Some runic stones. 3 1 



AUFÏ'I may have been, was raised by two ladies, the daaglder and the 

 daiu/hter-in-lair of the deceast. As we have elsewhere the mansname 

 BLESI, so we have here the womaiisname BLP^RA. She raised the 

 .•<tone-cumbels, the lines of standing stones or whatever else they were. 

 But FRITHELF, probably the widow of his already dead son, set up in 

 his memory the tall irard or beacon. This last additional mark of re- 

 spect, built up near the grave, is distinctly mentioned in several of these 

 runic mortuary formulas under the names KASI (Swedish KASE, KAS, 

 vardKASE, etc.), rAR^I (Sw. VÅRD) and UITI (Sw. VETTE, VETT). 

 There is therefore nothing surprising in its occurrence here. And as we 

 have elsewhere the KAN- or KEN- or KIN- or K\J^-( KEX or KEXXIXG 

 or luarklni/ or pointing or memorial) RUNES or STONE, so here we 

 have the KAN-AN-VART, the KEX OX- WARD, the WARD or VARDE 

 or beacon-pile OX or AX or TO a person. We have several of these old 

 compounds still left. So for instance the modern A-BUI was once ON- 

 BUI, the modern A-MINNE was once ON-j\IINI, and so on. In the same 

 way this antique AN- VART represents what would be a later Å- VARDE, 

 which however I have never seen. 



I leave it to local topographers to determine where OM w-as. 

 There are still several places called OM, OI\INÂS, OMSJÖ, etc. in the 

 north of Sweden. Perhaps an OM may still be found in Gestrikland. 



At the end, as we see, there was no room to spare at the tip of 

 the worm-tail. Hence the contractions STI for SATI and RUA-R for 

 RUNA-RAtï or RUNA-RIT or RUNA-RITAR, etc., all which frequently 

 occur, sometimes as here, and for the same reason, shortened. 



As to the name of the rune-carver. It was certainly B.^ÜMARN, 

 however we may divide or explain it. Most likely it was quite simply 

 B^U:\I-ARN, BEMEARX or EAGLE, TREE-EAGLE. Compare the M. 

 Goth. BAGMS, N. Icel. BADMR, O.-Engl. BEAM, O.-Sax. BOM, Olig. 

 BAUM, BOUM, modern Swedish BOM, etc., a word once in full use in 

 Scandinavian as in other Scando-Gothic dialects, but which gradually 

 became obsolete in some of them or obtained special meanings, — which 

 so often happens in all tungs. We have divers runic names ending in 

 -ARN. This one I have never seen before. 



