U 104
Runestone U 104 (original location) is in red sandstone measuring 1.35 m (4 ft 5 in) in height and 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) in width. It was first documented by Johannes Bureus in 1594. It was donated as one of a pair to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 1687 upon the request of king James II of England to king Charles XI of Sweden asking for two runestones to add to the Oxford University collection. It is in the Urnes (Pr5) style. It was raised by Þorsteinn in memory of his father Sveinn and his brother Þórir, both of whom went to Greece, and lastly in memory of his mother. The stone is signed by the runemaster Öpir whose Old Norse is notable for its unorthodox use of the haglaz rune (ᚼ), as in hut for Old Norse út ("out"). The erratic use of the h-phoneme is a dialect trait that has survived and is still characteristic for the modern Swedish dialect of Roslagen, one of the regions where Öpir was active.
Latin transliteration:
- ' þorstin ' lit × kera ' merki ' fti ' suin ' faþur ' sin ' uk ' fti ' þori ' (b)roþur ' sin ' þi ' huaru ' hut ' til ' k—ika ' (u)(k) ' ifti ' inkiþuru ' moþur ' sin ' ybi risti '
Old Norse transcription:
- Þorstæinn let gæra mærki æfti Svæin, faður sinn, ok æfti Þori, broður sinn, þæi vau ut til Gikkia, ok æfti Ingiþoru, moður sina. Øpi risti.
English translation:
- "Þorsteinn let make the landmark after Sveinn, his father, and Þórir, his brother. They were out to Greece. And after Ingiþóra, his mother. Œpir carved."
Read more about this topic: Greece Runestones, The Runestones, Uppland