Messages in Stone: Runes and Runic Inscriptions - Henrik Williams, Ph.D., and Richard Nielsen, Ph.D.

Scandinavian experts Henrik Williams and Richard Nielsen will present a new analysis of the Kensington Runestone along with a historical, cultural, social and linguistic perspective on runic writing. They will correct some of the recent sensational claims and unscientific conjecture promoted in the media about the controversial inscriptions found in North America. The two presenters will update information they shared in 2002 at the Nordic Spirit Symposium.

Discovered in Minnesota in 1898, the Kensington stone, with inscriptions dated in the 14th century (post-Viking Age), was once displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. The stone’s authenticity has been questioned since shortly after its discovery.

Williams, one of Scandinavia’s leading runic researchers, teaches and publishes at Uppsala University in Sweden, an international center for runic studies. He is co-editor of the new scholarly journal Futhark: International Journal of Runic Studies. Nielsen, a resident of Houston, has collaborated with Williams since meeting him in Thousand Oaks in 2002. He has researched the Kensington Runestone for the past three decades and recently initiated a 3-D imaging project of that controversial stone.

Admission is free. The program is supported by the American Association for Runic Studies and partially funded by the Swedish Council of America. A post-lecture reception will be held at the Scandinavian Center located at 26 Faculty St., where both presenters will be available for further discussion.

Photo: Henrik Williams examines a Viking Age runestone near Uppsala, Sweden.