Page 20-21     Index       Print in PDF       <<Previous page         Next page>>
    The English text below is a machine-translation of the Swedish original text above

only informs about the cause of death.
However, another interpretation is more attractive although uncertain because of certain runology and grammatical difficulties, (1) namely: 
“Fravarad in Haga is declared dead.” 
Haga can be an older name off Hagby, in which parish the rune stone now stands nearby the rectory. This rune stone carries a so well done painting of a rider, that prof. O. v. Friesen with correct supposing think that the painting is patterned after the Roman model of painting. 
In the previous have many runic inscriptions been denoted as entire or partially magic, and also these on amulets and tombstones, but the wording do not directly show magic connection. And because of that it isn’t correct to say that the runic inscriptions have a magic aim. The runes have originally been invented in order to serve practical aims that communication, but later also used as magic runes, as is the case with the Greek and the Latin alphabets.
The runes origin is probably known. At first glance on rune rows it appears that some runes have similarity with Latin big letters, e. g. with R, I, T, B. Regard to this the Danish runologist L. Wimmer 1874, estimated that the runes are a transformation of the Latin alphabet and

(1) Brate, Ark, for nor. fil. 31, s. 227 f;  
H. Pipping, Stud in nor. fil.12 s. 65.
the reasons to the transformation is, that the runes were mainly carved in wood and that some parts of the letters need to be straight and no parts of the letters should not overlap the graining in the wood. That place of the Roman boundary, where the transformation of the Latin alphabet to runes, took place, is not easy to state, Gallien (France) lay closest, according to L.Wimmer where from much impact of Roman culture took place. 
But on the other hand the oldest runic inscriptions has been found with the Gothics in the south Russia and with the Nordic people. The German runes are later inscriptions. It’s obvious that its better to refer to the boundary of the Roman country's eastern part and to the Germanic people, the Gothic, as where the Romans neighbours. In the Roman country's eastern part was Greek the prevailing language, if also Latin, the government authority's languages existed contemporaneously with Greek, one can assume that the Greek alphabet has partially been a source for runes. 
The Greek and the Latin alphabets have many letters common. In a presentation in 1898 that view was stated by the Norwegian S. Bugge. That view was confirmed in 1904 through a work of the Swedish archaeologist B. Salin, “Altgermanische Thier-ornamentik”, this work indicate that in 2th century AD. Germanic culture was formed at the Black Sea's northern and north western beach and in the nearby lands of Russia and it spread to the south eastern parts of the Baltic Sea region and from there to the west to Denmark, Norway and to Sweden to a certain degree. 

  Page 20-21     Index       Print in PDF       <<Previous page         Next page>>