Gotland Picture Stones

THE PICTURE STONES OF GOTLAND

Per Widerström and Johan Norderäng
he ‘Picture Stones’ from the

T Baltic island of Gotland are in

many ways unique; some
would suggest that they are
the most thrilling heritage surviving
Fig 1. Map show-
ing the location
of Gotland in
the middle of
from Viking Scandinavia. Yet they are the Baltic Sea.
not as well known as they deserve, and Courtesy of
the tales carved into the Gotlandic Dan Carlsson.
limestone remain largely uninter-
preted.
The history of these stones dates to Fig 2 (below left).
The first kind
the 5th century AD, and perhaps even of Picture Stone
slightly earlier, when a new form of to appear on
artistic expression emerged. The carv- Gotland. Over 3m
ings set into large stones on Gotland high. Photo:
Per Widerström.
represented sun figures, fighting stal-
lions, and ships - all symbols of power.
The earliest stones are large, some more
than 3m high, and are shaped like an Fig 3 (below mid-
dle). An example of
axe (Fig 2). Another striking fact is that the successor to the
the oldest stones seem to be of the stone form in Fig 2.
greater artistic quality. This class is signifi-
The tradition continued during the cantly smaller. 6th stones once again increased in magni- narrative begins with an attack on a
century AD. Photo:
6th century, before a new style tude, also changing in shape to become farm. Above is a picture frame possibly
Johan Norderäng.
emerged with smaller and simplified more like what most people today showing Gunnar in the snake pit, while
decoration. The pictures still show interpret as phallus-shaped (Figs 4-5). his sister watches beside him, maybe a
some stallions, but are mainly of ships These stones were popular research symbol of a treacherous act. This sub-
Fig 4 (below right).
and ducks (or duck-like birds). These subjects during the first half of the 20th ject is from a well-known tale of the
The Hunninge
axe-shaped stones are smaller versions Stone from Klinte century, when romantic ideology about Völsungasaga, a saga whose subject mat-
of those dating a century earlier (Fig 3). Parish. A Viking the Swedish nation was strong. In this ter is found on rune stones, on a cart
During the early Viking Age (begin- age stone with sym- phase of development the stones show from the Norwegian Oseberg ship, and
ning AD 793), or some time before, the bols from the sagas, tales in pictures, many of them recog- on a cross slab from the Isle of Man.
showing life in
Valhalla; AD 793
nisable from the Icelandic sagas. Above this, a ship transfers the dead
to 1066. Photo: person to Valhalla, the home of the
Johan Norderäng. The Hunninge Stone gods and the highest position one
from Klinte Parish could achieve after death: a true war-
A fine example of this type of stone is
one from Klinte Parish (Fig 4), which
seems to read from bottom to top. The

MINERVA 26

rior’s paradise. In the top field the
fallen hero is welcomed by a woman
bringing him mead. Meanwhile, the
boar Särimner is being slaughtered for
the evening feast. Every morning he
reappears, just to be slaughtered again
for the feast the following night. And
so life in Valhalla continued. The ring
is probably the symbol of good faith.
Christian Stones
The following and final phase of the
Picture Stones evolution can be
equated with the introduction of Chris-
tianity. These feature runic inscrip-
tions, but no pictures apart from
crosses and trails for the runic inscrip-
tions. By definition they should not be
called picture stones, but early
researchers established this name for
this category as well, largely due to
their characteristic shape. This shape is
typical of Gotland and is not found
elsewhere amongst the Swedish rune
stone material. Inscriptions contain
typical Viking-period stanzas detailing
who made the stone and for whom.
There is also sometimes information
about where a person lived and died.
From the words and a cross on one
stone from the parish of Sjonhem (Fig
5) it is clear that the stone is Christian,
but the message is marked by pagan
belief. One stone out of a monument
of three reads, ‘Rodvisl and Rodälv had
these stones raised in memory of their
three sons. This stone in memory of
Rodfos. He was betrayed by the Wal-
lachians on an expedition. God help
Rodfos’ soul. May God betray those
who betrayed him’. The message is
clear - revenge, not a typical Christian
thought. This might be a good example
of the reality of how Christianity was
fused with an enduring local tradi-
tional religion.
These Christian ‘picture stones’ are
thought to have been painted with
bright colours. On rare occasions traces
of colour survives, usually red from
iron oxide and black from charcoal. A
rune stone from Boge on east Gotland
even reads, ‘Brightly coloured was this
stone raised…’.
Evolutionary Function
One interpretation for the emergence
of the picture stone tradition on Got-
land is that it denotes the introduction
of a new religion. A religious change
has been discussed for large parts of
Scandinavia during the 4th or 5th cen-
turies AD. If that is the case, perhaps we
can distinguish between three different
such changes on Gotland. First, the
early stones seem to reflect a belief in
elements with the sun-wheel. Next fea-
tured is the pagan Viking faith with the
worship of the Aesir. In the final phase
of the tradition we can observe the
introduction of Christianity with runic
inscriptions and carved crosses.
Gotland Picture Stones
On the Swedish mainland we know tlements are easier to detect because
of many rune stones (Fig 6), which of their stone foundations.
have been the subject of many years of
research. The knowledge from this Historical Value
work has in large been imposed onto Thanks to the study of the Gotland pic-
the Gotland material, even though the ture stone tradition we have gained
mainland rune stones are younger and substantial knowledge about the Viking
largely a Christian phenomenon. The period. Boats and sails are probably
picture stone tradition on Gotland had
already been ongoing for hundreds of
years when rune stones first appeared,
and was already 500 years old by the
time they became common.
The earliest stones seem to be grave
markers, while the latest just seem to
be grave memory stones. Archaeologi-
cal fieldwork conducted in relation to
the picture stones is limited. The main
problem is the reuse of picture stones
in later buildings such as churches or
bridges, maybe in ritual contexts.
Stones are rarely found in original con-
texts. In fact, the original context is
known for only 16 examples. Some of
these are not even complete stones, but
just the base, and all of them are of the
Viking age variety. Most serious
research has concentrated on the
motifs.
However, an apparent pattern in the
geographical positions of the stones in
the landscape is that they are placed
along roads or by bridges: locations
where they were certain to be seen. The
most recent find, for example, had
been used in a stone bridge (perhaps a
successor of a Viking Age wooden
Fig 5. A Gotlandic Rune stone with the typical shape of the older
bridge) with at least one picture stone. examples, although the cross demonstrates a Christian context.
If this is the case, could the people The text mentions the desire for revenge, which sits uncomfortably
passing it read the stone? Did everyone with the stone’s Christian background. Photo: Johan Norderäng.
understand the stories depicted? In
comparison to rune stones, the earlier Fig 6. Rune stones from the Swedish mainland are in shape
more amorphous than their Gotlandic counterparts. The inscription
picture stones of Gotland contain no refers to a man from Täby outside Stockholm: ‘Jarlabanke had
information about who made them this stone raised for himself while he was living, and he made this
and why. This leads us to believe that bridge for his soul, and he himself owned the whole Täby.
they were placed to be seen with a farm God help his soul’. Photo: Johan Norderäng.
in sight, so passers-by would know who
had a stone made.
Stones are also known from larger
monuments, where it is conceivable
that they were used in groups at sacred
sites. Here people may have met to read
stories from the stones; other scholars
propose that the stones are monu-
ments of people who had passed on to
the next world. The placing of the
stones could be within farms’ domains
as a kind of territorial marker. They
have also been interpreted as symbolic
keyholes. In that hypothesis they make
a transition point between life and
afterlife.
Archaeology shows that the
Viking-period picture stones of Got-
land are found in the outskirts of
abandoned settlements that are 200
or 300 years older than the stones
themselves, suggesting the existence
of an ancestor cult. A major problem
is that buildings contemporary with
the stones are hard to find because
the Vikings built in wood. Later set-
MINERVA 27
 Gotland Picture Stones
the most discussed subjects based on informing motorists of places of spe-
Per Widerström
the stones, but they inform us about cial interest, seen all over Sweden,
and Johan
houses, how the inhabitants dressed, have borrowed an image from a pic-
Norderäng
and about the use of carts and ture stone. Almost every book cover-
are directors of the
sleighs. Other themes revealed ing the Viking Age uses pictures
Gotland Picture
include gender and, of course, reli- Stone Project. from these Gotlandic stones. In a
gion. way the tradition lives on because
Many symbols are today borrowed new gravestones also still carry the
from these stones. The local County distinct shape of the picture stones
Museum of Gotland uses an image of of Gotland.
the Klinte Stone as their logo. The A recently initiated project now
Museum of National Antiquities has aims to synthesise knowledge about
picked their logo from yet another. this class of material culture. The
Local companies also try to integrate first phase is to create a database of
the past with the present by using images and information, part of
ancient symbols. which will be published as a cata-
Similarly, national road signs logue. Following the completion of
MINERVA 28
this initial step, several key ques-
tions will be addressed about the ori-
gin of the picture stones and the
people who made them; whether the
stones travelled or were once distrib-
uted all over the island? If so, is it
possible to distinguish a distribution
pattern? Other important questions
concern dating, placement in the
landscape, and who was intended to
see these mortuary sentinels. To fuel
the discussion, we would like to
compare symbols and research
results with other standing stone tra-
ditions, for example those of the
Picts and Romans. Hopefully, some
answers are well within reach.