Re-reading Embodied Texts - An Interpretation of Rune-stones

Abstract

Rune-stones have been a major field of research in philology, archaeology, art history and history during the 20th century. Most of these studies have been based on the thorough editions of rune-stones published in Scandinavia during the century. The aim of this article is to question some of the fundamental principles of these editions, and to initiate a new type of interpretation based on the complex interplay between images and texts on the rune-stones. Elements of a more visual understanding of the monuments are presented, as well as some examples of a new contextual reading, which sometimes alter the philological interpretations in the rune-stone publications.