Gotland Picture Stone from the Viking Era
Ancient stories that belong to a world far removed from technology have horses and great ships as modes of transport on this ancient Picture Stone. A round disc with six points on a shield held by a warrior on horseback represents the Sun. The carved stones were limestone and there were three notable periods with and distinctive styles.
An ancient Gotland Picture Stone
This Gotland Picture Stone was created over a thousand years ago, about 700 – 800 CE and like many other stones on the island still holds secrets that are yet to be uncovered or confirmed. The story on this stone is in pictures and decoding the meaning is a complex task for history and iconography. Picture motifs were inscribed on gravestones, road markers, weapons, and amulets.
Norse myths and legends were not written down in words and so the pictures on stone are very precious records.
My painted drawing was sketched from one ornate carved Picture Stone, one of about four hundred known today, mostly from the island of Gotland, Sweden. I have tried to be accurate with the detail. The Stones belonged to the Viking Age in Scandinavia. Ancient Stones and sometimes Rune Stones with Runic letters were erected and inscribed to commemorate fallen warriors, rituals, myths, and legends.
In this keyhole shaped Picture Stone there are several panels above each other. At the top the rider could be the God Odin astride the horse Sleipnir from Norse mythology. Sleipnir was the fastest of all horses and with Odin could travel between realms. The triple triangle or Valknut behind the horseman is the magical symbol in Nordic paganism for Odin. The horseman is welcomed by a female Valkyrie offering a drinking horn, a welcome to the Otherworld paradise or afterlife known as Valhalla. Some believe it could be the Goddess Freya holding a cornucopia or cup of abundance.
In the middle band there are Runic letters from the ancient Runic Alphabet below what looks like a figure walking. The Runic alphabet originated among the Nordic peoples of Europe about two or three centuries before the Christian Era. Carved runic inscriptions sometimes issued warnings about the future or issued messages. Mostly the letters on these Gotland Picture Stones simply named the memorialized person.
In the panel below this we see a common theme on Picture Stones: a Viking long ship with a crisscross sail. This time there are two figures on board, possibly representing the soul being transported to the afterlife. Below that are big, abstracted shapes with an extending interlace pattern that could represent the waves carrying the ship to another realm. All the picture story panels are enclosed by a plait knotwork border.
Messages in these Picture Stones tell us about a different Age. An Age when horses were thought to carry the Sun across the sky and ships were the key to adventure and trade for an island people. The messages inspire the imagination and leave us with a sense of wonder about a pagan life before Christianity. A time when a world of beliefs in gods and goddesses was connected to the natural world.
Pages and essay with image can be printed for education purposes.