Profile 3
June 16, 2021
In the same series:
The Runestone Styles
The Styles
The Stones
Pr 3
c. 1045 – 1075
Characterisation of the style
As defined by Anne-Sofie Gräslund
Overall impression
Firmly rounded with moderately sweeping lines, neither too thick and unresilliant nor too sweeping.
Head
Characterised by a convex line from ear to nose tip.
Eye
Almond-shaped, not too large in proportion to the head.
Ear
Low set, rounded and slightly bent backwards.
Mouth
Normally open. The lower lip, usually smaller than in Pr 2, slightly bent downwards. The lip lappet forms an S-line, starting at the somewhat turned-up nose tip. There is a balance between the curve of the ear and that of the nose.
Feet
Occur sometimes, rounded with two toes on relatively short legs.
Tail
Rolled up, often with a thickened end and a thumb-like protuberance downwards.
Additional snakes
Occur.
Layout
One (sometimes two) rune animal(s) along the edge, without or occasionally with over-crossing and in exceptional cases, there is a figure-of-eight loop.
Union Knot
Very frequent.
Cross
Frequent, although not to the same degree as in Pr 1 and Pr 2.
Sources
Danske Runeindskrifter, http://runer.ku.dk
Gräslund, Anne-Sofie, 2006. ‘Dating the Swedish Viking-Age rune stones on stylistic grounds’. Runes and their Secrets – Studies in runology.
The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base.
Sveriges runinskrifter.
