Stora Hammars stones
.JPG)
.png)
The Stora Hammars image stones are four Viking Age image stones located in Stora Hammars, Lärbro parish, Gotland, Sweden (57°44′N 18°50′E / 57.733°N 18.833°E).
Contents |
[edit] Description
The four Stora Hammars image stones are phallic shaped. Similar combinations of death with this erotic symbology occur on other Gotland rune and image stones.[1] The images on the Stora Hammars II and IV stones are very worn and not currently decipherable.
[edit] Stora Hammars I
Depicted on the Stora Hammars I stone are six panels with mythological, religious and martial background, including panels depicting a woman between two men, a sacrifice scene with a Valknut over an altar, a woman standing between a longship manned with armed warriors and another group of armed men, and a battle scene.[2] Because of the position of the woman in two of the panels, it has been interpreted as illustrating the legend of Hildr and its never-ending battle.[2] The stone includes an image of a warrior about to be hung from a tree with a Valknut nearby, considered to be Odin's cult symbol, giving validity to reports regarding human sacrifice in Norse paganism.[3] Near the alter is a shaped stone, which one scholar has been suggested may be a cult stone similar to the Elgesem runestone.[4]
[edit] Stora Hammars III
The Stora Hammars III image stone has four panels, the lower of which shows a ship with warriors. One of the panels has been interpretted as depicting Odin in the form of an eagle taking the mead of poetry[5], a legend described in section 6 of the Skáldskaparmál.[6] Gunnlöð and Suttungr are shown to the right of the eagle. Another panel depicts a rider on a horse being greeted by a woman who has been interpreted as being a Valkyrie.[7] The woman appears to be wearing a long serk or underdress, which may be pleated, and a short overdress.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Sundqvist, Olof (2005). "Aspects of Rulership Ideology in Early Scandinavia - With Particular References to the Skaldic Poem Ynglingatal". In Erkens, Franz-Reiner. Das Frühmittelalterliche Königtum: Ideelle und Religiöse Grundlagen. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 111–112. ISBN 3-11-018886-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=EQPE3Yd2B80C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- ^ a b Jesch, Judith (1991). Women in the Viking Age. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 128–130. ISBN 978-0-85115-360-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=9xpNRpI9zFoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Patton, Kimberley Christine (2009). Religion of the Gods: Ritual, Paradox, and Reflexivity. Oxford University Press. pp. 224–225, 430 note 70. ISBN 978-0-19-509106-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=8vmJcw1WBtQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- ^ Antonsen, Elmer H. (1988). "On the Mythological Interpretation of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions". In Jazayery, Mohammad Ali; Winter, Werner. Languages and Cultures: Studies in Honor of Edgar C. Polomé. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 43–54. ISBN 3-11-010204-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=v56tj2EPZ-YC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- ^ Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis (1993). The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe. Routledge. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-415-04936-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=E2K9r4VEDo4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology: Prose Edda - Skáldskaparmál (English).
- ^ Lundin, Andreas (2006). "The Advent of the Esteemed Horseman-Sovereign". In Andrén, Anders; Jennbert, Kristina et al. Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes, and Interactions. Nordic Academic Press. pp. 369–376. ISBN 91-89116-81-X. http://books.google.com/books?id=gjq6rvoIRpAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. pp. 370-371.
- ^ Thunem, Hilde. "Viking Women: Underdress". http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~hmg/lrp/kostyme/viking/v-k-underkjole.html. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
[edit] External links
- Photograph of Stora Hammars I - Swedish National Heritage Board
- Photograph of Stora Hammars II - Swedish National Heritage Board
- Photograph of Stora Hammars III - Swedish National Heritage Board
- Photograph of Stora Hammars IV - Swedish National Heritage Board
- Photograph showing 4 stones - Swedish National Heritage Board
