Scattered runestones have also been found in England, Ireland, Scotland and the Faroe Islands. Outside of Scandinavia, the Isle of Man stands out with its 30 runestones from the 9th century and early 11th century. The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391. Sweden has as many as between 1,700 and 2,500 depending on definition. The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: Denmark has 250 runestones, Norway has 50 while Iceland has none. There are also runestones in other parts of the world as the tradition of raising runestones followed the Norsemen wherever they went, from the Isle of Man ( Manx Runestones) in the west to the Black Sea in the east ( Berezan' Runestone), and from Jämtland in the north to Schleswig in the south. There are about 3,000 runestones among the about 6,000 runic inscriptions in Scandinavia. In most districts, the fad died out after a generation, but, in the central Swedish provinces of Uppland and Södermanland, the fashion lasted into the 12th century. Scores of chieftains and powerful Norse clans consciously tried to imitate King Harald, and from Denmark a runestone wave spread northwards through Sweden. Shortly after this stone had been made, something happened in Scandinavia's runic tradition. ![]() ![]() On one side, there is an animal that is the prototype of the runic animals that would be commonly engraved on runestones, and on another side there is Denmark's oldest depiction of Jesus. The runestone has three sides of which two are decorated with images. King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Þyrvé, his mother that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian. King Harald Bluetooth had just been baptised and in order to mark the arrival of a new order and a new age, he commanded the construction of a runestone. What may have increased the spread of runestones was an event in Denmark in the 960s.
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