Located in Stratomta, 9 kilometers east of Linköping in Östergötland, Sweden, is the Viking Age memorial runestone known as Östergötland Runic Inscription 224, or Ög 224. This stone stands 1.7 meters in height and features inscriptions on two sides. The south side contains text in Younger Futhark within a band that circles an image of a ship. The north side features text within a serpent, topped with a stylized Christian cross.
The design of the stone is classified as runestone style Fp, which characterizes inscriptions where the text bands end in serpent or beast heads depicted as seen from above. Ship images are a common motif in Viking Age runic inscriptions, appearing on numerous stones across Sweden, such as those in Hjermind, Spentrup, and many others in the Östergötland and Södermanland regions.
The runic text describes how the stone was raised as a memorial. The inscription states that Ástríðr, Ásvaldi, and Augmundr had this stone raised in memory of their father, Halfdan. Additionally, the text notes that Ástríðr raised it in memory of her good husbandman. The final word, kuþan or goðan, meaning "good," is placed on the east side of the stone.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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