The runestone that coined a regional name

The runestone that coined a regional name

Discover how one Viking-era stone came to be the basis for a region's name

Replösa is an archaeological site in Ljungby commune, Småland, Sweden. One of its most famous artifacts is the Replösastenen, a runestone published as Smålands runinskrifter 35, standing 1.85 meters tall and 0.9 meters wide. The inscription, from the 1000s, reads: 'Götrad gjorde denna vård after Åstrad sin fader, den ypperste of de fränder and tegnare kända som i Finnveden fordom levde'. In this context, 'tegnare' is interpreted as 'free peasant, odalman'.

Götrad (creator) and Åstrad (father of Götrad) are uncommon names. The name Åstrad is known to have appeared on Danish runestones, while Götrad is not recorded elsewhere.

Finnveden, mentioned on the stone, was one of the 'lands' that eventually formed the region of Småland.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

Written by Nik Frost

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