Greece Runestones - The Runestones - Gotland - G 216

G 216

G 216 (original location) is an 8.5 cm (3.3 in) long, 4.5 cm (1.8 in) wide and 3.3 cm (1.3 in) thick sharpening stone with a runic inscription that was discovered in 1940. It was found by a worker at a depth of 40 cm (16 in) while he dug a shaft for a telephone wire in a field at Timans in Roma. It is presently at the museum Gotlands fornsal with inventory number C 9181. It has been dated to the late 11th century, and although the interpretation of its message is uncertain, scholars have generally accepted von Friesen's analysis that it commemorates the travels of two Gotlanders to Greece, Jerusalem, Iceland and the Muslim world (Serkland).

The inscription created a sensation as it mentions four distant countries that were the targets of adventurous Scandinavian expeditions during the Viking Age, but it also stirred some doubts as to its authenticity. However, thorough geological and runological analyses dispelled any doubts as to its genuine nature. The stone had the same patina as other Viking Age stones on all its surfaces and carvings, and in addition it has the normal r-rune with an open side stroke, something which is usually overlooked by forgerers. Moreover, v Friesen commented that there could be no expert on Old Swedish that made a forgery while he correctly wrote krikia as all reference books of the time incorrectly told that the form was grikir.

Jansson, Wessén & Svärdström (1978) comment that the personal name that is considered most interesting by scholars is Ormika, which is otherwise only known from the Gutasaga, where it was the name of a free farmer who was baptised by the Norwegian king Saint Olaf in 1029. The first element ormr ("serpent") is well-known from the Old Norse naming tradition, but the second element is the West Germanic diminutive -ikan, and the lack of the final -n suggests a borrowing from Anglo-Saxon or Old Frisian, although the name is unattested in the West Germanic area. The runologists appreciate the appearance of the nominative form Grikkia ("Greece") as it is otherwise unattested while other case forms are found on a number of runestones. The place name Jerusalem appears in the Old Gutnish form iaursali while the western-most dialect of Old Norse, Old Icelandic, has Jórsalir, and both represent a Scandinavian folk etymological rendering where the first element is interpreted as the name element jór- (from an older *eburaz meaning "boar"). The inscription also shows the only runic appearance of the name of Iceland, while there are five other runic inscriptions in Sweden that mention Serkland.

Latin transliteration:

: ormiga : ulfua-r : krikia : iaursali (:) islat : serklat

Old Norse transcription:

Ormika, Ulfhvar(?), Grikkia, Iorsali, Island, Særkland.

English translation:

"Ormika, Ulfhvatr(?), Greece, Jerusalem, Iceland, Serkland."