Runestone U 104
May 7, 2020
The carvings of the stone are in the runestone style Pr 5 (c. 1100-1130) pertaining to the late Urnes style.
The inscription is signed by the runemaster Öpir.
The sandstone stone is c. 1,35 m tall and 1,15 m wide at the widest and 0.92 m wide across the centre. The inscription is 1,12 m tall and 0,90 m wide.
Runic inscription
The rune text begins at the head/tail end of the animal.
Runes
‘ ᚦᚭᚱᛋᛏᛁᚾ ‘ ᛚᛁᛏ × ᚴᛅᚱᛅ ‘ ᛘᛂᚱᚴᛁ ‘ ᚠᛏᛁᛦ ‘ ᛋᚢᛁᚾ ‘ ᚠᛅᚦᚢᚱ ‘ ᛋᛁᚾ ‘ ᚢᚴ ‘ ᚠᛏᛁᛦ ‘ ᚦᚭᚱᛁ ‘ (ᛒ)ᚱᚭᚦᚢᚱ ‘ ᛋᛁᚾ ‘ ᚦᛁᛦ ‘ ᚼᚢᛅᚱᚢ ‘ ᚼᚢᛏ ‘ ᛏᛁᛚ ‘ ᚴ–ᛁᚴᛅ ‘ (ᚢ)(ᚴ) ‘ ᛁᚠᛏᛁᛦ ‘ ᛁᚾᚴᛁᚦᚢᚱᚢ ‘ ᛘᚯᚦᚢᚱ ‘ ᛋᛁᚿ ‘ ᚤᛒᛁᛦ ᚱᛁᛋᛏᛁ ‘
Transliteration
‘ þorstin ‘ lit × kera ‘ merki ‘ ftiʀ ‘ suin ‘ faþur ‘ sin ‘ uk ‘ ftiʀ ‘ þori ‘ (b)roþur ‘ sin ‘ þiʀ ‘ huaru ‘ hut ‘ til ‘ k–ika ‘ (u)(k) ‘ iftiʀ ‘ inkiþuru ‘ moþur ‘ sin ‘ ybiʀ risti ‘
Old Norse
Þorstæinn let gæra mærki æftiR Svæin, faður sinn, ok æftiR Þori, broður sinn, þæiR vaRu ut til G[r]ikkia, ok æftiR Ingiþoru, moður sina. ØpiR risti.
English
Thorsteinn had the landmark made in memory of Sveinn, his father, and in memory of Thórir, his brother. They were abroad in Greece. And in memory of Ingithóra, his mother. Œpir carved.
Notes
U 104 is one of the c. 30 Greece runestones commemorating Norsemen who travelled to and died in the Byzantium Empire.
The runestone is now at Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England.
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Eds, Uppland, Sweden
U 104