Dvärgen på Ribekraniet

Abstract

This article presents a new interpretation of two runes on the Ribe skull fragment. After having studied the object in a digital microscope, rune 31 is read as ᚾ and rune 41 as ᛏ. This new reading leads to an reinterpretation of two key words: runes 27–31 are read as burin ’carried/Burinn’ and the runes 37–46 as þAim tuiArki, ’the(dat) dwarf(dat)’, referring to a dwarf called Burinn. These interpretations give a novel and more coherent reading of the Ribe skull fragment. The three divinities Úlfr, Odin and High-Tyr are invoked as help against both the dwarf Burinn and the dwarfess Bour by carrying the object as a protective amulet. Several other magical inscriptions, protective amulets and old norse texts are used as support for the hypothesis. In particular, it is argued that the Ribe skull fragment should be read as bjargrúnar, as described in Sigrdrífumál. It is also shown that the protective amulet has several parallels in the Anglo-Saxon material, namely so called wið dveorg-charms. The analysis is also based on earlier research on the Ribe skull fragment. Readings that differ from the one presented are discussed in detail.