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Bjärby Runestones


The Bjärby Runestones are two Viking Age memorial runestones located near Grästorp, Sweden, in Bjärby synod, which was in the historic province of Västergötland. The two stones are memorials to men who held the titles thegn and drengr, and one has a depiction of the hammer of the Norse pagan deity Thor.

Västergötland Runic Inscription 113 or Vg 113 is the Rundata listing for a runestone located in Lärkegapet, which is about one-half kilometer east of Grästorp (58°20′07″N 12°41′59″E / 58.33524°N 12.69978°E / 58.33524; 12.69978). The inscription, which is on a gneiss stone that is 2.5 meters in height, consists of two vertical bands of runic text with the sides of the runic bands forming the handle of a hammer, which is considered to be a depiction of Thor's hammer Mjöllnir. Because of the length of the text bands, the hammer has a long shaft with the head located at the top of the stone. Thor's hammer was used on several memorial runestones in Sweden and Denmark, perhaps as a parallel to or a pagan reaction to the use of the cross by Christians. Other surviving runestones or inscriptions depicting Thor's hammer include runestones U 1161 in Altuna, Sö 86 in Åby, Sö 111 in Stenkvista, Sö 140 in Jursta, Öl 1 in Karlevi, DR 26 in Laeborg, DR 48 in Hanning, DR 120 in Spentrup, and DR 331 in Gårdstånga. The inscription is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK, which is the classification for inscriptions where the ends of the runic band do not have any attached serpent or beast heads.


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