Rundata

The Joint Nordic database for runic inscriptions (Swedish: Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project started on January 1, 1993 at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runic inscriptions in a machine-readable way for future research. In the current edition, published September 18, 2004, there are over 6000 inscriptions in the database. A new edition is being prepared for 2006.

The project's database is freely available for download via the Internet with a client program, called Rundata, for Microsoft Windows and ASCII text files for other operating systems.

Format of entries

Each entry includes the original text, its format, location, English and Swedish translations, information about the stone itself, et cetera. The stones are identified with a code which consists of up to three parts.

The first part describes the origin of the inscription. For Swedish inscriptions this contains a code for the province, and, for Extra-Nordic inscriptions, a code for the country (not ISO 3166).

Province code:
*Bo - Bohuslän
*D - Dalarna
*G - Gotland
*Gs - Gästrikland
*Hs - Hälsingland
*J - Jämtland
*Lp - Lappland
*M - Medelpad
*Nä - Närke
*Sm - Småland
*Sö - Södermanland
*U - Uppland
*Vg - Västergötland
*Vr - Värmland
*Vs - Västmanland
*Ög - Östergötland
*Öl - Öland

Country code:
*BR - British Isles
*DR - Denmark
*FR - Faroe Islands
*GR - Greenland: List of Rune Inscriptions in Greenland
*IR - Ireland
*IS - Iceland
*N - Norway

The second part of the code consists of a serial number or a previous method of cataloging.

The third part of the code is a character which indicates the age (Proto-Norse, Viking Age, or Middle Ages) and whether the inscription is lost or retranslated.
*# - inscription lost, later replaced with †
*$ - newly retranslated
*M - inscription from the Middle Ages
*U - inscription in Proto-Norse, i.e. before ca 800.
*[inscription from the Viking Age, if M or U are not present]

As such, U 88 would mean that the stone is from Uppland and that it is the 88th to be catalogued. This system has its origin in the book Sveriges runinskrifter (English: Runic Inscriptions of Sweden)

Original reference works

The catalog numbers refer to a variety of reference works and scholarly publications. Some of the more notable of these include:
* Sveriges runinskrifter, various volumes.

Other bibliography information is available inside the Rundata client program by pressing F4.

See also

*Runic alphabet
*Rune stones

External links

*Samnordisk runtextdatabas