Broby bro Runestones

Main article: Jarlabanke Runestones

The runestones U 136, U 137 and U 135 have been moved a small distance from their original place so as not to be harmed by pollution and vibrations from cars and trucks.

At Broby bro in Uppland, Sweden there are six runestones. U 139, U 140 and U 151 still stand by the road, but U 135, U 136 and U 137 have been moved a distance away from the road.

The last three stones are in the style Pr2 and thus dated to the period 1020–1050, but the internal relationship between them shows that U 137 is the oldest one. They belong to a group of c. 20 runestones called the Jarlabanke Runestones that are connected to the local strongman Jarlabanke and his clan. Together with the Hargs bro runic inscriptions and the Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147 these particular runestones, however, centre on the matriarch of the clan called Estrid.

U 137 tells that Estrid and Östen have a son named Gag who dies, and when it was raised Östen was still alive. The other stones (U 135 and U 136) constitute a twin monument telling that Östen has gone to Jerusalem and died in the Byzantine Empire.

Estrid and Östen had three sons: Ingefast, Östen and Sven, who built a bridge and a barrow after their father. These twin stones show that Gag died as relatively young as he is not mentioned on them.

Estrid is the same person as the Estrid who is mentioned on a number of runestones in Täby and other locations (Hargs bro runic inscriptions and Uppland Rune Inscriptions 101, 143 and 147). This Estrid was the maternal ancestor of a great clan called the Jarlabanke clan, and she was the maternal grandmother of the powerful Jarlabanke who claimed to own all of Täby.

The carver of the Snottsta runestone called U 329, where an Estrid and her brother Ragnfast are mentioned, was Fot who also made the runestones for the Jarlabanke clan. This strongly suggests that Estrid was born in Snottsta (also spelled Snåttsta), married Östen of Täby and married for the second time in Harg near Snottsta.

U 135

U 135

Latin transliteration:

× ikifastr × auk × austain × auk × suain × litu * raisa + staina þasa * at * austain faþur × sin × auk × bru × þasa karþu × auk × hauk þana ×

Old Norse transcription:

Ingifastr ok Øystæinn ok Svæinn letu ræisa stæina þessa at Øystæin, faður sinn, ok bro þessa gærðu ok haug þenna.

English translation:

Ingifastr and Eysteinn and Sveinn had these stones raised in memory of Eysteinn, their father, and made this bridge and this mound.

U 136

U 136

Latin transliteration:

× astriþr × la(t) + raisa × staina × þasa × [a]t austain × buta sin × is × suti × iursalir auk antaþis ub i × kirkum

Old Norse transcription:

Æstriðr let ræisa stæina þessa at Øystæin, bonda sinn, es sotti Iorsaliʀ ok ændaðis upp i Grikkium.

English translation:

Ástríðr had these stones raised in memory of Eysteinn, her husbandman, who went to Jerusalem and met his end up in Greece.

U 137

U 137

Latin transliteration:

* aystin * auk * astriþr * raistu * stina * aftir * kak * sun * sin *

Old Norse transcription:

Øystæinn ok Æstriðr ræistu stæina æftiʀ Kag(?)/Gag(?), sun sinn.

English translation:

Eysteinn and Ástríðr raised the stones in memory of Kagr(?)/Gagr(?), their son.

U 139

U 139

Latin transliteration:

... ...sti ' ru... ... * hia(l)... ... hans

Old Norse transcription:

... [ri]sti ru[naʀ] ... hial[pi] ... hans

English translation:

... carved the runes ... may help ... his

U 151

U 151

Latin transliteration:

× þurbiarn × uk × ikiþura × litu × raisa × ist[ai]n × þina × iftiʀ × ikul × faþur sin × uk × irinui × iftiʀ × buanta sin × uk afti(ʀ) ---

Old Norse transcription:

Þorbiorn ok Ingiþora letu ræisa stæin þenna æftiʀ Igul, faður sinn, ok Ærinvi æftiʀ boanda sinn ok æftiʀ ...

English translation:

Þorbjôrn and Ingiþóra had this stone raised in memory of Ígull, their father; and Erinvé in memory of her husbandman and in memory of ...

Sources

• Rundata
• Inga och Estrid - en såpa för tusen år sedan: Människor, händelser och platser i Ingas och Estrids liv. A page at the Museum of Stockholm County.