Tóla and Haraldr: A Mother Remembers an Expedition

Direct evidence: a Swedish rune stone names the woman who raised it, her son, and the place where he died.

The Gripsholm runestone, catalogued as Sö 179, was raised by a woman named Tóla in memory of her son Haraldr. The inscription calls him the brother of Ingvarr. It says that the men travelled boldly far in search of gold, and that Haraldr died in the south, in Serkland, the Scandinavian name for the lands of the Muslim world. The second half of the text is in alliterative verse, and includes a poetic line about feeding the eagle in the east, a way of saying that he fought and killed enemies. The stone is a mother’s memorial. It says nothing about an afterlife. It is also not a log of the Ingvarr expedition and gives no route for it.

What is recorded: a mother, Tóla; a son, Haraldr; a brother, Ingvarr; a journey far for gold; a death in Serkland; and a verse line about feeding the eagle.

What is not recorded: any route, date of death, cause of death or battle. The stone does not narrate the Ingvarr expedition, and it does not show how many men went or who led them. Wikipedia notes that scholars ask why Ingvarr is not named as the person the stone remembers. Suggested answers are that the two were half-brothers, that a second stone is lost, or that “brother” means a companion in arms. Which is right is not settled. Tóla’s own feelings and circumstances are not recorded.