2026/06/04 by Staffan Fridell · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #Historical and Archaeological Studies #Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies #Medieval Literature and History
paper · pdf · doi:10.66449/fornvn.v121i2.64005
openalex publication_date 2026/06/04 · openalex created_date 2026/06/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/07
The Sparlösa inscription probably dates to c. 800 AD. In the first part, æirikis sunr has been understood as ‘Erik’s son’, but it makes more sense to interpret it as ‘the king’s son’, with æirikir meaning: ‘sole ruler’, i.e. ‘king’. The initial letter ᴀ is followed by a punctuation mark, which probably indicates it to be read twice, firstly as the name of the rune: ar ‘good year, good harvest’ and secondly as the first letter of the name Æiuls, a form of Æiwisl. The sentence should accordingly be interpreted: ‘Ävisel, the king’s son, gave good harvest. Alrik [also] gave.’ Since it is stated that Alrik had the runes carved for Ävisel, the conclusion is that Alrik was the king. Thus, the Sparlösa stone was erected by a father for his deceased son, just as the Rök stone. The byname of Alrik, written lubu and lu--ʀ, probably was lyᵬ(i)r < *luᵬjar, nomen agentis to Old Norse lyfja ‘heal by magic’. Later in the inscription, Alrik is also called frøyr ‘lord’ and faðir ‘father’. Towards the end, there is half a stanza in fornyrðislag, which here is interpreted as: Sægs nu frøyi/þat sigmærr hæiti/magur æirikis,/mæginjaru þunna ‘It is now said to the lord that famous for victories the king’s son should be called in the great battle of dins’. This probably means that although Ävisel is dead, the king is comforted by the prospect that his son will, as being famous for victories, fight with the einherjar at the din of weapons of the last great battle at Ragnarök. Again, this has a parallel in the Rök inscription.