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Runes and Rock Carvings

 


Church Bell with Runes, Bollebygd, Västergötland, Sweden
 

 

 

Church Bell with Runes, Bollebygd, Västergötland, Sweden. Kyrkklocka med runor, 1300-talet, Bollebygd kyrka, Västergötland.
     

 

     
  Church Bell with Runes, Bollebygd, Västergötland, Sweden
This the smaller bell of Bollebygd church. It is dated to the later part of the 13th century. It has a runic inscription in two strings.  Some of the runes have been placed in the mould in a wrong way and have been reversed. As we see, the bell is named after Sankt Katarina.

The lower string of runes reads:
 

 

   
  DAT KaTERINA SONUM FIDELI PUPULO BONUM.

This means:

"Katarina är ljudets tolk
Till hugnad för ett troende folk

In English:

Katarina interprets the sound
As a comfort to a faithful people

 The upper string of runes reads:
 

  
   
 

EGo SONUS AUDITUR EGo MENS BLANDITUR

This means: 

 "Då mitt ljud ditt öra hinner,
Ljuvlig ro ditt sinne vinner

In English:

When you hear my sound,
Delightful peace your mind gets

In the catholic period, new church bells used to be inaugurated by the sprinkling of holy water and the smearing of holy oil on it. A naming order was told and the bell got the name after one of the Saints.
 

  
 


Order an image in full size (20000x 17500 pixels)

The scanning in full size (20000 x 17500 pixels) is sold as a JPG-file for € 5 or $ 5. Mail me at henriksson@avrosys.nu  Ref. no. 100750.
 

  
     

 

 
   
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  © 2008 Lars Henriksson. Updated: 2010-01-15.