Bove of Borup

Around 5km northwest of Randers lies the small village of Borup. Place-names ending in -rup, -strup and -drup derive from the word "torp" (thorp or village), which researchers believe indicate places founded at the end of the Viking Age. In Borup, one rune stone may even mention the actual founder of the village. The stone was discovered as late as 1995, in connection with work on the foundations of the church, where like many other rune stones it had been used as the doorstep stone for the north door. Once the stone had been removed from the foundations, the whole text could be read: “Asi (Æsi) raised this stone in memory of Thorgot, his father, Bove’s son, the best [?] thane.” It is very likely that the Bove mentioned here was the founder of the village – “Bove’s thorp”. There was a watermill here, and other settlements found in the parish support the theory that Borup was the seat of a powerful man. At the same time, it is noteworthy that the name "Thorgot" is once again mentioned, which may point to a connection to the powerful Thrugot family. The stone is displayed in the church porch.