Øpir

Runestone U Fv1976 107 from Øpir's hand

Øpir's signature on U 1072

Øpir or Öpir (runic: ybir , ybiR , ubir ) was a Swedish rune master of the late Viking Age in the second half of the 11th century. He is the most productive master of his time. Numerous inscriptions and reliefs on rune stones in the provinces of Uppland , Södermanland and Gästrikland are signed with his name .

Various assumptions are discussed in research about its identity and origin. Subject of the discussion are the artistic design of the engraved images and ornamentation, the engraving technique, the signature and the word material used in the texts as well as their orthography. The identity with the Russian pope "Upir 'Lichoj" is no longer accepted, as not only the name is proven to be old Swedish and thus Nordic. In more recent research the question is being discussed whether Øpir is a single master or whether he founded a school whose students made stones using his signature and overall artistic direction. According to the dating of Gräslund, the works fall into the last third of the 11th century in the years 1070 to 1100.

literature

• Thorsten Andersson : Ofeg Öper. In: Studia anthroponymica scandinavica 16, 1998, pp. 15-20.
• Lise Gjedssø Bertelsen: On Öpir's pictures. In: Marie Stoklund et al. (Ed.): Runes and their Secrets. Studies in runology. Copenhagen 2006, pp. 31-64.
• François-Xavier Dillmann:  rune master. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 25, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-017733-1 , pp. 537-544.
• Signe Horn Fuglesang: Swedish Runestones of the Eleventh Century: Ornament and Dating. In: Klaus Düwel (Ed.): Runic inscriptions as sources of interdisciplinary research. (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes 15). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015455-2 , pp. 197-218.
• Anne-Sofie Gräslund: Dating the Swedish Viking-Age rune stones on stylistic grounds. In: Marie Stoklund et al. (Ed.): Runes and their Secrets. Studies in runology. Copenhagen 2006, p. 117 ff.
• Frands Herschend: ubiR, ybiR, ybir - är det U 485 Ofeg Öpir? In: Fornvännen. Volume 93, 1998, pp. 97-111.
• Magnus Källström: Some Thoughts on the Rune-Carver Øpir: A Revaluation of the Storvreta Stone (U 1022) and Some Related Carvings. In: Futhark: International Journal of Runic Studies. Volume 1, 2010, pp. 143-160.
• Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt: Öpir - A Viking Age Workshop for Rune Stone Production in Central Sweden? A Study of Division of Labor by Surface Structure Analysis. In: Acta Archaeologica 72, 2 (2001), pp. 129-155.

• Arend Quak: 'Ybir risti runar': On the language of an Uppland rune master. In: Amsterdam Contributions to Older German Studies . Volume 13, 1978, pp. 35-67.
• Arend Quak: Is pop Upir 'Lichoj identical to the rune master Øpir? In: Scando-Slavica. Volume 31, 1985, pp. 145-150.
• Anders Sjöberg: Pop Upir 'Lichoj and the Swedish rune ‐ carver Ofeigr Upir. In: Scando-Slavica. Volume 28, 1982, pp. 109-124.
• Claiborne W. Thompson: Öpir's Teacher. In: Fornvännen. Volume 67, 1972, pp. 16-19.
• Henrik Williams : Åsrunan. Användning och ljudvärde i runsvenska steninskrifter. (= Runrön. Volume 3). Institutions för nordiska språk, Uppsala 1990, ISBN 91-506-0807-X , ISSN  1100-1690 , pp. 165 ff.
• Marit Åhlén: Runristaren Öpir en monografi. - The rune master Öpir. (= Runrön. Volume 12). Institutions for Nordiska Språk, Uppsala Universiet 1997, ISBN 91-506-1200-X , ISSN  1100-1690 .