Skip to main content

Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 362 Stenkumla kyrka II









PARTS

mer grejer





Measured length
0.0
PlanePositionFlip



Show planes Show edges

Parish Find Location ⓘ
Stenkumla

Find Location ⓘ
On the churchyard.

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Churchyard

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6383063

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
695578

Parish Present Location ⓘ
Stenkumla

Present Location ⓘ
Stenkumla church, in the tower.

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Church

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6383063

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
695578

Material
Limestone

Limestone Type ⓘ
fine reef debris limestone

Geological Group ⓘ
not dated yet geologically

Height ⓘ
165

Width ⓘ
119

Thickness ⓘ
17

Lindqvist Type 

Lindqvist Shape 

Runic Inscription or not ⓘ
Yes

Runic Inscription ⓘ
[b]u[t]muntr : auk : butraifʀ : auk : kunua-(r) [: -]… …tu : stain : þ… … …[at : faþur : si]n : kuþ : h(i)albi : (s)elu : hans : auk : kus : muþiʀ : (b)etr : þen : uiʀ : biþia : kunin · ¶ -(a)… …(a)-(n) (:)

Runic Swedish
Botmundr ok Botræifʀ ok Gunnhva[t]r [þæiʀ ræis]tu stæin þ[enna] … …[hv]at(?), faður sinn. Guð hialpi selu hans ok Guðs moðiʀ bætr þæn viʀ biðia kunnin … …

English
Bótmundr and Bótreifr and Gunnhvatr they raised this stone … …-hvatr(?), their father. May God and God's mother help his soul better than we could pray …

Swedish
Botmund och Botraiv och Gunnvar [de] reste denna sten [efter] …-vat(?), sin fader. Gud hjälpe hans själ och Guds moder bättre än vi kunna bedja … (Källström 2015)

Context and Discovery ⓘ
The stone and its find circumstances are extensively treated in Gotlands runinskrifter (GR II, see G 208). The stone was first brought to notice in the churchyard by Georg Wallin (1686–1760), who made drawings of the runes in the 1730s (GR II, pp. 200, 210, Fig. 83; Källström 2015, p. 60). The stone was found together with its pair stone GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka II (G 207). These two stones are most often treated together and share a similar documentation record. Additional drawings were made by C. G. G. Hilfeling in 1799 (GR II, pp. 210–211 Fig. 91), J. H. Wallman in 1833 and by P. A. Säve in 1875 (GR II, pp. 202, 210, Fig. 85).

The two stones were moved about outside the church several times. In 1799, when the first known drawing was produced by Hilfeling, the stones lay south of the church. In photos by Otto von Friesen in 1923, it can be seen that the stones had been moved to the west side of the church. In 1932, they were situated outside the churchyard wall for a while – in a bush behind a chicken farm – but was moved back inside of it and placed at the northern gate of the wall. In the same year, the Swedish National Heritage Board requested that the stones should be kept inside the church (ATA 3279/32). Apparently, this was delayed for economic reasons. In a photo by Mårten Stenberger in 1940, we can see the stones leaning against the church wall, both of them upside-down. Only in 1941, on the initiative of archaeologist Mårten Stenberger and a renewed request from Sigurd Curman (ATA 2185/40), the stones were taken inside and placed in the tower. There, they were painted by Mårten Stenberger in 1941. The runic inscriptions were runologically investigated by Elias Wessén in 1944 and 1947. In 1963, an organ was installed in front of the stones, making investigation difficult (GR II, pp. 198–200, 210). At present, the stones are accessible again.

A stone church was built on the site in the 12th century, some remains of which can still be found in the tower of the present 13th-century church (BeBR; Roosval 1942, p. 18; Lundh 2019, p. 75). The triumph crucifix dated to c.1175–1200 suggests a dating of the first stone church to c.1190 (Lundh 2019, pp. 75–76).

Except the pair monument GP 361 (G 207) and GP 362 (G 208), there are only two other picture stones found in Stenkumla parish, GP 363 Stenkumla Forsa I and GP 364 Stenkumla Forsa II.
LKÅ
GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I
GP 363 Stenkumla Forsa I
GP 364 Stenkumla Forsa II

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
The present height is 1.65 m (originally c. 2 m), width 1.19 m, thickness 0.17 m. The height of the runes is c. 3.5–6.5 cm. Light-grey lime stone.

The top of the stone (the upper half of the head) is broken off and is now missing, but the right part of the top was still preserved when Wallman made his drawing in 1833 (GR II, p. 210). In the head of the stone, a cross stood on a horizontal border across the neck of the stone. Judging by notes on a drawing by P. A. Säve, the stone (together with GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka II) seems to have functioned as a pavement stone outside the southern wall of the church, which explains the worn surface (GR II, p. 199). Säve’s drawing seems to indicate that the two stones GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I and GP 362 Stenkumla kyrka II (G 208) were lined up on a row (Säve, Gotl. Saml. V, p. 799). The carving surface is badly weathered, especially in the central parts of the carving. The inscription along the edge of the stone is better preserved. The backside of the slab is raw.
LKÅ
GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
The stone has an 11th-century runic ornament. The runic animal follows the edge of the stone, its head and tail entwined by slender ornamental snakes. Across the neck of the stone, there is a horizontal cross ribbon, that possibly may have carried runes that now are lost.

In the year 2012, and RTI analysis was made by the Swedish National Heritage Board, in order to evaluate the usefulness of this method for the reading and documentation of obscure runic inscriptions. The main aim was to produce a colour neutral documentation, allowing for an unprejudiced runological reading and assessment of the ornament. As mentioned above, the stone was painted in 1941 by archaeologist Mårten Stenberger, which caused irritation among runologists of the time. The inscription was investigated in 1944 and 1947 by Elias Wessén. From the viewpoint of runology, it was feared that there were errors in the painting. Elisabeth Svärdström complained that the runological investigation was impaired by this, and for her reading in Gotlands runinskrifter chose to go back to older documentation made by Sven Söderberg from 1891, before the painting (GR II; Källström, 2015, p. 59). About GP 362, she wrote that the painting with permanent paint made an unprejudiced reading impossible (GR II, p. 210).

The result of the RTI-analysis is that some more ornament lines could be discerned, although the head of the runic animal could still not be made out (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, pp. 33–44). Another general observation is that Stenberger did not paint all the branches that can be seen in the reading by Söderberg. It appears that Stenberger followed a modest principle and was careful about what to paint, prefering to leave lines unpainted rather than to retouch too much (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, p. 8, p. 10).

Concerning the ornament, it is possible to follow the volutes a little longer as a result of the RTI-analysis so that some more carved lines appear, but unfortunately not enough to draw the runic animal’s head. The most interesting discovery is that to the left on the carved surface, inside the damage to the stone’s left side, there is an anthropomorphic carving that stands on a horizontal line (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, Fig. 21–22). In order to verify this, Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt and Per Widerström made an additional visit to the stone in April 2016. The human figure, first discovered in the RTI-images, could be verified directly on the stone in torchlight. However, it is smaller than figures in general on picture stones, only c. 5 cm high and 2.5 cm wide. The horizontal baseline is clearly visible for c. 10 cm, but it is vaguely discerned for 25 cm. The baseline is double, i.e., consisting of two parallel lines separated by c. 5–8 mm. To the right, the remains of yet another figure is suggested (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, p. 10). Horizontal rows of human figures are well-known on picture stones. On a runestone in Hablingbo (G 59), we find both a Late Viking rune carving and a traditional picture stone motif in the form of a ship with a crew.

We also discovered traces of a chequered pattern, as in a picture-stone sail, above the tail of the runic animal, as well as two vertical parallel lines downward on the right of the carving surface that evidently not belong to the runic ornamentation. This might imply that the rune carving was made on a reused picture stone, but the carvings may also be later additions – perhaps medieval scribbling. This is supported by the fact that there are several other medieval ship carvings with striped and chequered sails in the church (Busch/Haasum/Lagerlöf 1993, pp. 121–122). Finally, by the RTI-analysis we discovered lines that together seem to shape an animal’s head (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, pp. 32 Figur 5–51).

Drilled holes at the endpoint of the branches of the runes is characteristic adornment also found on the weathervanes from Källunge and Söderala. According to Lindqvist, it is a metal technique with a wide distribution in contemporary Europe (Lindqvist 1941, p. 55). This adornment is also found on early medieval stone crosses in Norway and Scotland. Greek crosslets with pitted terminals, as seen on the Rogaland crosses, can also be observed on earlier stone monuments in Argyll, Western Scotland (Crouwers 2019, p. 205).
LKÅ

Runological Commentary ⓘ
By RTI, the following can be read in the horizontal cross ribbon: ra-…uistain or ua-…uistain (Laborativa runanalyser II: Svårlästa runinskrifter 2018, p. 10). The runic sequence to the right in the row may be the name Visten. This name occurs on five other runestones; three in Uppland, one in Södermanland and one in Östergötland. However, so far it is not recorded in any runic inscription on Gotland.
LKÅ

Runic Context and Comments ⓘ
Together with GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I (G 207), this stone made a pair monument. The inscriptions mention the same sponsors. Lindqvist presented a view that knowledge about Christian burial forms triggered an interest in producing monuments consisting of several stones (Ge. Vielsteinmonumente), for example the monuments from Sjonhem (GP 355–GP 357) and the stones from Stenkumla (GP 361 and GP 362) discussed here. He argues that contemporary monuments of several stones are found on Öland as well as on the Swedish mainland (Lindqvist 1941/1942 I, p. 53). This view has been further developed and discussed by other scholars. The pair monuments are interpreted as churchyard monuments, with a gable stone standing at each end of the grave (Bäckvall 2015; Hagenfeldt/Palm 1996, p. 59; Ljung 2016). Maja Bäckvall found that about 60 stones in Samnordisk runtextdatabas (SRD) were defined as pairstones/-carvings or monuments. In addition to these, Bäckvall found more cases. She distinguished between five different patterns for how the texts on the separate stones relate to each other. The pair GP 361 and GP 362 belongs to either of the first two categories, where 1) the stones contain essentially the same inscription, or 2) the stones have the same sponsor/s but were raised in memory of different persons (Bäckvall 2015, p. 182).

Sigmund Oehrl discusses the special formulation of prayer in the context of theology, where the wish for forgiveness of sins, the hope for a paradise, the care for the fate of the deceased and the fear of purgatory all point at the imagination of a realm of God (Oehrl 2010, p. 234).
LKÅ
GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I
GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I
GP 356 Sjonhem kyrka II
GP 357 Sjonhem kyrka III

Type and Dating ⓘ
Type E. Runestone shaped as a picture stone. The stone has a mushroom shape. In his drawing from 1799, Hilfeling tried to render the shape of the runic animal’s head. Although it does not seem altogether successful, he captured the rolled-up snout and the intricate ornament composed of slender snakes entwined with the runic animal. In Samnordisk runtextdatabas (SRD) and Runor, the stone is classified as belonging to the style group Pr 3 in Anne-Sofie Gräslund’s style chronological system, suggesting a date c. 1045–1075 AD (Gräslund 2006, p.126). Older research seems to be in accordance with this view: Sune Lindqvist suggested a date to the middle of the 11th century (Lindqvist 1941/1942 I, p.123), Adolf Noreen and Otto von Friesen indicated c.1050–1100 (Noreen 1904, p. 486; Frisen 1942, p. 358); Snædal 2002, p. 93). Thorgunn Snædal includes the stone in her group of c. 20 runestones in Middle Scandinavian runestone style but with picture-stone shape, dating from the Christianization period c. 1000–1150 (Snædal 2002, p. 67; Gustavson 2012, pp. 112–113).
LKÅ

References ⓘ
Hilfeling 1799, p. 218 taf 51–52; P. A. Säve, Gotländska samlingar IV, p. 258, V p. 799 (drawings); Liljegren 1833; C. Säve 1859, p. 44, Nr 83; Noreen 1904, p. 497; Roosval 1942, pp. 22–23; Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 113; Jansson/Snædal Brink 1983, pp. 433–435; GR II, G 207; Källström 2015.

 ⓘ
Fyndplats
Kyrkogården, tillsammans med GP 361.

Nuvarande förvaringsplats
I kyrkan.

Datering
Vikingatid, troligen sent 1000-tal.

Beskrivning
Bildstensformad runsten med klassisk runstensornametik. Runinskriften i rundjurets kropp fortsätter och avslutas i ett horisontellt tvärband vid stenens hals. I stenens huvud, på tvärbandet, står ett kors. Stenen har utgjort ett parmonument tillsammans med GP 361 och inskrifterna nämner samma resare, de tre bröderna Botmund, Botraiv och Gunnvar som rest stenen efter sin far. Inskriften avslutas med en kristen bön för faderns själ. Parmonumentet har troligen redan från början varit rest på kyrkogården.

Runinskrift:
Botmund och Botraiv och Gunnvar [de] reste denna sten [efter] …-vat(?), sin fader. Gud hjälpe hans själ och Guds moder bättre än vi kunna bedja … (Källström 2015)

Tolkning
Stenen har troligen stått som ett parmonument tillsammans med GP 361. Runinskrifterna nämner samma personer som resare av stenen.
LKÅ
GP 361 Stenkumla kyrka I

Title
GP 362 Stenkumla kyrka II

Fornsök ID ⓘ
L1976:4645

RAÄ ID ⓘ
Stenkumla 200:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID
226

Lindqvist Title ⓘ
Stenkumla, Kirchhof II

Runverket ID ⓘ
G 208


Last modifed Oct 25, 2024

Export

Developer Data
Identifier: GP0362-3D
ID: 4893
3D-model
Part1 Depth null
Part1 RGB null