A Family Calls on Thor: The Glavendrup Stone

Direct evidence: an inscription names Thor and asks him to hallow its runes.

On the island of Funen in Denmark, a woman named Ragnhildr set up a stone in memory of her husband Alli. The text says his sons and his wife honoured him with it. Alli is described as a man of rank, and the inscription also gives him a religious role. The carver, Sóti, names himself and says he carved the runes for his lord. The inscription asks Thor to hallow the runes, and it ends with a curse on anyone who damages the stone or moves it to serve as someone else’s memorial. It is the longest runic text on a rune stone in Denmark.

What is recorded: who raised the stone and for whom, who carved it, the call on Thor, and the curse. Wikipedia notes that such Thor invocations appear on a few other Danish and Swedish stones.

What is not recorded: what the family believed beyond the call on Thor, or what Alli’s priestly duties were. Translations of his title differ. The museum page gives “priest of the sanctuary” and a thane of the royal guard, which it explains as a chief, and also uses the word Goði. Wikipedia reports two versions, one with a priest of the sanctuary and one with a priest of the Sølve, and glosses the role as a gothi, a priest of a sanctuary. The museum page says studies suggest Alli was not buried here. The curse word is rendered variously, as wretch, outcast or warlock.