At the Crossroads between Script Cultures

Abstract

The late eleventh and early twelfth century constituted a pivotal period for the development of literacy in medieval Sweden. 1 The Latin script and the Latin language, previously unattested in this part of Scandinavia, were gradually introduced into local writing practices that for centuries had been dominated by the use of the runic script and the vernacular language.The arrival of Latin written culture, particularly manifest in the emerging manuscript culture, did not, however, cause the runic tradition to be abandoned, but led instead to several centuries of coexistence (e.g. Söderberg & Larsson 1993: 62-66;Palm 1997;Spurkland 2001;. This is particularly evident in the epigraphic sources, as Latin epigraphy gradually became established alongside runic epigraphy. Moreover, the spread of the new language and alphabet entailed far-reaching consequences for the existing runic epigraphy. One of the most apparent effects is the number of runic inscriptions that include passages in Latin or that are carved in the