Ålum Church

13km west of Randers we find four rune stones associated with Ålum Church, three of which were raised for men who died at a young age: “Tole raised this stone in memory of Ingeld, his son, a very good boy”; “Vigot raised this stone in memory of Esge, his son” and “Thyre, Vigot’s wife, had this stone raised in memory of Thorbjørn, son of Sibba, her sister’s son, whom she cared for more than had he been her own son.” The fascinating thing about these rune stones is that, despite the gap of more than 1,000 years, it is still possible to gain an impression of the people mentioned. All four stones have been dated to the late 900s. Both of the two stones that mention Vigot bear a text that is written in a spiral, so they have obviously been erected by the same family.