Animal representations (rune stones)
Depictions of animals have been preserved on rune stones in Denmark , Scandinavia and England from the 6th to the 11th centuries. About 100 depictions of four-legged friends are known from the late Viking Age (around 960-1050 AD). Most of these animals cannot be clearly identified (wolf, deer, lion, dragon), some seem to be mixed forms from different animal species. Most of the animals come from Germanic mythology , some are interpreted as " The Great Beast " from the Revelation of John.
background
On around 200 Swedish rune stones from the late Viking Age , figurative representations are carved next to the text in the serpentine ribbon. These include about 100 depictions of four-legged friends.
They were mainly addressed by research as lions that were created under the influence of Pictish Beast or continental or oriental art.
The particularly numerous four-legged representations in Uppland form a relatively homogeneous group, most of which have also been seen as lions, less often as dragons or centaurs . Until recently, research has mainly focused on the search for models of the “big beast”. It is becoming apparent that the lion's interpretation does not go far enough and that the chimera motif can convey various meanings. Attention is paid to depictions in which the legs of the animals are marked as tied up. In the Nordic ( Fenriswolf ) and Christian eschatology the defining motif of the "bound monster" seems to occupy a special position .
Examples
The hybrid appearance of the four-legged friend on one of the rune stones from Jelling in Denmark has led to different interpretations. He was interpreted as a lion, griffin, dragon or deer.
A four-legged friend is depicted in the middle of the stone. It has been interpreted in various ways, such as a wolf or a heraldic panther, who "often breathes fire through the mouth and nose, is horned and has hind legs like a lion, while the front legs are like an eagle." Most researchers, those who commented on the interpretation of the animal did not go beyond the formal description and did not comment on the meaning.
A lion-like animal is depicted here under a Christian cross.
One of the best depictions of an animal on a runestone outside of Scandinavia is found on the runestone at St Paul's in London. It could represent a deer.
Other animal representations are
- Runestone from Vang (Norway, N 84)
- Skårby runestone (Sweden, DR 280)
- Rogstropsstenen (Sweden)
- Runestone on the Trosa bro (Sweden, Sö 39)
- Runestone from Stora Ek (Sweden, Vd 4)
Animal display in Gloucester, England
The Big Beast of Tullstorp
Skårby runestone
Runestone from Trosa bro (Sö 39)
Runestone from Vang
St Paul's runestone
Detail from the runestone from Ekerö
Anglo-Saxon cross, 8th century
There are also representations of the great beast on bronze fibulae, such as the openwork one by Bejsebakken in the Urnes style . Although the overall design of the brooches is well preserved, details have been reconstructed. The big beast's feet are based on motifs that adorn numerous Swedish rune stones, and the snake's head is based on the Hørning plank carving. Similar fibulae with the same composition have also been found in Borre, Norway and elsewhere.
literature
- Sigmund Oehrl: On the interpretation of anthropomorphic and theriomorphic images on the late Viking rune stones of Sweden (= Vienna studies on Scandinavian studies. Volume 16). Praesens, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-7069-0346-6 .
- Sigmund Oehrl: Four-legged representations on Swedish rune stones. (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes . Volume 72). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-022742-0 .
- Hermann Ament , David M. Wilson : Germanic animal ornamentation. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 30, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-018385-4 , pp. 586-605.
- Karen Høilund Nielsen, Gudrun Lange: Germanic animal symbolism. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 30, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-018385-4 , pp. 605-608.
- Karen Høilund Nielsen, Gudrun Lange: Supplements: Germanic animal ornamentation, animal symbolism, animal style. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 35, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-018784-7 , pp. 160-167.