This is the first historical study of the whole body of late Viking runic inscription stones in Scandinavia. The 2300 inscriptions which are more or less complete yield unexpected information on a wide range of topics, including the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity, the growth of royal power, and, most important of all, the inheritance customs of the period.

Preface ; Introduction ; CHAPTER I. RUNE STONES, THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ; 1. The rune-stones and their distribution ; 2. Previous work ; 3. Why were the rune-stones erected? ; 4. Historical background ; CHAPTER II. PRESENTATION OF THE CORPUS AND ITS SUBGROUP: BASES OF ANALYSES ; THE CORPUS ; 5. Variables ; 6. General features ; 7. Regional groupings ; 8. Chronology and dating problems ; THE SUBGROUP AND CATEGORIES OF RELATIONSHIP ; 9. The nature of relationships between sponsors and deceased ; 10. Sponsorship patterns ; 11. Complex relationships ; BASES OF ANALYSES ; 12. Inscriptions ; 13. Relationships ; CHAPTER III. PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE ; THE INSCRIPTIONS AS DECLARATIONS OF INHERITANCE ; 14. Formulation ; 15. Additional references 16.One or more ; 16. One or more sponsors ; 17. The order in which sponsors are mentioned ; 18. Two or more inscriptions interpreted together ; 19. The sponsorship pattern as reflecting property rights ; THE SPONSORS AS HOLDERS OF JOINT OR INHERITED PROPERTY ; 20. Joint ownership ; 21. Inheritance customs ; 22. Unspecified relationships ; 23. Conclusion ; CHAPTER IV. INHERITANCE: CUSTOMS AND LAW ; 24. Inheritance and other devolutions of property ; 25. The runic evidence ; 26. Gradual and parentela principles ; 27. The sponsorship patterns inheritance principles used? 29. The laws 30. Sponsorship ; 28. Why were different inheritance principles used? ; 29. The laws ; 30. Sponsorship patterns and the laws ; 31. Differences within Uppland ; 32. Conclusion ; CHAPTER V. SOCIETY AND STATUS ; 33. Sponsors and deceased ; 34. Titlebearers ; 35. Epithets ; 36. Thegns and drengs ; 37. 'Boni homines' ; 38. Women ; as landholders 39. Travellers 40. Conclusions ; CHAPTER VI. CONVERSION ; 41. Transition: pagan and/or Christian? 43. Christian features 44. Conclusion ; 42. Pagan features ; 43. Christian features ; 44. Conclusion ; CHAPTER VII. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH ; 45. The rune-stone fashion ; 46. Late Viking Age society ; 47. Future research ; Excursus: The tug of war over Thyre ; Sources ; Appendices ; CATALOGUE ; Explanantory Notes ; Denmark and Bornholm ; Norway ; Sweden (excluding Uppland) ; Uppland ; REFERENCES

`the secions on the patterns of social order and inheritance will make this book an indispensable example of runology applied to social history, a line of study with a future. It is worth buying for the careful tabulation of inscriptions and motifs alone.' English Historical Review, Sept.01 `Sawyer ... brings half a lifetime's work, and many modifications of her original thesis, to an impressive consummation. All the available material is listed, classified and identified in a series of appendices and notes which will bring blessings on her head from anglophone researchers waiting for the completion of the general rune-text database.' English Historical Review, Sept.01 `This is a stimulating book, challenging accepted interpretations and suggesting new sources for Viking Age social history.' R.I.Page, Times Higher Education Supplement, 13 July 2001 `thorough statistical coverage, backed up by a seventy page "Catalogue" ... her work puts the English-speaking reader for the frst time in possession of the basic information painstakingly recorded by Scandinavian scholars, as well as providing an entirely fresh and convincing explanation of the Viking Age corpus ... Birgit Sawyer [has] offered models of patient and dispassionate research in potentially exciting and contested areas.' Tom Shippey, TLS