Viking runestone may allude to extreme winter

[Eldorado]

"The stone refers to the heroic acts of “Theodoric”, which some scholars believe refers to Theodoric the Great, a sixth-century ruler of the Ostrogoths in what is now Italy.

"Researchers at three Swedish universities now suspect the inscriptions are more of an allusion to an impending period of extreme winter, as the person who erected the stone tried to put their child’s death into a larger perspective.

"“The inscription deals with an anxiety triggered by a son’s death and the fear of a new climate crisis similar to the catastrophic one after [AD]536,” the authors wrote in a study published on Wednesday."

Full monty with link to the research paper at the UK Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/08/viking-runestone-may-allude-to-extreme-winter-study-says

Rök runestone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rök_runestone

[zep73]

I lean more towards this interpretation:

Quote

According to a theory put forward by Åke Ohlmarks, Varinn was the local chieftain and as such also the one who performed sacrifices to the gods. Then arrived Ansgar, the first to bring Christianity to Sweden, and the wife of Varinn's son Vémóðr/Vámóðr was baptized by him. Therefore, Varinn was forced to sacrifice his own son to the gods as indicated in the verse: "I say the folktale / to the young men, which of the line of Ingold was repaid by a wife's sacrifice" (the word "husl" can be interpreted both "sacrifice" and "baptism"). Shortly: Vémóðr/Vámóðr paid with his life for his wife's betrayal to the gods and Varinn had to kill his own son. That might also be the reason that Varinn used the word "faigian" (who is soon to die) instead of "dauðan" (dead) in the first line.

 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

The Vikings had a word extreme winter Fimbulwinter an extreme winter that would last for three years. 

[jaylemurph]

Why on Earth would proto-Vikings in Sweden be talking about a Goth 2,500 kms away in Rome? Why even assume it meant the famous one? There were several other noteable Theoderics just in the Gothic tribes, let alone in the rest of Europe. Astonishingly bad history and/or journalism.

--Jaylemurph 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

15 hours ago, 'Walt' E. Kurtz said:

The Vikings had a word extreme winter Fimbulwinter an extreme winter that would last for three years. 

Had a word fimbulawinter of the word fimbula which means an extreme harsh winter that would last for three years followed by the end of times.

Edited January 9, 2020 by 'Walt' E. Kurtz