60
The Jelling Stone
TȩȦȨȳȦȢȵȦȴȵȴȵȰȯȦȮȰȯȶȮȦȯȵ in Scandinavia is the Jelling
Stone. It was raised by King Harald Bluetooth at the royal
burial place of Jelling in Jutland, Denmark. Beside the stone
are two huge mounds. One of these, the North Mound, may
be where Harald’s parents, King Gorm and Queen Thyre,
were buried in a traditional ceremony (pp. 54–57). When
Harald became a Christian, he built a church next
to the mounds and had his parents
reburied inside. Then he raised the
Jelling Stone in their memory.
The memorial also advertised his
own power as king of Norway
and Denmark. This a modern
copy of the stone. It is a
three-sided pyramid, with
a long inscription on one
side and pictures on
the other two.
Original stone is a
single, massive boulder
of red-veined graniteSILVER MOUNT
King Gorm may have worn this mount
on his belt. It was found in a grave in the
church in Jelling, among the reburied bones
of a man, probably Gorm.Two entwined
ribbonlike
animalsGORM’S CUP?
This silver cup, usually known as the
Jelling Cup, was found in the North
Mound. It is no bigger than an eggcup.
King Gorm may have drunk fruit wine
from it. The cup is decorated with
ribbonlike animals that gave their name
to a style of Viking art, the Jellinge style.The great beast, a wild animal wit h
sharp claws and a long tailThe beast is entwined in t he
coils of a huge snakeRibbonlike decoration in t he
Mammen style, a development
of t he Jellinge style seen on t he
cup, wit h t he ribbons based on
plants rat her t han animalsRunes here
continue from t he
inscription on t he
first side, reading:
“...and Norway...”GREAT BEAST
One side of the stone
is carved with a snake
twisting and turning around a
great animal. Their struggle may
represent the battle between good
and evil. The animal could be a lion, but
it is often just called the great beast.
It became a popular image in Viking art
and can be seen on weather vanes (p. 9)
and rune stones like the St. Paul’s Stone (p. 59)