TheScandinavian Runic-text Data Base (Swedish:Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of transliteratedrunic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalogrunestones in amachine-readable way for future research. Thedatabase is freely available[1] via theInternet with aclient program, calledRundata, forMicrosoft Windows. For otheroperating systems, text files are provided or a web browser can be used to interact with the web applicationRunor.[1]
The origin of the Rundata project was a 1986 database of Swedish inscriptions atUppsala University for use in the Scandinavian Languages Department.[2] At an international runic seminar in 1990, it was proposed to expand the database to cover allNordic runic inscriptions, but funding for the project was not available until a grant was received in 1992 from theAxel och Margaret Ax:son Johnsons foundation.[2] The project officially started on January 1, 1993 at Uppsala University. After 1997, the project was no longer funded and work continued on a voluntary basis outside of normal work-hours.[2] In the current edition, published on December 3, 2008, there are over 6500 inscriptions in the database.[2]
Work is currently underway for the next edition of the database.
Each entry includes the original text,in a transliterated form, its 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 theprovince, and, for Extra-Nordic inscriptions, a code for thecountry (notISO 3166).
Province code:
Country code:
The second part of the code consists of aserial number or a previous method of cataloging.
The third part of the code is a character which indicates the age (Proto-Norse,Viking Age, orMiddle Ages) and whether the inscription is lost or retranslated.
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 bookSveriges runinskrifter (English: "Runic Inscriptions of Sweden")
Most of the time, thePeriod/Datering information in Rundata just gives the date asV, meaningViking Age, which is very broad. For some Danish inscriptions from Jacobsen & Moltke a more precise sub-period is given. The periods used are:
Many of the inscriptions in Rundata also include a field calledStilgruppering. This refers to date bands determined by the style of ornamentation on the stone as proposed by Gräslund:[3][4]
The date bands are:
The catalog numbers refer to a variety of reference works and scholarly publications. Some of the more notable of these include:
Other bibliography information is available inside the Rundata client program by pressingF4.