GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46

Context and Discovery
The fragment was found by Greta Arwidsson during restorations of Stenkyrka church in 1954/55. According to Guta saga (ch. 3; Peel 1999, 10–11), a wooden church at this spot had been the very first church building in the entire northern part of Gotland. It was replaced by a stone church in the first half of the 12th century, the foundations of which were discovered beneath the floor of the current church, which was built during the 13th century (on the building’s architectural history, see Roosval 1911, pp. 84–86; 1914, p. 1–52, esp. 21–24; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, pp. 239–243). Sune Lindqvist (1941/42 II, pp. 115–118) lists nine picture stones from Stenkyrka church. By contrast, the list put together by Jan Peder Lamm in 2003 contains no fewer than 40 new discoveries (Lamm/Nylén 2003, nos. 238–276, 425, 426).

The unusually large number of stones found not only in the church, but in the entire parish, is an indicator of the politically and religiously important position that Stenkyrka probably already held even before the first church was built (Roosval 1914, p. 5). Many of the new finds from the church were discovered during large-scale restoration works, which were carried out in 1954/55. The picture stone fragment no. 46 was re-used in a prominent location, under the medieval high altar. It has been briefly discussed and published by Lindqvist in 1956 (pp. 19–25, fig. 1). Today, it is on exhibition in Gotland’s Museum in Visby.

Measurements, Material and Condition
Only a fragment of this limestone stele was found. Upper and lower parts are broken off, the sides and border decoration are preserved, but no chamfered edges are visible. On the left side of the fragment, there is a vertically running fracture. The material contains fossils. The surface seems weathered and damaged. The fragment is 0.49 m in height and 0.94 m in width. The depth cannot be measured at this time, since the fragment is put in a wooden case for display at Gotlands Fornsal. The original size of this stele can only be roughly estimated by a comparison with other monuments of the same type (Martebo-type, see IX). Presumably, it was about 2.0 m tall. Recent research conducted by Hannah Strehlau suggests that Stenkyrka kyrka 46 and GP 268 Martebo kyrka (I) represent fragments of the same tall picture stone.
GP 268 Martebo kyrka I

Description of Ornament and Images
According to Lindqvist’s colouring, which is still visible on the stone today and essentially can be confirmed in its accuracy, the fragment features a symmetrical rowing boat with curved, raised stems, as it is quite commonly seen on Type A stones. The boat’s hull is extremely slender and narrows down towards the stems even further. Seven oars can be made out, which are operated by six visible crew members, whose bodies are depicted almost completely, sitting aboard with bent knees. The figures face right; consequently, the boat is moving left. To the boat’s extreme right, in its stern, a figure is sitting in an elevated position, holding a steering-board (rudder) and looking towards the crew. To the left, in the bow, another crew member stands upright in the stem, facing left and apparently holding another, long steering-board (rudder) in its hand. In the middle of the boat is an oblong structure, which may be identified as a chamber, tent, or cabin. On its roof rests a row of seven ring-shaped objects, the meaning of which remains unclear (shields?). Similar depictions of rowing boats are carved on the stones GP 43 Bro kyrka I (incl. cabin and rings), GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV (incl. cabin with rings and crew), GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I (incl. cabin with rings), GP 269 Martebo kyrka 2 (incl. cabin), and presumably GP 197 Hellvi Ire IV (cabin with rings). Above the boat, the curling tail of a serpent protrudes into the picture. It probably belongs to one of the beasts commonly encircling the disc motifs of Type A stones. Above the boat’s stern, Lindqvist’s illustration of the stone also shows a spear, with its barbed head towards the left and the shaft slightly bent, which appears to be flying from the right to the left across the vessel, the helmsman, and the cabin.

An analysis of the carvings based on 3D digitisation revealed that there is a ring-shaped depression below the spear which resembles the head of the man operating the steer board in the left part of the image. Lines appear to emerge from this ring, the most prominent of which is an oblique line beginning under the ring and then running right and upwards towards the spear shaft (an arm?), another one running downwards (a human body?). It seems that these structures represent the remains of an anthropomorphic figure that appears to be floating above the ship’s crew and hurling the weapon (Oehrl 2019a, p. 120, pl. 80; in print a, fig. 16–18).
GP 43 Bro kyrka I
GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV
GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I
GP 269 Martebo kyrka 2
GP 197 Hellvi Ire IV

Interpretation of the Imagery
Lindqvist and after him particularly Karl Hauck have drawn attention to the special significance of the barbed spear (Lindqvist 1956, p.23; Hauck 1983a, pp. 533, 536, 543, 546, 569, fig. 33a–b; cf. Althaus 1993, pp. 149–152 and Pieper 1999, pp. 308–309). The image, they propose, is associated with a ritual known from Old Norse literature that served as the signal of the commencement of the battle between two opposing forces: a spear was hurled over the hostile army to consecrate it to Óðinn, god of the dead. After a successful outcome, this would include the promise to deliver the defeated army to the god as spoils of war. Dedications of this sort (without mentioning a spear) are recorded in antique sources, such as by Orosius for the Cimbri and Teutones (Historiae adversus paganos V: 16, 1–7), by Tacitus for the Hermunduri and Chatti (Annales XIII: 57), and by Jordanes (Getica V: 40) and Isidore (Historia Gothorum 14) for the Goths. Saxo Grammaticus explicitly states that Harald Hilditann dedicated the souls of any enemy slain by him to Othinus (Óðinn) (Gesta Danorum VII: 10).

Literary evidence of the ‘throwing of the spear’ and the concepts related to it were collected by Hans Kuhn (Kuhn 1978, pp. 247–258). The ritual is associated with Óðins spear, as occasionally the god appears to perform the shot himself as well as guiding the spear’s flight. Early evidence is found, for example, in the Edda’s Battle of Goths and Huns, the so-called Hlǫðskviða (stanzas 27–28), which belongs to the earliest examples of eddic heroic poetry. It probably dates to the 9th century but is based on traditions that trace back to events during the Migration Period. The poem quotes an invocation preceding the ritualistic ‘throwing of the spear’ across the enemy lines, which indicates that Óðinn himself apparently was expected to be involved in the fateful shot: Felmtr er yðro fylki, / feigr er yðvarr vísir, / gnæfar yðr gunnfani, / gramr er yðr Óðinn. [...] hrósi yðr / at hái hveriom, / oc láti svá Óðinn flein fliúga [...] (Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 309). – ‘Terrified is your army, doomed is your leader, the battle flag is rising above you, angry at you is Óðinn. […] May Óðinn horrify every one of you and let the spear fly […].’

According to Vǫluspá (stanza 24), which is dated to the late 10th century or about the year 1000, it is with a primordial throw of a spear that the god brings the first war into the world (Neckel/Kuhn 1983, p. 6). Spectacularly embellished are the concrete consequences of the ‘spear dedication’ in Styrbjarnar þáttr in the 14th-century Flateyarbók. Here, Óðinn personally presents the Swedish King Eirek with a reed cane and instructs him to fling it over the band of his adversaries and shout: Óðinn á yðr álla! – ‘Óðinn owns you all!’ During its passage over the enemy lines, the cane then turns into the god’s fateful spear, and as a direct consequence, the enemy soldiers first go blind and are then completely destroyed by a rock fall (Unger/Guðbrandur Vigfússon 1860–1868 II, pp. 70–73). In Eyrbyggja saga, Óðinn is not mentioned by name, but the saga says that it was an old pagan custom (forn siðr) to throw a spear to commence hostilities (Einar Ólafur Sveinsson/Matthías Þórðarson 1935, p. 122).

That this is not merely a literary topos or a mythological motif is possibly demonstrated by the magnificent damascene lances, decorated with symbols and runic inscriptions, from the third century, which primarily originate from the East Germanic (Gothic) regions and may be interpreted as ritual weapons (Düwel 1981, pp. 141–147; Hachmann 1993; Grünzweig 2004, pp. 17–39). One example is the spear shaft from the moor at Kragehul in Fyn, Danmark (5th century), the runic inscription on which probably includes a consecration or curse. The relevant sequence reads hagalawijubig, from which at least the terms hagal, ‘perdition’ or ʻhailʼ (precipitation), and wiju, ‘I dedicate/consecrate’, can be identified. The inscription’s meaning appears to indicate: ‘Perdition/hail I dedicate [to the spear]’ (KJ 27; Düwel 1981, pp. 140–141; Pieper 1999, pp. 316–321).

The spear flying over the boat in the picture stone of Stenkyrka can be understood either as the depiction of a concrete and very real ritualistic act or rather as a symbol, as a cipher and iconographic feature, which marks the boat’s crew as being dead or doomed. At the same time and similar to the literary tradition, the spear appears to symbolise the presence of and the influence by the god of the dead as well as his claim to the slain. If the interpretation of the possible carvings below the spear given above (see VI) is correct, the god himself seems to be depicted, floating above the boat, throwing the spear of death and by doing so determining the crewmen’s fate, bringing about their deaths in battle, and taking possession of the warriors on board of the vessel. The stone fragment from Stenkyrka might be considered a key monument, as it appears to be evidence of the role of rowing boats as transport vessels for the dead (regarding this aspect see GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV). Sylvia Althaus (1993, pp. 150–151), however, regards the spear as a kind of mark, which characterises only the helmsman who is sitting right next to the weapon. She compares the sign of the spear to the different kinds of triple symbols, which frequently occur on the Viking Period picture stones.

There are more picture stones from the Viking Period to be mentioned, which probably also feature a flying spear, implicating a similar symbolic meaning (Oehrl in print a). On GP 253 Lärbro St. Hammars I [C] the spear is flying above a war ship, and on the monuments GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII [D] and GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I [D] it flies above the horseman on the eight-legged horse. The fragment GP 339 Rute St. Valle 2 depicts a horned man, probably a deity (Óðinn?), who seems to direct a spear against a ship or its crew respectively.
GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV
GP 253 Lärbro Stora Hammars I
GP0021
GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I
GP 339 Rute St. Valle 2

Type and Dating
GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46 is an early type of picture stone, i.e. Type A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating to between AD 400 and 600. The fragment belongs to Lindqvist’s (1941, p. 22) Martebo-type because of the significant border decoration and the serpent (cf. GP 268 Martebo kyrka [I]; GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV, GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I). Lindqvist regards the Martebo-type as an exclusive variant of the Bro-typus (in particular, GP 43 Bro kyrka I and GP 44 Bro kyrka II). Hauck's (1983b, p. 541) classification also agrees with this, which means that the monument belongs to his type II.

In Strehlau’s (2023, pp. 95 f.; List 4) new typology suggestion, GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46 is part of the Bro-Martebo Group as she sees more similarities than differences between the Martebo-type stones and the Bro-type stones. Therefore, she regards all of them as one group and only distinguishes them as stones with minor variations (see also the article on GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV). As mentioned above, GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46 is now regarded as the lower part of GP 268 Martebo kyrka I and is therefore part of another key monument of phase A (Strehlau et al. forthcoming; see also the article on GP 268 Martebo kyrka I).
HS / SO
GP 268 Martebo kyrka I
GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV
GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I
GP 43 Bro kyrka I
GP 44 Bro kyrka II

References
Lindqvist 1956, pp. 19–25, bild 1; Hauck 1969, p. 40; 1970, pp. 301, 308; 1980b, p. 540; 1981a, pp. 7–8; 1983a, pp. 533, 536, 543, 546, 569; 1983b, pp. 447–448; 1992a, 454–455; 1992b, p. 143; 1993, p. 410; 1994b, p. 81; 1998a, p. 512; Ellmers 1978a, fig. 7a; Varenius 1992, p. 57, fig. 9; Althaus 1993, pp. 149–152; Pieper 1999, pp. 308–309; Guber 2011, p. 146 cat. no. 73; Oehrl 2011b. p. 67; 2019a, p. 102, pl. 80a–c; in print a; Strehlau et al. forthcoming.

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