The Snoldelev Stone, listed as DR 248 in the Rundata catalog, is a 9th-century runestone that was originally located at Snoldelev, Ramsø, Denmark.
Description
The Snoldelev Stone, which is 1.25 meters in height, is decorated with a design of three drinking horns interlocking as incomplete Borromean rings. The stone was first noted in 1810, and was turned over to the national Antiquities Commission in 1811. The runestone is now housed at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, Denmark. The inscription on the Snoldelev Stone shows an early version of the Younger Futhark. Like the late Elder FutharkBjörketorp Runestone, it uses an a-rune which has the same form as the h-rune has in the long-branch version of the younger futhark. This a-rune is transliterated with capital A below. The Snoldelev runestone also retains the elder futharkhaglaz rune for the h-phoneme and this is represented by capital H in the transliteration below. The last character in the runic text is damaged, but is clearly a, and represents the first use of this rune for an 'm' in Denmark. The text is arranged in two lines of different size. It has been suggested that this may have been done in imitation of Merovingian or Carolingian manuscripts, which have the first line in long slendercharacters with the following lines in shorter, stubbier text. The inscription states that Gunnvaldr is a Þulʀ, which signifies some office or rank, perhaps a priest or a skald, compare Old Norseþula meaning "litany." It is related to the later Norse Þulr, a position described as being a wise man or sage associated with Scandinavian chieftains and royalty. The translation offered by the Rundata project suggests reciter. The location Salhaugar in the text has been identified as referring to the modern town Salløv, which was in the vicinity of the original site of the runestone. The literal translation of the Old Norse Salhøgum combines sal "hall" with hörgar "mounds," to form "on the hall mounds," suggesting a place with a room where official meetings took place.
