This standing stone was found in 1844 near Tjängvide, Sweden, on the island of Gotland. The Tjängvide stone itself is roughly 1.7 by 1.2 meters in size, and was carved in Limestone. What makes this stone interesting is that it is apparently a pre-Christian image stone, as it has no trace of Christian imagery (unlike other image stones which often combine pagan imagery with Christian symbolism or symbols)¹. The most prominent figure on this stone is the rider on the horse. The horse has eight-legs, suggesting that it is very likely the mythical horse Sleipnir, and the rider on its back may be Odin or a slain warrior being carried by Sleipnir. In front of the rider there is a woman who is holding an object. It is conjectured that she may be a valkyrie offering acceptance into Valhalla to the rider. The Valknut symbol, a symbol associated with Odin and slain warriors between the Horses legs suggests that the content of this stone was intended to relate to Valhalla.²  The runic inscriptions have partially been worn away, but from what we can see, the stone was raised in memory of Jórulfr by his brother.³  The image of the ship accompanying the runic text is more difficult to interpret, but it possibly suggests that Jórulfr died while fighting abroad or had been a successful Viking.
The stone doesn't mention any figures, so it is very difficult to date. It is even difficult to say whether the stone was made before or after Christianity arrived on Gotland. What is special about this stone is that it shows some of the complex symbolism and ideas of Norse Paganism – a subject matter which only gets a very limited treatment in the majority of Christian primary sources from this time period. While the stone has very limited descriptive content, and the exact nature of its content continues to elude historians, it is a primary source representative of some of the complexity of pagan thought.

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