Strängnäs stone
Proto-Germanic runestone discovered in Sweden in 1962 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Strängnäs stone (Swedish: Strängnässtenen), or runic inscription Sö Fv2011;307 (formerly Sö ALLHSÖDERM;77), is a runestone inscribed with runes written in Proto-Norse using the Elder Futhark alphabet. It was discovered in 1962, when a stove was demolished in a house at Klostergatan 4, in Strängnäs, Sweden.[1] The stone is of Jotnian sandstone and measures 21 centimetres (8.3 in) in length, 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in width and 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) in thickness.[2]
The inscription consists of just two words, both of them notable in the study of Germanic languages – Erilaʀ and Wodinʀ[3] – which are of such mythical character that the stone's authenticity has often been questioned.[4] The first word is compared to that of the Heruls, a Germanic tribe with a traditional homeland in Scandinavia, and to the title jarl and its Anglo-Saxon form earl.[5] The second word is a late Proto-Norse, and otherwise unattested, form of Odin, a deity in Germanic mythology.[1]
In spite of international interest from prominent scholars in the field, it took 49 years before the stone was formally described by runologists.[3] A 2011 study remarks that the poor documentation concerning the discovery of the inscription creates uncertainty about its authenticity, but four independent geological and technical analyses support that it is an authentic Proto-Norse inscription, in addition to linguistic and runological support.[6]