13th-century Rune Stick discovered in Denmark
Archaeologists working in the Danish city of Odense have discovered a rune stick with Latin writing dating to the early 13th century.
Odense City Museums announced the discovery of the 8.5 centimetre stick, which had been broken into three pieces. The stick was examined by Lisbeth Imer of the National Museum of Denmark, who found that it had “approximately the same consistency as cold butter, and a devil of small root had become imbedded in the wood along the length of the inscription on one side, which interferes with it a bit.”
She was still able to make out the Latin words for “good health” and “Tomme his servant” on the stick. Imer adds that the stick was most likely “used as an amulet to protect the owner, Tomme, against illness, evil spirits and death, or to ensure his good health.”
She adds, "In any case, the small rune stick from Odense an important discovery. Although today it stands as a unique find, the original had thousands of brothers and sisters. It demonstrates medieval widespread runes culture that today we only know bits of, and it reminds us of how much has since been lost."
You can learn more about the stick from Lisbeth Imer’s post on the Runes and Coins blog from the National Museum of Denmark
roduce steel of this kind was first perfected in India, in the first-century AD. Artifacts crafted from such steel later begin to turn up in Central Asia. European sword-makers appear to have known nothing of this technology. The techniques for making crucible steel were later lost, and European steelmakers reinvented it only at the end of the eighteenth-century.
In the Middle Ages and thereafter, crucible steel was very expensive. It conforms to the needs for bladed weapons more exactly than any other material, with its combination of great strength and ability to maintain sharpness throughout the length of the blade.
Scientists suggest that the “Yaroslavl Sabre” could have belonged to a very wealthy warrior from Batu Khan’s army.
Rune Stick – image courtesy Odense City Museums