|
Nytt om runer 16 (2001, publ. 2003), 35–39
Fifth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions,
16th-20th August 2000, Jelling, Denmark
The Fifth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions
was held 16th–20th August 2000 at Brandbjerg Højskole only a few
kilometres from the famous runestones in Jelling, Eastern Jutland, Denmark. The
conference was attended by approximately 85 scholars interested in runes from
11 countries: Australia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S.A.
It was decided by the organising committee, Marie Stoklund from the
Danish National Museum, Gillian Fellows-Jensen and Michael Lerche Nielsen from
the Institute of Name Research, University of Copenhagen, that all participants
should be encouraged to give a paper on a topic of their own choice. In order
to ensure the consistency of the programme, however, a few main topics were
proposed as main themes for the conference: (1) the runic artefacts with the
older runes; (2) runic writing confronted with Latin literacy and
Christianisation; (3) the problem of runic chronology and typology versus
regional variation; (4) runology and runic research, methodology and new
challenges at the turn of the millennium.
On the opening day of the conference, Wednesday 16th August, a reception
was held at the town hall of Jelling Kommune (right next to the church and the
runestones). The municipal director of cultural affairs, Kjeld Zacho
Jørgensen, and museum curator Per Kristian Madsen from the Danish
National Museum explained the plans for a local museum "Kongernes Jelling"
(Royal Jelling) which was at that time under construction. After the reception
there was an informal visit to the Jelling runestones and the mounds, where
Anne Pedersen, Per Kristian Madsen, Marie Stoklund and Michael Lerche Nielsen
talked about the monuments. Unfortunately, the church itself was closed for
restoration work but it was possible to study the runic inscriptions in
favourable light conditions. After dinner Anne Pedersen gave an evening lecture
which threw light on the efforts of the afternoon: The Jelling Monument.
Tuesday 17th August began with 9 papers on theme one: the runic
artefacts with the older runes. In the morning plenum session (dealing with
language history) Terje Spurkland gave a paper: From Tune to Eggja—The
Ontology of Language Change, and he was followed by Hans Frede Nielsen:
The Early Runic Inscriptions and Germanic Historical Linguistics, and
Michael Schulte: Die Übergangsinschriften: Aspekte des transitorischen
Laut- und Schreibungswandel. After the coffee break the conference divided
into two sessions. In section A (Norwegian and Danish inscriptions) Henrik
Williams gave a paper: The Inscription from Fælleseje (Slemminge),
and he was followed by Anne Haavaldsen: Die ältesten Runensteine in
Hordaland, Westnorwegen, and Thórhallur Eythórsson: Three
Daughters and a Funeral: Re-reading the Tune Inscription. In section B
(continental and English inscriptions) Kendra Willson gave a paper: Is
-h 'and' < I.E. *kwe Found in Runic
Inscriptions?, and she was followed by Gaby Waxenberger: The Yew-rune
([ë], [ë]) and the Runes h, g, [h]
and i in the Old English Corpus (Epigraphical Material). Finally,
Edith Marold and Klaus Düwel presented: Die Inschrift auf dem Schemel
von Wremen.
The afternoon and evening session contained 12 papers dealing with theme
two: runic writing confronted with Latin literacy and Christianisation. Svante
Fischer gave a paper: Runes, Latin and Christianity in Merovingian Gaul,
and this was followed by Birgit Sawyer's paper: 'Good' People in
Scandinavia. Jørgen Steen Jensen presented a paper: Why Did Svend
Estridsen Have Coins with Runic Inscriptions Struck in Denmark?, and
finally Judith Jesch demonstrated: The Presentation of Verse in Runic and
Roman Writing. After the coffee break Lise Gjedssø Bertelsen gave a
paper: On Öpir's Pictures. Jan Ragnar Hagland carried on with one
of two papers dealing with the learned use and study of runes in late or post
medieval times: Runic Writing and Latin Literacy at the End of the Middle
Ages: A Case Study, followed by Per Stille's paper: Johan Bure och hans
Runaräfst.
The evening programme was split into two sessions. Section A contained 4
papers dealing with Norway: Agnieszka Ewa Sidselrud presented her paper: Ave
Maria og Pater Noster med runer – bønn eller magisk
påkalling?, followed by Kristel Zilmer: Teologiske
utviklingslinjer i runetekster og deres kulturhistoriske sammenhæng.
Jonas Nordby continued with a paper: The Youngest Runic Inscriptions from
Hardanger, and finally Unni Helene Berg discussed the interpretation
history of the Eggja inscription: Eggjaforskernes metodedebatt i nytt
lys. Section B contained 2 papers dealing with rune-names and 2 papers
dealing with runic writing principles. Alan Griffiths gave a paper on:
Rune-names: The Irish Connection, followed by Bernd Neuner's: The Old
Norwegian Rune Poem—The Riddle behind the Half-lines. Jan Christian
Nilssen discussed the so-called written-in runes in his paper: "Innskrevne
runer" – feilristning eller forkortning?, while Mindy MacLeod
discussed: Bind- runes and Latin Ligatures.
Friday 18th August was devoted to a full-day excursion by bus. The first
stop was Moesgård Museum (and the Archaeological Departments of the
University of Aarhus). Professor Else Roesdahl gave an introduction to the
museum and this was followed by a visit to the reconstructed wooden houses next
to the museum (the Hørning stave church and the Hedeby house). Museum
curator Jørgen Ilkjær and Marie Stoklund presented the objects
bearing inscriptions with the older runes from the bog war deposit in Illerup
Ådal. In the neighbouring runic hall of the museum Michael Lerche Nielsen
presented 8 Viking Age runestones from the Århus area, several of which
are regarded as the most important runestones from Denmark. In the courtyard
the forged Vinterslev stones with runes from the older futhark were on display.
The runestones, which were cut by two school boys in 1922–23, were later
considered to be genuine by professor Peter Skautrup in 1932.
After lunch the bus continued to the site of King Harold Bluetooth's
impressive bridge in Ravning Enge in the river valley west of Vejle, Vejle
Ådal. After a coffee break the buses continued to the runestones in
Bække and Læborg which mention "Thyra's mound" and "Queen
(dróttning) Thyra". In Læborg Birgit Sawyer presented her new
theory about the relationship between these and the Jelling inscriptions in a
short presentation called: The Tug-of-War over Thyre. Finally the buses
took us to Sønderskov Manor, where the local museum is situated in
splendid surroundings. The museum curator Svend Aage Knudsen gave an
introduction to the museum and the Early Viking Age runestone from Malt, which
he himself discovered in 1987.
The morning session on Saturday 19th August contained 5 papers on theme
three: the problem of runic chronology and typology versus regional variation.
Bernard Mees gave a paper: Runes in the First Century, which was
followed by Marie Stoklund: On the Chronology and Typology of the Danish
Runic Inscriptions 0–1500, and Anne-Sofie Gräslund: The
Swedish Viking Age Runestones—Ornamentation and Chronology. After the
coffee break Michael P. Barnes discussed the problem: Standardised Futharks:
A Useful Tool or a Delusion?, and finally Laila Kitzler presented a paper:
Surface Structure Analysis of the Sparlösa Stone—In Quest of
Individual Rune Carvers.
After lunch 7 papers were read dealing with theme four: runology and
runic research, methodology and new challenges at the turn of the millennium:
Katrin Lühti read a paper: Südgermanische Runeninschriften als
Zeugnisse früher Schriftlichkeit. Merill Kaplan carried on with:
Legends and Runestones: A Folklorist Reads the Runic Corpus Editions.
Stephen E. Flowers presented his work on: A Semiotic Theory of Rune-
Magic, and finally Ian Kirby reported from his and Peter Pieper's research
on The Narragansett Rock Inscription, New England. After the coffee
break Nancy L. Wicker presented her paper: Bracteate Inscriptions through
the Looking Glass: A Microscopic View of Manufacturing Techniques. Lena
Peterson continued with a paper on: Normalization of Scandinavian Viking Age
Runic Inscriptions for Practical Purposes. Finally the "nestor" of the
conference, Ray I. Page, gave its concluding paper: Statistical Problems in
Anglo-Saxon Runic Studies.
In the evening the symposium dinner was held at Brandbjerg
Højskole. The dinner was sponsored by the local county, Vejle Amt, and
the dinner was attended by the County Mayor Otto Herskind Jørgensen and
his wife. The Municipal Mayor of Jelling Kommune was unfortunately unable to
come. After the County Mayor's speech Ray I. Page gave the official "nestorian"
speech of the conference, which will be printed in the proceedings. Afterwards
Svante Lagman entertained with a presentation of folklore instruments and
Viking Age music. Also as a part of the informal programme the professional
rune carver Erik the Red (Sandquist) demonstrated his skills in the hall by
cutting on demand a half-finished and portable-sized modern runestone.
On Sunday 20th August the conference closed with a short session and
final discussions. The organising committee presented their plans for the
publication of the proceedings. Finally it was decided that the next symposium
in 2005 should be held in England.
In summary, the organising committee was pleased that so many
runologists were able to come. We were very satisfied by the content and the
quality of the papers and their presentation. We were especially pleased by the
fact that so many young scholars attended the conference. It was an advantage
in our opinion that the whole conference stayed in the same location, where all
the lectures took place. The special informal atmosphere of a Danish
Højskole seemed to fit very well with the need for informal gatherings
and conversation outside the official conference programme.
The organising committee wishes to thank Brandbjerg Højskole and
the staff for their hospitality and their willingness to alter the time
schedule at short notice. We also wish to thank our student assistant, Rikke
Steenholt Olesen, for helping with practical problems during the conference.
The committee wishes to thank Moesgård Museum and the Department for
Medieval and Viking Studies at the University of Aarhus for their hospitality
(including the beer for lunch) on the excursion. We should also like to thank
the Museum at Sønderskov for opening specially for our excursion.
Finally, we should like to thank the Danish Research Council for the Humanities
and Letterstedtska föreningen, Jelling Municipality and Vejle County for
their financial support.
We hope that the proceedings will appear soon in the Runrön series.
Unfortunately we have to admit that the editorial work has been delayed by some
late-arriving contributions and by the fact that the committee has been heavily
burdened with other duties. Nevertheless, although preparing the Jelling
conference and its proceedings has in our opinion presented a great challenge,
it has certainly been worth the effort. We therefore send our best wishes to
the next organising committee and we look forward very much to seeing you all
in England in 2005.
Marie Stoklund
Gillian Fellows Jensen
Michael Lerche
Nielsen
Go or return to the main page for Nytt om
runer.
|
