[MR] History Blog: Forsa Ring

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Vikings,

Yesterday the History Blog posted about a new interpretation to the runes
on the Forsa Ring.

"And what is the Forsa Ring?", you ask. Well, it is a large iron ring which
hung for centuries on a church door near Forsa in central Sweden. The ring
is engraved with a runic text which sets down penalties for desecrating a
shrine. It apparently is pre-Christian, but such rings are known to have
been adapted for church use, and a cross on the ring is probably a later
addition.

The interpretation problem is something of a proverbial tempest in a
teapot, and concerns the meaning of the word "auk". Originally the runes
were interpreted to read that a transgressor was to pay an ox *and* a
quantity of silver. The new reading makes this a more flexible "either/or".
On such questions, academic careers are sometimes made, or lost. (Sheesh!)
Perhaps more important is that the Forsa Ring itself is considered the
oldest surviving Scandinavian legal document.

The story is found at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/70902 .
Sadly, the Forsa Ring does not have a Wikipedia page of its own, but is
mentioned in this general discussion about the importance of rings in
Germanic cultures: http://viking.archeurope.com/runes/forsa-rune-ring/ .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.