---
title: Viking Era Broa Stone
author: James Blake Wiener
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9707/viking-era-broa-stone/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Viking Era Broa Stone

_Authored by [James Blake Wiener](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jbw288/)_

## Image File

[![Viking Era Broa Stone](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/9707.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/9707.jpg)

## Image Caption

More than a thousand years ago, [Vikings](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vikings/) living on the Swedish Island of Gotland erected carved stone slabs to commemorate fallen warriors and heroic deeds. This stone is called the "Broa Stonem" and it dates to c. 700-800 CE. Today, these ancient picture stones and runestones, which often depicted Norse myths and gods, are considered the most direct and authentic source of information about [Norse mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/Norse_Mythology/). The bottom of these picture stones always shared a common motif: a scene of a large [Viking](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vikings/) shop with its sail unfurled, perhaps carrying fallen warriors to the afterlife. The top scene of this picture stone depicts a female figure holding a cup or horn of mead, welcoming a man on a horse. Some Viking scholars believe this figure represents the goddess [Freya](https://www.worldhistory.org/Freyja/), while others interpret the figure as a [Valkyrie](https://www.worldhistory.org/Valkyrie/), which was one of the female deities who flew over battlefields and selected which soldiers would live or die. (Gotland Museum, Visby, Sweden.)

#### Editorial Review

This human-authored image has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).

## About the Author

James Blake Wiener has a particular interest in cross-cultural exchange and world history. He is a co-founder of World History Encyclopedia and formerly was its Communications Director.
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswiener)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Wiener, J. B. (2018, December 12). Viking Era Broa Stone. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9707/viking-era-broa-stone/>
### Chicago
Wiener, James Blake. "Viking Era Broa Stone." *World History Encyclopedia*, December 12, 2018. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9707/viking-era-broa-stone/>.
### MLA
Wiener, James Blake. "Viking Era Broa Stone." *World History Encyclopedia*, 12 Dec 2018, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9707/viking-era-broa-stone/>.

## License & Copyright

Submitted by [James Blake Wiener](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jbw288/ "User Page: James Blake Wiener"), published on 12 December 2018. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.