair in its right corner sits a woman with long hair and a long dress. On the roof itself, a large, but incompletely-preserved bird can be seen that sticks its long neck through an opening, pointing its wide-open beak into the house’s interior. On the ground, in the centre of the room, lies another anthropomorphic figure, apparently a corpse. It is located just below the open beak and at the feet of the woman. The same motif – a long-necked bird stretching its head into a building in which a ruler is enthroned – can be seen on the stone GP 341 Sanda kyrka I. Here, a man and a woman are sitting opposite each other, with a warrior with a spear standing between them. In the destroyed left half of the room depicted on GP 3 Alskog kyrka, there probably once was also an enthroned male figure, like in the case of [GP 341 Sanda kyrka I]. While on the stone from Sanda the dead man is standing in front of the god’s throne to receive the spear, on the stone from Alskog kyrka, he is portrayed as a corpse’ (Oehrl, forthcoming).
The round chair shaped from a tree trunk (German ‘Klotzstuhl’; Sw. ‘kubbstol’) is a type of furniture known from ethnographic collections as well as from prehistory (Salin 1916, p. 78; Lindqvist/de Geer 1939). Similar chairs can be seen on the picture stones GP 341 Sanda kyrka I, GP 282 När Hallute (G 93) and GP 61 Buttle Änge. Lindqvist compared the chairs on the picture stones to a chair from Sauland in Norway, which he suggested might be a piece of Viking age furniture – however, it was dendrochronologically dated to late Middle Ages (Lindqvist/de Geer 1939, pp. 106, 122, 130). In an article about miniatures, Arrhenius mentioned Viking age miniature chairs made of silver, bronze and amber, found in graves, hoards and as loose finds. Up to the time of Arrhenius’ contribution, miniature chairs with round shape in burial context were known only from female graves, for example from Birka and Ihre on Gotland (Arrhenius 1961, p. 149–150). We may infer by their use as amulets or jewellery that such chairs carry some significant meaning. Arrhenius suggested that they are symbolic thrones for worldly or spiritual power (Arrhenius 1961, p. 156).

3. Bottom right: Three walking men carrying tools or weapons
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 14: ‘At the bottom, to the extreme right. Three men walking towards the right, with swords hanging from their belts and – at least the last man in the row – with two rods (spears?) on the shoulder. A rhombic area that does not touch the ground, as shown in [Olof Sörling’s] drawing, protrudes from the background behind the last of the walking men and to some degree joins the tip of his sword, so that one could imagine that the man is carrying a spade with a wide blade instead of a sword. There are better reasons, however, to regard the object on the shoulder of the man in the middle as a spade. In the same way, the foremost man possibly carries a tool with a curved upper end.’
A similar scene with three walking men carrying items can – again be seen on GP 341 Sanda kyrka I.

4. Top left: Fight
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 14: ‘At the extreme top, left. A fight scene, the main characters of which are two men engaged in close combat. Each is holding a shield in front of himself. In the shield of the right man, who is stumbling backwards, four arrows or spears are lodged, two of which are pointed diagonally downwards from it, the others diagonally upwards. Several more arrows or spears are flying over the shield towards the man’s chest. He holds one or more spears in one of his hands; his sword appears to be in the scabbard, but the hilt is not well discernable. His antagonist also seems to carry his sword in the scabbard and to hold a spear in his free hand, which is not encumbered by the shield. Above his head, there are several more spears or arrows that appear to have been thrown or shot from some place further to the left and still are in ascending motion. To the far left, another warrior with a spear in his hand can be seen. Between him and the left of the duellants, a woman; behind the right combatant, another man, who, judging from the position of his legs, comes running in aid and wields a two-edged weapon like an almost cross-shaped axe-hammer or a similar weapon. Is he located within a horseshoe-shaped wall with several stones lying in front of it, or is he rather a winged deity or similar being?’
This latter wall (?) is well discernable, yet enigmatic. Oehrl (2019a, p. 158) describes it as a horsehoe-shaped framework whose outer sides are covered with a series of almost spherical elements. It looks as if as if the warrior with the mighty weapon is freeing himself from a brick building or a (burial) mound of stones, perhaps in order to rush to the aid of the duelist on the right.
Oehrl notes two more observations on the basis of his RTI documentation and a 3D model. One spear seems to pierce the chest of the combattant on the right; and between the foot of the right-hand spearman and the downward-pointing spears in his shield are further lines that Lindqvist evidently interpreted as chisel marks and therefore did not mark as a relief. They might be faint outlines of other projectiles (Oehrl 2019a, pl. 155,e; p. 156,a–b). The two opponents seem to be hurling volleys of spears at each other, with at least four projectiles already lodged in the right-hand warrior's round shield and another seemingly piercing his chest.
Similar depiction of fights can be seen on other picture stones, For the stone GP 43 Bro kyrka I, the new documentation (RTI, 3D model) allows for a more detailed reading: two combattants with spears, and one spear is stuck in the shield of his opponent (Oehrl 2019a, pp. 154–161; pl. 155). GP 555 Väskinde kyrka 7 has a similar, and very clearly recognisable scene.

5. To the left, middle: Lying man in oval frame and sitting person
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 14: ‘A man is lying, his feet pointing upwards, on an underlay defined by a row of short vertical lines (cf. the padding in the wagon? in scene 1), surrounded by an oval frame. To the left, a person sitting in a Klotzstuhl, facing the man. Between its head and the backrest, the topknot, characteristic for women, might be distinguished. Behind the woman’s head, a bird of the same kind as several of those in the following scene.’

6. In the very middle of the image panel: Woman and man (?) and birds
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II pp. 14–15: ‘To the immediate right of 1 and 4. The bust of a male person turned to the right, whose body has been destroyed by the cup-like gouging (not recognised by OS) [whether this male figure really belongs to the scene described here is very unclear. It could also be interpreted as walking ahead of the horse-drawn carriage or turning towards the building in scene 2]. Closely in front of it and further up, a woman, also turned to the right. In front of her, two birds swimming or walking to the right, with their heads held up high and feet clearly defined by large lumps. To the right, on the ‘roof’ of scene 2, a broad object of unknown distinction that narrows down towards the top, but then suddenly widens again; above this, two birds, turned to the left, of the same shape as the former, behind them a woman, looking the same way.’ The birds resemble waterfowl, the obscure object in the centre could be addressed as humanoid, perhaps a spread-out piece of clothing.

7. Top right: Kneeling men in building
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 15: ‘To the immediate right of this, two kneeling men facing each other, with a vertical sword(?) between them, within a frame shaped like a horseshoe open at the bottom. Under the left man, outside of the frame, a third man, kneeling in the same manner. To the left of his feet, a man lying on the ground.’
Sigmund Oehrl made new observations on the basis of the 3D model provided by Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt, and on the basis of his own inspections (Oehrl 2009a, pp. 543–546). What Lindqvist simply saw as a lying man, is in fact a decapitated person: the outline of a neck stump is clearly recognisable. This observation was later confirmed by RTI documentation (Oehrl 2019a, pl. 73–74). Although the neck stump is raised as part of the bas-relief, Lindqvist had not coloured the immediately adjacent background surface black, so that on the influential photo published in ‘Gotlands Bildsteine’, the man appears to have a complete head. Oehrl furthermore notes that in addition, the kneeling figure next to the decapitated man is by no means stretching out his overlong arms to touch a strange triangular structure, but rather holding an object, probably a tool, in both hands and handling it over a triangular base. It could be a craftsman working with a hammer-like tool on an anvil (Oehrl 2009a, 561 Fig. 5; Oehrl 2019 a, pl. 73c–d, pl. 74). On this anvil lies a round, ring-shaped structure that has been erased by the black colour in Lindqvist’s illustration and thus remains invisible. This ‘ring’, a distinct small crater, is perfectly recognisable. Oehrl notes that although its surface is somewhat rough, the body of the ring is clearly raised, almost at the same level as the other relief fields, which can be easily verified using the 3D model (Oehrl 2019a, pl. 74,a). If it were a natural crater-shaped elevation, a fossil inclusion, it would be incomprehensible that the artist did not level this conspicuous feature. On the contrary, the artist evidently worked the raised fields immediately above (building) and below (‘anvil’) in such a way that they do not disturb the ring-shaped structure. When designing the ‘anvil’, he even had to slightly avoid the ring and accept a small bulge on the right-hand side in order to preserve the crater. The decisive details – neck stump and ‘ring’ – can also be recognised very well in the RTI documentation (ibid. pl. 74,b-c).

8. Extreme right: Tree (?)
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 15: ‘A large, but conceptually particularly obscure object (tree?) – and several vague remains of figures.’ Lindqvist’s colour paint on the stone seems to indicate a vertical stem starting from a spherical base, which has several branches at the upper end and ends in a point. The object is reminiscent of a tree or an upright lance.

9. Very top right: Triple band loop
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 15: ‘A triple band loop, the lower part of which possibly is shaped like an animal’s head.’

10. Top middle: Pentagonal enclosure
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 15: ‘Diagonally below the top of the image panel. A pentagonal field, framed by the border and four straight bars, the intersecting ends of which are folded over outside of the crossing points, form semicircles and terminate in animals’ heads; each head rests the tips of its upper and lower jaws against the edge of the bar that intersects with its neck. Within the five-sided field, two birds can be seen at the extreme bottom. The other figures [inside this enclosure] cannot be distinguished anymore’ – possibly more birds and/or a humanoid figure. The intersecting beams with the animal heads are reminiscent of house gables and seem to indicate a form of architecture. It may be a building in which the birds are located or the enclosure of a body of water in which waterfowl swim.

11. Extreme top left: Unclear figures
Lindqvist 1941/1942 II p. 15: ‘Below the upper band loop to the immediate left of the former scene. Traces of figures of unknown meaning, almost completely obliterated by footsteps.’

SO / MH

Interpretation of the Imagery
The rich imagery seems to relate to once well-known narratives; some of them, e.g. the Wayland narrative, were recorded in the medieval writings, others were not. Sigmund Oehrl has dealt with this stone repeatedly, and in the light of new documentation techniques such as RTI imaging and 3D modelling, he was able to make some new observations.

1. Bottom left: four-wheeled wagon
Carriages and wagons depicted on Gotlandic picture stones have often been interpreted as related to women and as a female counterpart to the mounted warrior and the journey to Valhall (O. Almgren 1934, p. 116; Lindqvist 1962, p. 81; Böttger-Niedenzu 1982, p. 46; Oehrl 2017, p. 16). Ellmers (1973; 1986) and Weber (1973) suggested that the ride of women in a wagon is equivalent to the horse ride into the beyond of the male dead. Weber associates the imagery with the group of Viking-Age female burials in wagon bodies on the one hand (Staecker 2002; Müller-Wille 1985), with ‘Óðinn’s wagon’ (‘reið Rungnis’), as referred to in Sigrdrífomál, stanza 15 (Neckel/Kuhn 1983, 193), on the other. Furthermore, Brynhildr should be considered, who after her death, according to Helreið Brynhildar (written down in the 13th century), was burnt in a wagon with a tent-like covering. In this wagon, the Poetic Edda’s prosaist says, she eventually travels the ‘helveg’ (ʻroad to Helʼ) into the underworld: ‘[...] enn Brynhildr var á ǫðro brend, oc var hon í reið, þeiri er guðvefiom var tiolduð. Svá er sagt, at Brynhildr óc með reiðinni á helveg oc fór um tún, þar er gýgr noccor bió’ (Neckel/Kuhn 1983, 219). Another instance to be mentioned is the fragment known as Sǫgubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum (ch. 9) of Skjǫldunga saga (written down around 1200), which depicts the burial of Haraldr hilditǫnn (ʻwartoothʼ). King Hring has Haraldr’s body transported to the grave mound in his chariot, but accompanied by his saddled horse, so that the dead king may ʻeither ride or drive to Valhǫll, as he pleasesʼ: ‘[...] lét leggja líkit í þann vagn, er Haraldr konungr hafði til orrustu. Ok eptir þat lét hann kasta mikinn haug ok lét þá hann aka í þeim vagni, á þeim hesti, er Haraldr konungr hafði til orrostu, ok lét svá aka í hauginn [...]. [...] ok bað hann gøra hvárt er hann vildi, ríða til Valhallar eða aka’ (Bjarni Guðnason 1982, 69).

2. Bottom, middle: Lying body and sitting woman under roof
Sune Lindqvist suggested an interpretation of this scene as Loki’s punishment (Lindqvist 1941/1942 I 96; Lindqvist 1964, p. 96) as it is told in Gylfaginning ch. 50: After Loki was found guilty of having caused Baldr’s death, the Æsir gathered and took revenge. Loki was fettered, and a snake was put above him whose venom trickles down on Loki. His wife Sigyn, however, stays with Loki, and she catches the venom in a bowl. Only when she goes to empty the vessel, the venom touches Loki. Lindqvist suggested that the sitting woman in this scene on GP 3 Alskog kyrka could be Loki’s wife Sigyn.
Sigmund Oehrl, however, saw the bird on the roof as the decisive element here. Waterfowl are frequently depicted on the Gotlandic picture stones, and according to Oehrl, they are to be interpreted as bird-shaped psychopomps, leading the deceased to the world beyond. They have close connections to the valkyries, who also appear as birds (see also GP 341 Sanda kyrka I, GP 91 Fröjel Bottarve, GP 120 Grötlingbo Barshaldershed 6; Oehrl 2010 [Ornithomorphe Psychopompoi]; Oehrl 2019a, 50–54; Oehrl, forthcoming). Consequently, Oehrl interprets the building on the stones of Alskog and Sanda as Valhǫll, in which a fallen warrior is “delivered”, brought by the bird, and received by an enthroned divine couple. See GP 341 Sanda kyrka I – which has a quite similar scene – for a detailed discussion.

3. Bottom right: Three walking men carrying tools or weapons
This solemn procession of three men carrying tools or weapons seems to be connected to the motif of the ornithomorphic psychopomp, as the combination of three walking men with tools/weapons and a long-necked bird can be seen on other picture stones as well (see GP 341 Sanda kyrka I and GP 91 Fröjel Bottarve). But the exact meaning of this group of men is not clear. It has been speculated if it could be the Æsir walking away from Loki after they had put him to punishment, or the Biblical Magi (Three Kings) (Staecker 2004, pp. 59–60). Plassmann (1959, 244) suggested that the scene could show agrarian rites, Jungner saw a funeral (Jungner 1930, pp. 67–75). In the context of the bird as a guide of the dead, the latter would fit best.

4. Top left: Fight
Oehrl (2019a, pp. 157–159) regards the fight motif as a ritualized duel in which the two opponents first throw spears at each other in order to open the fight before moving on to close combat. Parallels can be found in the imagery of the Vendel period helmet plates, where throwing spears are also sticking in the opponents’ shields (Helmbrecht 2011, pp. 96–102). Whether it is a judicial duel, an ordal, a famous duel from heroic legend or a battle in the afterlife, cannot be determined.
At Alskog, however, the fight may represent a specific narrative that has not been handed down in literature. The little woman behind the warrior to the left is turning towards the fight, and she is followed by another warrior carrying a spear. Behind the duelist to the right, there is a man with the double axe or hammer, seemingly freeing himself from a built structure (Böttger-Niedenzu 1982, 81) or a grave mound, and he seems to be coming to aid the duelist.
Lindqvist (1941/1942 I, p. 96) suggested that the exceptional weapon which the warrior in the horseshoe-shaped structure might indicate the god Þórr (Thor), but this remains doubtful, as well as Lindqvist’s reading of the horseshoe-shaped structure as wings (see Oehrl 2019a, 158). There are a few depictions of structures that might be understood as buildings or rooms on the C/D-type picture stones (see for example the hut further to the right with the kneeling persons, or GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII), however, they do not resemble this horseshoe-shaped structure.
Sigmund Oehrl suggests that these seemingly ‘additional’ figures – the woman and the man with the double axe/hammer – are in fact crucial for the interpretation of the scene. They could be little divine helpers – supernatural beings who come to assist one of the parties in a fight. He discusses the divine helper on GP 339 Rute Stora Valle 2 and ultimately identifies him as Óðinn (Oehrl 2019a, 227–240).
There is another C/D-stone (“Abschnitt” D according to Lindqvist) with a duelling scene, GP 280 När Smiss I. In the tympanum field, two warriors with sword and shield face each other and cross their blades. Close behind the fighter in the right-hand half of the picture is a small anthropomorphic figure, which turns towards the action. Oehrl suggested that this might be a supernatural helper as well, who is assisting the swordsman on the right, as in the case of the Valsgärde 7 and 8 helmets (Oehrl 2019a, p. 288).

5. To the left, middle: Lying man in oval frame and sitting person
Sigmund Oehrl interprets the lying man in the oval frame as a dead man in his grave, and the sitting person as a woman: ‘The sitting woman, who is facing the grave, appears to mourn the dead man. Behind her head and turned towards her, there is a small water fowl that is similar to the ones in the Wayland scene. It appears as if the bird belonged to the woman, accompanied her, or distinguished her. The woman’s interpretation either as Guðrún mourning at the grave of the hero Sigurðr (‘Guðrún sat yfir Sigurði dauðom’, prose text Frá dauða Sigurðar – Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 201) or rather as Brynhildr, who is characterised by the water fowl as a valkyrie, about to follow the hero to death in a wagon (the one shown beneath her? See Helreið Brynhildar, Neckel/Kuhn 1983, pp. 219–222), can only be speculated about’ (Oehrl, in preparation).

6. In the very middle of the image panel: Woman and man (?) and birds
If the interpretation of Scene 7 (see below) as a scene from the Wayland legend is correct, the figures depicted immediately to the left of the smithy – two women with four waterfowl placed between them – are probably related to the prequel in Vǫlundarkviða and represent the valkyrie-like swan women who meet Wayland and his brothers at a lake and lead them home (Vǫlundarkviða, prose introduction and stanza 1–4: Neckel/Kuhn 1983, pp. 116 f.; Oehrl 2009a, 549). According to Oehrl, the trapezoidal structure with lateral extensions, placed between the female figures and the birds and reminiscent of a spread-out garment, could represent one of the ‘swan mantles’ (‘alptarhamr’ or ‘svanfiaðrar’) that the three sisters take off to bathe (Oehrl 2019a, p. 99).
The connections between the story of Wayland and the subject of the swan virgins have occasionally been considered a recent construct and an invention of the Edda’s prosaist (Nedoma 1988, 129–132; Ishikawa 1991). With the exception of ‘Friedrich von Schwaben’, whose affiliation with the Wayland story remains unclear (Nedoma 1988, 88–104; Nedoma 2000), the picture stone of Alskog church would be the only early monument to demonstrate the connection between both complexes – namely as early as the 8th century or until the 10th century at the latest (Oehrl 2019a, pp. 99–100).

7. Top right: Kneeling men in building
This is probably the scene on GP 3 Alskog kyrka that is most clearly linked to the Wayland narrative (Lindqvist 1964, p. 69; Staecker 2004, pp. 57–58; Oehrl 2009a) – first and foremost because there is a similar scene on the well-known picture stone GP 21 Ardre VIII.
The kneeling figure to the right is probably Wayland, squatting at his anvil with a hammer and making small objects for the king. The kneeling posture may be a reference to Wayland’s paralysis (Vǫlundarkviða: prose after stanza 17: Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 120; likewise in Þiðreks saga: Bertelsen 1905–1911, part 1, p. 114).
According to Þiðrek’s saga, the blacksmith Velent took revenge on his tormentor King Nidung by cutting off the heads of the two princes. He then hid the bodies in a pit behind the bellows (‘vndir smiðbelgi sina igrof eina divpa’, Bertelsen 1905–1911, part 1, p. 117). In Vǫlundarkviða (st. 24; 34; Neckel/Kuhn 1983, pp. 121 f.) this pit is called ‘fen fioturs’, an enigmatic term that refers to a damp pit inside the forge (von See et al. 2000, pp. 214–216; Müller-Wille 1977, p. 130). The fact that the dead bodies are hidden in a pit is reflected on the stone GP 21 Ardre VIII by placing the figures behind the forge on a bowl-like base. Such a bowl-like structure can also be seen in the case of GP 3 Alskog kyrka, but here it seems to cover the dead like a roof, so that the concealment becomes even clearer. Based on this parallel alone, Oehrl believes it is certain that the beheaded man on the Alskog stone represents one of the slain king’s sons which the smith has hidden.
According to Vǫlundarkviða, Wayland has to make jewels (‘gorsimar’) in captivity (prose after stanza 17, Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 120). The term ‘rings’ (‘baugar’) appears as a synonym for the precious objects created by the master smith, as becomes clear in the exclamation of the curious sons of the king (st. 23): ‘Gǫngom baug siá’ (’Let's go and see the rings’: Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 121). It is even possible that this is the ring-shaped breast ornament (‘brióstkringlor’) that Wayland makes for the king’s daughter from the teeth of the slain brothers (st. 25, Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 121) or the golden ring that Wayland is to repair for the princess (st. 26; 27; Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 121).

The two men depicted above Wayland in the smithy could be the curious princes who, according to Vǫlundarkviða, come to the workshop to look at jewellery before their heads are cut off (Vǫlundarkviða, stanza 20–24: Neckel/Kuhn 1983, pp. 120 f.; Þiðreks saga: Bertelsen 1905–1911, part 1, pp. 116 f.).

Decapitated male corpses lying on their stomachs, placed behind the outer wall of a building
are also part of the prominent Wayland scene on the stone GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII. In fact, there are so many iconographic parallels between GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII and GP 3 Alskog kyrka that it has been assumed that they come from the same workshop, represented by Lindqvist’s Tjängvide group (Lindqvist 1941/1942 I, pp. 49–50), and possibly both stones were made by the same artist.

8. Extreme right: Tree (?)
No interpretation.

9. Very top right: Triple band loop
No interpretation.

10. Top middle: Pentagonal enclosure
Lindqvist (1941/1942 I, p. 89) regarded the pentagonal structure with waterfowl as a pond or lake, possibly the ‘wolf lake’ from the Wayland legend (Lindqvist 1960–1962, p. 69). Oehrl follows this interpretation (Oehrl 2009a, p. 543, 549).

11. Extreme top left: Unclear figures
No interpretation.

SO / MH

Type and Dating
C/D type cist stone. Lindqvist assigned GP 3 Alskog kyrka to his ʻAbschnittʼ D, which he separates from the monuments of ʻAbschnittʼ C (1941/42 I, p. 50). According to Lindqvist, the Type C stones are dating to around AD 700, the small group of Type D monuments, however, to the second half of the 8th century (ibid. p. 121).Today, the few D-stones are regarded more as a sub-group (workshop) within section C and not as an independent section. In the present edition, they are integrated into type C/D. Lindqvist's dating is also considered outdated. Most Type C/D stones can only be roughly dated to the 8th to 10th century. Lisbeth Imer dated the stone GP 3 Alskog kyrka – which she lists in her Group 2 – to the time after 750, considering the imagery; the stone as a whole is, according to Imer, from the 10th century (Imer 2004, p. 49, 100, 105).

SO / MH

References
Säve 1852; Lindqvist 1941/1942 I Fig. 135 f.; II 13–15 Fig. 303 f.; O. Almgren 1934, p. 116; B. Almgren 1940; Almgren 1946; Lindqvist 1960–1962; Böttger-Niedenzu 1982; Müller-Wille 1985; Nedoma 1988; Nedoma 2000; Staecker 2002; Imer 2004; Staecker 2004; Oehrl 2009a [Wieland der Schmied]; Snædal 2010; Oehrl 2010 [Ornithomorphe Psychopompoi]; Helmbrecht 2011; Oehrl 2012a, pp. 103 f.; Oehrl 2012c, pp. 303 f.; Oehrl 2015b, pp. 230–232; Oehrl 2017, p. 16; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 2, 14, 16, 40, 54, 61, 89, 98–99, 102, 104, 157–158, 174–175, 182, 248, 288, 293, pls. Taf. 4, 25, 56, 73–74, 155–156, 175, 340; Oehrl 2020 [Jenseitsreise]; Oehrl 2023 [Human-avian]; Oehrl forthcoming [Aquatic birds], Oehrl in preparation [Avian iconography].

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