The first one is found near Jattendals Lake in the village of Nordanstig in the province of Gavelborge in east northern Sweden. It is about 200 miles north of Stockholm and is located on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. The inscription reads:
"Asmundr and Farthegn, they erected this stone in memory of Thorketill of Vatrungar, their father. Gunnborga the good colored this stone."
The town of Vatrungar (modern day Vattrang) is in the vicinity. Once these runes had been carved, Gunnborga probably painted them with red paint. There is an interesting fact regarding Gunnborga. She is the only known female rune carver in Viking Age Scandinavia. Both she and Farthegn were from Helsingland (known today as Gavelborge). 350 years later, the personal name Farthegn was still being given to the children of this province. In ca 1350 a man simply known as Farthegn from Helsingland was commended for his services to the crown. Once transported to the British Isles Farthegn's brother's name, Asmundr, developed into the English surnames Osmond, Osmon, Osmund, Osman, Osmant, Osment, and Osmint. The village of Osmotherly is located in North Yorkshire. Osmotherly means 'woodland clearing of a man called Asmundr'. Another rune stone nearby reads: "Asmundr... ...He was abroad in the west in England." Farthegn's father's name, Thorketill, means 'Thor's (sacrificial) cauldron'. It developed into the English surnames Thurkell, Thurtell, Thurtle, Thorkell, Thirkell, Thirkill, Thurkhill, Thirtle, Turkel, Turkil, Turtill, Turtle, Tuttle, Thurgell, Turgill, Toghill, Thurkettle, Thurkittle, and Thirkettle. The town of Thurcaston is located in Leicestershire. It means 'farmstead or village of a man called Thorketill'. Thruxton, located in Hampshire (and another one located in Herfordshire & Worcestershire), means 'estate or manor of a man called Thorkell' (a short form of Thorketill). And of course, Farthegn developed into Farthing. The village of Farthingstone in Northamptonshire originally meant 'the village of a man called Farthegn'. The village of Farthington in the Lincolnshire Wolds originally meant 'the hill owned by the followers or family of a man called Farthegn'.
The rune master of the next stone was Farthegn. It reads:
"Bergsveinn and Sigfastr and Frithi raised this stone in memory of Biri, their father, And Farthegn marked,"
This stone was originally located in the village of Nolby but is now displayed at the Njurunda church in the town of Sundsvall in the province of Vasternorrland. This is about 30 miles north of the first rune stone described above. Less than a mile away from Fathegn's rune stone are three important grave-mounds at Hogom. "One included the unburnt remains of a splendidly attired man buried with all his weapons, gold ornaments and much domestic equipment including glass and bronze."..."The man was a farmer chieftain from the northernmost borders of the Svea kingdom, buried as far as possible in conformity with the fashion of the time."...From, Sweden, by Marten Stenberger. A Scandinavian tribe related to the Swedes (Svear) settled about 150 miles north of here. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that this tribe, called the Sitones, was ruled by a woman. Some believe that they were a tribe of Amazons.
The next rune stone is located far away from the first two, about 100 miles to the southwest of Stockholm. It's exact location is the Tornevalla church near the town of Linkoping in the province of Ostergotland. It reads:
"Sveinn/Steinn placed this stone in memory of Farthegn..."
Tornevalla is not far from the town of Linkoping, an important center of commerce and culture. An early form of merchant guild engaged in trade is thought to have existed at Tornevalla. Rune stones memorializing guild members were raised here and this Farthegn may have been a member being honored by a business partner. The first two letters of the first name are difficult to read, so it could have been either "Sveinn" or "Steinn". When the name Sveinn became established in England it developed into the English surnames Swain, Swaine, Swayn, and Swayne. The village of Swanland in the East Riding of Yorkshire originally meant 'grove of a man called Sveinn'. Swainsthorpe in Norfolk originally meant 'outlying farmstead or hamlet of a man called Sveinn'. When the Scandinavian personal name Steinn was transported to England it developed into the English surnames Stein, Steyn, Steyne, Stain, Staine, Staines, Stains, Stayne, and Staynes. Stainsacre in North Yorkshire originally meant 'cultivated land of a man called Steinn'.
The runic inscriptions were found in the Projektet Samnordisk runtextdatabas compiled by the Institutionen for nordiska sprak at Uppsala University. It is a downloadable database that can be accessed at norndiska.uu.se/samnord.html