The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 670 medieval runic inscriptions on wood (mostly pine) and bone found since 1955 at Bryggen and its surroundings in Bergen, Norway. It has been called the most important runic find in the twentieth century. Before the find of these inscriptions, there was doubt whether the runes were ever used for anything else than inscriptions of names and solemn phrases. The Bryggen find showed the everyday use that runes had in this area, and presumably in other parts of Scandinavia as well. Another important aspect of the find was that many of the inscriptions were obviously at least as recent as the 14th century. Previously it was believed that the use of runes in Norway had died out long before.
The inscriptions have numbers for Bergen finds, mostly "B" followed by three figures.
Many of the inscriptions follow the formula Eysteinn á mik (Eysteinn owns me, B001), and were most likely used as markers of property – like modern-day name tags. Some contain short messages of different types, such as Ást min, kyss mik (my darling, kiss me, B017) and others have longer messages such as business letters and orders. Yet others contain short religious inscriptions, often in Latin, such as Rex Judæorum In nomine Patris Nazarenus (B005) and may have been intended as amulets.
The inscriptions are currently kept at Bryggens Museum in Bergen, and some are on display.
Examples found at Bryggen or nearby
B #Transliterated TextNormalized TextEnglish translationObject inscribedExternal image linksB001øystein:ami hærmaþr haæþrmþr hærmaþr mariaEysteinn á mi[k] Herrmaðr Herrmaðr Herrmaðr Maria.Eystein owns me warrior warrior warrior MariaRunekjevle (wooden cylinder)Image ImageB003auemaAve MariaHail Mary (Latin text)Wooden plateImage ImageB004io(an)aJóhann áJohan ownsSkull of walrusImage ImageB005rexiudeorum innomini patrisnazarenusRex Judæorum In nomine Patris NazarenusKing of the Jews in the name of the Father of Nazareth (in Latin)Part of a small wooden crossImageB006benatit a g l a la lagla [.](ln)bastii marhret. a g la ag l a ba. flkarel bar(aþ)olisWooden crossImageB007a(ue)m(ar)iaAve MariaHail Mary (Latin text)Bottom piece of a wooden bowlImageB008ly(an)þkat(af)mn(un)æruþkitShoeImageB0093/1 3/2 3/3 3/4 3/5 = fuþor þbissFuþorFuþorCaneImageB010tarB011felleg er fuþ sin bylli fuþorglbasmFéligr er fuð sinn byrli Fuðorglbasm.Spurkland (2005: 194-195)Lovely is the pussy, may the prick fill it up!Flat wooden stickImage Image B012inra ... inr á ... -inr ownsFlat wooden stickImageB013mikæl petr ioanes andres lafranz tomas olafr klemet nikulas allerhælger mengiætaimin notouk dahilfsminsouk salokuþsemikoksihni=kuÞkifiosbyrokkafomarih[..[lbemer ethialbemerallegzhlkarh[ ... ]Mikjáll, Pétr, Jóanes, Andreas, Lafranz, Thomas, Ólafr, Klemetr, Nikulás. Allir helgir menn, gæti mín nótt ok dag, lífs míns ok sálu. Guð sé mik ok signi. Guð gefi oss byr ok gáfu Mariu. H{já}lpi mér Klemetr, hjalpi mér allir Guðs helgir (menn)Michael, Peter, John, Andrew, Lawrence, Thomas, Olaf, Clement, Nicholas. All saints, guard me night and day, my life and soul. God see me and bless. God give us ... and Mary's gifts. Help me Clement, help me all God's saints.Flat wooden stick, with a hole at the end.ImageB014d(el)usdeusgod (in Latin)Piece of wood, shaped into a narrow cross.Image ImageB015iuairfuþo ... fuþo ... fuþoWood stick.ImageB016aPiece of woodImage ImageB017ost min kis mik fuþorkhniastbmlyÁst min, kyss mik FuþorkhniastbmlyMy love, kiss me FuþorkhniastbmlyWooden stickImage ImageB018þr:inliossa:log:rostirriþatbiþa:(aþ) yþænþuæt[-]nuka:ældiriþsu(an)ahiþar: s(au)dælakumlynhuit(an)ha[--]klko lotak(ol)ahbohas(ol)ar:fiartar:tahs[--] [ ... ]kuiþi þækanukabækiiarPiece of woodImage Image Image ImageB019yakæyrfiar rakæyrfiarSquared broken wood pieceImageB020blm[- fuþorkhniastblmyblm[- FuþorkhniastblmyFuþorkhniastblmySmoothed piece of woodImage ImageB149kya : sæhir : atþu : kakhæim : þ(an)sak : (ab)akist(an) : rþisGyða segir at þú gakk heimGyða tells you to go homeWooden stickImage
Other interesting inscriptions One of the inscriptions, listed as N B145, refers to the pagan Norns. It has both a complete Skaldic dróttkvætt verse and Virgil's famous verse "Omnia vincit amor et nos cedamus amori" engraved. Another one, listed as N B368 M was written on the wax tablet and was supposed to be hidden under the layer of wax with some trivial writing.The excavation of Bryggen, Bergen, Norway Asbjorn E. Herteig in Recent archaeological excavations in Europe edited by Rupert Bruce-Mitford, page 65, Routledge, 1975 - Social Science - 335 pages It was a top-secret message calling to someone to change the sides in the civil war: "I would ask you this, that you leave your party. Cut a letter in runes to Ólafr Hettusveinn's sister. She is in the convent in Bergen. Ask her and your kin for advice when you want to come to terms. You, surely, are less stubborn than the Earl." The letter was continued on another wax tablet. Ólafr Hettusveinn is probably Olav Ugjæva, died in 1169. N B257 (dated ca. 1335) is a poetic charm, apparently a piece of love magic, similar in content to a curse in the Eddaic poem Skírnismál. Likewise, N B380 contains a pagan inscription, reading ”May you be healthy, and in good spirits. May Þórr receive you, may Óðinn own you.”
See also Birch bark document List of runestones
References
External links Database with the runes from Bryggen Report on computerizing the Bryggen runes
Bibliography Spurkland, Terje (2005): Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions, Translated by Betsy van der Hoek, Boydell Press, Woodbridge