‘Andvéttr auk Kindi auk Kárr auk Blæsi auk Djærfr ræistu stæin þenna æftir Gunnlæif, fǫður sinn, es vas austr með Ingvari drepinn. Guð hjælpi ǫnd þæira. Alríkr ræist ek rúnar. Es kunni væl knærri stýra.’
‘Andvétt and Kindi and Kár and Blæsi and Djærf raised this stone after Gunnlæif, their father, who was killed in the east with Ingvar. God help their souls. I, Alrík, carved the runes. [He] knew how to steer a “knǫrr” well.’
The Varpsund Runestone (U 654) was raised by the same brothers as the Ekilla bro Runestone (U 644) around 2mi (3km) south of the other stone. This stone is signed by its carver, one Alrík. The ‘knǫrr,’ which we are told Gunnlæif could ‘steer well,’ was a type of large cargo-ship.
Like the Ekilla bro stone, the Varpsund inscription uses the ‘áss’ rune to represent /ǫ/, notably in places it is usually /a/ in East Norse dialects.
Photo: Varpsundsstenen by Wikimedia User:Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0 / Link
Ingravn: Runes, Mythology, Language, Calendars, etc. 