Runestone Ög 165, Skänninge, Sweden

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The runestone Ög 165 stands between Vårfrukyrkan and the main square in Skänninge. It is made of gray granite and is about 230 cm tall.

The inscription, carved by Torkel, is partly written in verse using the Old Norse poetic meter fornyrðislag, and it is one of the few signed runestones in Östergötland. The text begins on the front of the stone, continues along the left side, and the carver’s signature appears on the right side.

The stone was rediscovered during repairs to the church in 1874, when its back had been used as a threshold at the northern church door. According to the runologist Erik Brate, the stone resembles Ög 87 at Högby kyrka, suggesting it may originally have come from Högby and could be connected to a man named Toste and his possible widow, Torun.

The runic text can be read as: Torun and the brothers, Toste’s sons, raised this stone in memory of their father. I, Torkel, carved this stone in memory of Toste.