Skip to main content

Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 184 Hejnum Riddare









PARTS

mer grejer





Measured length
0.0
PlanePositionFlip



Show planes Show edges

Parish Find Location ⓘ
Hejnum

Find Location ⓘ
At the edge of an agricultural field about 600 m north-east of the farmstead ʻRiddare gårdʼ in Hejnum parish, circa 200 m south of the road Bjärs–Riddare, in its original location.

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Landscape
In situ

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6400582

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
715721

Parish Present Location ⓘ
Hejnum

Present Location ⓘ
In situ

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Landscape
In situ

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6400582

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
715721

Material
Limestone

Height ⓘ
325

Width ⓘ
175

Thickness ⓘ
30

Lindqvist Type 

Lindqvist Shape 

Iconographic Keywords
 ⓘ          

Runic Inscription or not ⓘ
Yes

Runic Inscription ⓘ
Only two runes of the inscription (G 248) are preserved:
…ik…

Context and Discovery ⓘ
The stone was mentioned by Per Arvid Säve in his Berättelser (1864 p. 107) och Samlingar (vol. I, p. 364). More early records are collected by Gustavson/Snædal 2013, p. 30. Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 72) notes: “This picture stone is located at the eastern edge of a field, 150 m south-southeast of the most north-western point of the road Bjärs–Riddare before it turns from its general western direction to a purely southern one […]. In 1830 and during the following decades, the stone was in a recumbent position, but was re-erected in 1887 by [Fredrik Nordin] in its original place. During an excavation around the stone’s root, stones were observed that served to secure the picture stone in the ground, but no evidence of a burial was discovered” (cf. Nordin 1903, p. 151). The Hejnum Bjärs cemetery is situated circa 700 m north-east of the stone.

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
“Limestone slab, up to 30 cm thick and overall 3.25 m high. The height above ground is 3 m (391 cm between the tip and the lower edge of the decoration). Width of the head 147 cm, of the neck 130 cm, at the base 175 cm. Width of the ship 126 cm; its height between the keel to the yardarm 105 cm. The obverse is even throughout, the narrow sides are rounded towards the back, the reverse is rough and unworked” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 72). In the 1976 inventory it was recorded that the stone tilted towards the south-southeast. In 1993, however, it was set upright again, and in 1994 several spallings were repaired (RIKs no. 1606-3026-3038). The slab is severely weathered and overgrown with lichens. Otherwise, it is undamaged and represents an entirely preserved mushroom-shaped monument.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 72) notes: “The decorations consist of chiselled lines and sunken background fields around the figures. The figural imagery is constituted, as far as can be established, by a large ship with rounded, towering stems and a rudder on the left, at starboard. In the stern, at least three and probably five spears are standing, slightly leaning outwards. The ship has a rectangular sail with a rhombic pattern that continues downwards in the sheet ropes. A rope hangs from the middle of the sail’s rear vertical edge. Below the ship, there are waves, four of which are shown with uniformly stylised crests, with probably a fifth foam-crested wave under the stern post; under the stern post, there is also a symbol made up of three triangles.”

The depictions observed by Lindqvist are documented by photos of the painted stone taken by Harald Faith-Ell in 1937 (Lindqvist 1942/42 I, figs. 79–80). Surprisingly, Lindqvist does neither mention the 13-person crew on board (most of which seem to be armed with a shield) nor the animal head on the top of the stem, which are depicted in his photo. Sörling’s drawing is less detailed than Lindqvist’s painting; in particular, the entire crew is missing here (ibid. II, fig. 417). Some early photos taken by Ture Carlsson in 1927 depict the erected stone without paint, overgrown with lichens, and without any discernible carvings (ATA Run- och bildstenssamling 816:64; dnr 3024/27).

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
For the interpretation of triple-symbols and ship depictions on late-type picture stones see, in particular, GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III.
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III

Runic Context and Comments ⓘ
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 72) notes: “In the 4.5 cm high border just above the ship’s sail, there are the scarce remains of a runic inscription. Prof. O. v. Friesen announced that these runes were unknown to him.” It seems that Lindqvist was the first one who observed the characters. They are not considered in Olof Sörling’s drawing from 1911 (ibid. fig. 417) but only visible in Lindqvist’s photo of the painted stone (ibid. I, fig. 80; taken by H. Faith-Ell in 1937; cf. ATA Run- och bildstenssamling).

Type and Dating ⓘ
Tall mushroom-shaped late-type picture stone, belonging to ʻAbschnittʼ C according to Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 44). Lindqvist dates those stones to around AD 700. He assigns Hejnum Riddare to his ʻLärbrogruppeʼ (ibid. pp. 44, 47). Lori Eshleman (1983) argues that the stones of this group had been strongly influenced by the art of the Carolingian Renaissance and thus must be dated to the period between AD 790 and 840. Current research, however, tends to date the Type C/D stones roughly to between the 8th century and the 10th century. According to Rundkvist’s typology (2012, p. 159), the stone belongs to the outline type ʻtall4ʼ, which he dates to the Middle Viking Period. Varenius (1992, appendix 2), based on his analysis of the ship’s rigging (group IV segelskepp med skotnät), dates it to the 10th century. Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 71–72) regards the vessel on Hejnum Riddare as one of the most typical ship representations of the Lärbro group (“Langschiffe vom Lärbrotypus”). The preserved runes, an i-rune and a k-rune (see VIII), cannot be used as indication for a more precise dating, as they only indicate a younger futhark inscription (in use from about AD 700).

References ⓘ
Nordin 1903, p. 151; Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 47, 71–73, 75, 94, figs. 79–80; II, p. 72, fig. 417; Varenius 1992, pp. 53, 82, fig. 47; Rundkvist 2012, pp. 157, 159, fig. 5b; Andreeff 2012, pp. 130, 143; Gustavson/Snædal 2013, pp 30–32; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 12, 34, 259.

 ⓘ
Fyndplats
Bildstenen noterades första gången 1830, stående i kanten av en åker, omkring 600 m nordost om gården Riddare. Eftersom den började luta allt mer restes den upp 1994.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Står på ursprunglig plats.

Beskrivning
Stor svampformig bildsten (period C/D), 3,25 m hög och största bredd 1,75 m. På nedre delen av bildstenen vågor, ett stort skepp med segel, en stående besättning med sköldar och spjut stående i aktern. Under styråran en symbol med tre trianglar.

Inskrift
På ett band över skeppet spår av runor.

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, tillhör perioden 700-900-talen.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

AA

Title
GP 184 Hejnum Riddare

Fornsök ID ⓘ
L1976:1948

RAÄ ID ⓘ
Hejnum 40:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID
138

Lindqvist Title ⓘ
Hejnum, Riddare


Last modifed Oct 23, 2024

Export

Developer Data
Identifier: GP0184-3D
ID: 4716
3D-model
Part 1 depth:https://gotlandicpicturestones.se/files/original/9d7b782c7fd0ad0ee4a233ec55fe7dfa8fd3cf16.nxz
Part 1 RGB:https://gotlandicpicturestones.se/files/original/32c2cd80c3b87ecbc0ec401f726dfb88657bf40f.nxz