The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base (Swedish: Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of transliterated runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way for future research. The database is freely available[1] via the Internet with a client program, called Rundata, for Microsoft Windows. For other operating systems, text files are provided or a web browser can be used to interact with the web application Runor.[1]
The origin of the Rundata project was a 1986 database of Swedish inscriptions at Uppsala University for use in the Scandinavian Languages Department.[2] At a seminar in 1990 it was proposed to expand the database to cover all Nordic runic inscriptions, but funding for the project was not available until a grant was received in 1992 from the Axel och Margaret Ax:son Johnsons foundation.[2] The project officially started on January 1, 1993 at Uppsala University. After 1997, the project was no longer funded and work continued on a voluntary basis outside of normal work-hours.[2] In the current edition, published on December 3, 2008, there are over 6500 inscriptions in the database.[2]
Work is currently underway for the next edition of the database.
Each entry includes the original text,in a transliterated form, its location, English and Swedish translations, information about the stone itself, et cetera. The stones are identified with a code which consists of up to three parts.
The first part describes the origin of the inscription. For Swedish inscriptions this contains a code for the province, and, for Extra-Nordic inscriptions, a code for the country (not ISO 3166).
Province code:
Country code:
The second part of the code consists of a serial number or a previous method of cataloging.
The third part of the code is a character which indicates the age (Proto-Norse, Viking Age, or Middle Ages) and whether the inscription is lost or retranslated.
As such, U 88 would mean that the stone is from Uppland and that it is the 88th to be catalogued. This system has its origin in the book Sveriges runinskrifter (English: "Runic Inscriptions of Sweden")
Most of the time, the Period/Datering information in Rundata just gives the date as V, meaning Viking Age, which is very broad. For some Danish inscriptions from Jacobsen & Moltke a more precise sub-period is given. The periods used are:
Many of the inscriptions in Rundata also include a field called Stilgruppering. This refers to date bands determined by the style of ornamentation on the stone as proposed by Gräslund:[3][4]
The date bands are:
The catalog numbers refer to a variety of reference works and scholarly publications. Some of the more notable of these include:
Other bibliography information is available inside the Rundata client program by pressing F4.