Today we recognize that hand is unique to each mortal . From the way we form our letters to the amount of imperativeness we station on pen and paper , the details of our private piece of writing can be used to key out us . The same , it seems , is true for ancient runesmiths , which has allowed archaeologist to finally identify the person who carved the amazing Jelling stone in Denmark and uncover the power of a tenth - one C Viking queen .
The Jelling stone are locate in the townsfolk of Jelling , near the easterly coast of Denmark . They consist of two monolithic stone monument that date back to the 10thcentury CE . The oldest was erected by King Gorm the Old to honor his wife Thyra , while the 2nd Oliver Stone was raised by his son , Harald Bluetooth ( of hands - free fame ) to memorialize his parent ’s storage . This 2nd stone also contains intricate carving that describe Harald ’s accomplishment . It celebrates his conquest of Denmark and Norway and how he converted the Danes to Christianity .
The scoring on these stones are beyond impressive . They contain both runic inscriptions as well as carve images – one side of the vernal Harlan Fiske Stone displays theoldestknown image of Christ in Scandinavia .
A model of the Jelling 2 Stone, highlighting the runes analyzed.Image credit: Roberto Fortuna (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In late employment , a team of researchers from the National Museum in Copenhagen have used 3D scans to analyze the carving tracks of the runes . As with handwriting , the way a runesmith created their runes was unique to the individual , this is because each smith hold the chisel in a different way and struck with a sure amount of strength .
By analyzing these unique features and the distance between them , the squad were able to compare the rune on the Jelling stones with others , such as theLaeborg Runestone , which is settle about 30 kilometre ( 18.6 miles ) out .
This comparison has been priceless . It turns out the Jelling rock display the same carving techniques as those on the Laeborg Runestone , the latter of which includes the name “ Ravnunge - Tue ” carve on it .
This individual is not well known among the wider world , but professionals familiar with Viking archaeology may realize his name as a famed runesmith . It should be noted that , due to weathering , the team were not able to reassert whether the runes on the pocket-size Jelling Lucy Stone belonged to Ravnunge - Tue . Nevertheless , the analysis of his rune on the large stone also revealed of import information about Thyra .
When carving the Laeborg Runestone , the inscription left behind by its author interpret “ Ravnunge - Tue carve these runes after Thyra , his poof ” . Queen Thyra is mentioned on the two Jelling stones , but the name “ Thyra ” also appears in another stone calledBække 1 . This 4th stone stop the inscription “ Ravnunge - Tue and Fundin and Gnyple , the three made the plosive speech sound of Thyra . ”
Previously , historians and archaeologists were timid whether Læborgstenen ’s Queen Thyra is the same as the Thyra who appears on the Jelling Stones . But this raw analysis bolsters the claim that they are one and the same .
Moreover , the fact that Thyra was mentioned on four stones is pretty remarkable . For a woman to be commemorated on one is unusual , but so many case intimate she was far more pregnant than previously assumed .
The survey is published inAntiquity .
An earlier version of this article was published inSeptember 2023 .
