Hälsingland Rune Inscription 21, Norse runestone at Jättendal church, Nordanstig Municipality, Sweden
Hälsingland Rune Inscription 21 is a two-metre granite runestone now standing in the churchyard outside Jättendals kyrka. Its runes run in a single band along the stone's outer edges, and two Christian crosses once carved in the framed central panel are now only partly visible. The carving is badly damaged today, but older drawings preserve the full inscription.
The inscription records that Ásmundr and Farthegn raised the stone at Vattrång in memory of their father Þorketil, and that Gunnborga carved it. In the 17th century it was built into the south wall of Jättendal church; after the 1800 fire it became a threshold stone at the west entrance, was prised out in 1856 and raised in the churchyard, and reached its present position in 1945.
The stone stands just outside Jättendal Church, but the inscription places the family at Vattrång, about eight kilometres south-southwest, where the stone may first have stood. The signature reads Gunnborga hin goða, "the good", though it is debated whether those words are her byname or describe the stone itself.
The stone stands on the churchyard of Jättendals kyrka, in Jättendal, Nordanstig Municipality. It was moved to its present spot in 1945, after earlier use as a wall stone and then a threshold step at the church. The runes are badly damaged today, so look for the framed central panel where two Christian crosses were once carved.
This stone was carved by Gunnborga, the only documented female runemaster from Viking Age Scandinavia. It stands as a rare record of women's craftsmanship and technical skill during this period.
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