Fot(Old Norse:Fotr) was arunemasterwho flourished in mid-11th centurySweden.
Career
editMost early medieval Scandinavians were probably literate inrunes,and most people probably carved messages on pieces of bone and wood.[1]However, it was difficult to makerunestones,and in order to master it one also needed to be astonemason.[1]During the 11th century, when most runestones were raised, there were a few professional runemasters.[1]Fot was active as a runemaster in southernUpplandduring the lateViking Age.His work is representative of therunestone styleknown as theUrnes style.[2]This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks.
Fot is prominent among the known runemasters as the leading representative of the classic Uppland or Urnes runestone style, and has been called the most artistic of the runemasters of that time.[3]A salient trait is the care with which he chose the stones, how he treated the surface of them, the harmonious ornamentation and the evenly chiseled and firmly designed runes. He is also noted for the consistency of his use of thepunctuation mark×between the words in hisrunic inscriptions.[4]Only a few runestones were signed by Fot.Rundatalists the following inscriptions in Uppland as having Fot's signature: U 167 in Östra Ryds, U 177 in Stav, U 268 in Harby, U 464 in Edeby, U 605 in Stäket, U 638 in Mansängen,U 678inSkokloster,and U 945 in Danmark. An additional 40 runestones can be attributed to him based upon stylistic analysis.
The runestone U 678 at the church of Skokloster belongs to his most famous works.
One runestone fromSödermanland,the now-lost Sö 341 in Stavsta, was apparently signed by a different runemaster with the same name.[5][6]
Torgöt Fotsarve
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RunestoneU 308in Ekeby was apparently carved by a son of Fot named Þorgautr, oftennormalizedas Torgöt Fotsarve, and the influence of Fot's style is apparent in the son's work as this inscription has been classified as being carved in runestone style Pr4 or Urnes style.[7]The runic inscription on this stone states thatÞorgautr risti runaʀ þessaʀ, Fots arfi,or "Þorgautr, Fótr's heir, carved these runes."[8]Other inscriptions signed by Torgöt Fotsarve include U 746 in Hårby and U 958 in Villinge. An additional 18 inscriptions are listed by Rundata as being attributed to him based on stylistic analysis.
Gallery
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RunestoneU 678is one of his most famous works. -
This stone is one of theSnottsta and Vreta stones. -
This stone is one of theJarlabanke Runestones. -
This stone is one of the Jarlabanke Runestones. -
This stone is one of the Jarlabanke Runestones. -
This stone is one of the Jarlabanke Runestones. -
This stone is one of the Jarlabanke Runestones.
Notes
edit- ^abcVilka kunde rista runor?Archived2011-01-04 at theWayback Machineon theSwedish National Heritage Boardwebsite, retrieved January 13 2007.
- ^Fuglesang, Signe Horn (1998). "Swedish Runestones of the Eleventh Century: Ornament and Dating". In Düwel, Klaus; Nowak, Sean (eds.).Runeninschriften als Quellen Interdisziplinärer Forschung.Göttingen: Walter de Gruyter. p. 197.ISBN3-11-015455-2.
- ^Wessén, Elias(1952)."Det Svenska Runverket: Ett 350-Årsminne"(PDF).Fornvännen.47.Swedish National Heritage Board:193–210.ISSN1404-9430.Retrieved2010-09-16.
- ^Meijer, Jan (2007). "Punctuation Marks on Viking Age Rune Stones". In Langbroek, Erika (ed.).Amsterdamer Beiträge Zur Älteren Germanistik.Rodopi. pp. 81–82.ISBN978-90-420-2256-0.
- ^Samnordisk runtextdatabas –Sö341
- ^Drawing of now missingSö341
- ^Thompson, Clairborne W. (1972)."Öpir's Teacher"(PDF).Fornvännen.67.Swedish National Heritage Board:17.ISSN1404-9430.Retrieved2010-01-12.
- ^Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk-Rundataentry for U 308.
References
edit- The articleFotinNationalencyklopedin(1991).