Runestone from Tune
The so-called rune stone from Tune ( Tunesten ) is a Norwegian rune stone . It bears the longest runic inscription in the Norse language and is also the oldest evidence of an inheritance issue in Scandinavia . The rune stone originally stood on Tunevejen west of Sarpsborg in Fylke Viken in Norway .
Site and dating
The stone was first mentioned in 1627, as part of a cemetery wall in Tune. The find situation suggests that the stone has always stood there. The report also mentions a low burial mound to which the cemetery wall was adapted. Today the stone is in the Oslo Cultural History Museum. A replica of the stone was placed near the Tune Church next to a small park and road crossing.
The dating is uncertain due to the material. The language and rune forms limit the possible period to the second half of the 3rd century to around the year 400.
inscription
The stone is about 2.0 meters high, about 50 cm wide at the base and has a square cross-section. The sides become narrower towards the top. The runes are on two sides of the stone an A side and B side. Side A consists of two rows of runes and side B of three rows. They are read from the bottom up. Some runes are no longer legible or have broken off:
A side:
- A1: ekwiwaRafter · woduri
- A2: dewitadahalaiban: worathto · [?]
B side:
- B1: [???] Rwoduride: staina:
- B2: þrijoRdohtriRdalidun
- B3: arbijasijosteRarbijano
Translation according to Grønvik (1998):
A side:
- A1: "I Wiw after Wodurid,
- A2: who provided the bread,> worked runes [n] <,
B side:
- B1: determined the stone for Wodurid.
- B2: Three daughters prepared a pleasant inheritance,
- B3: the dearest of the heirs. "
Metric
The Tunestein is one of the few examples of the early Germanic alliance poetry . However, opinions among runologists and linguists vary depending on the definition. Some see in the inscription a prose speech heightened by alliteration, others see the beginning of verse, especially the Ljóðaháttr .
The inscription highlighting the alliteration:
ek w iwaR after · w oduride
w itadahalaiban: w orathto · [?]
[???] R w oduride: staina:
þrijoR d ohtriR d alidun
a rbij a sijosteR a rbijano
Elements of long lines and full lines can be recognized. In a correct Ljóðaháttr stanza , a long line (3 bars) would always be followed by a full line (2 bars) and then repeated. This scheme is in rudimentary form but not implemented.
The Tunisian as a legal document
On the A side of the stone, the typical formula for rune stones is "X scratched the runes after [the deceased] Y". It is therefore a grave inscription for the deceased Woduride (Wutreiter). The stone served as a memorial at the foot of his burial mound.
What is special, however, is the second line in which three daughters are named as heirs. On the one hand, this proves the existence of a right of inheritance for the period around 400, i.e. before the Great Migration. On the other hand, the line also reflects the succession law, which is laid down in the oldest Norwegian legal text, the Gulathingslov around 900.
According to this, the daughters only inherit if no son is alive any more. A son of Wodurid would have been the sole heir. In the inscription we find a total of four heirs, the three daughters and possibly also Wiw. Wiw, however, may also have been an uninvolved rune scorer . However, since his name stems from Woduride, as was customary among relatives, one suspects a relationship. According to the Gulathingslov, Wiw can only be the son of Woduride's son. As a grandson, he inherits as much as each of the three daughters. The inscription can therefore be understood very well using the Gulathingslov, which speaks for the old age of this legal text.
See also
literature
- Klaus Düwel: Runic lore. Metzler, Stuttgart Weimar 2001, third edition. ISBN 3-476-13072-X
- JE Knirk: Tune In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 31 (2nd edition) Berlin, New York 2006. pp. 332–335
- Terje Spurkland: I begynnelsen var Runer. Cappelen, Oslo 2005 (2nd edition)
- Wolfgang Krause: Runes. de Gruyter, Berlin New York 1993 (2nd unchanged edition)