How do you tell someone you love them in Viking-Age Sweden? You carve a message in runes on a knife: “Think of me, and I’ll think of you.”
The Lödöse Museumin western Sweden is home to many of the over half-million archaeological finds from the region. Among them is an 11th-century skälkniven (paring knife), discovered during an excavation in 1973. Likely used in weaving, this wooden tool has a handle carved with a stylised animal head—its jaw set with powerful teeth.
What really stands out, though, is the runic message carved into it. The Old Norse inscription reads: Mun Þu mik man Þik un Þu mer an ÞRr, which means “Think of me, I think of you, love me, I love you”.
Lödöse itself was one of medieval Sweden’s earliest towns, a place shaped by trade and travel along the Göta älv river, exactly the kind of setting where small personal objects could pass from hand to hand. The Norse carved many messages into wooden sticks, pieces of bone, and everyday items—often short, personal notes. In this case, however, the inscription is harder to understand. Marie Schmidt, an educator at the museum, explains: “It is not entirely clear how to interpret the inscription on the knife. Is this a fiancé’s gift or perhaps a plea from a case of unrequited love? Perhaps it was used as a gift at a wedding?
“We will never know the answer to that. But the message still echoes through history, like a loving whisper.”
Bryggen inscription B017 – the runes say Ást min, kyss mik Fuþorkhniastbmly, which means “My love, kiss me (the last word is actually an alphabet spelled out)” – Wikimedia Commons
Similar personal runic messages are well known from Norway, especially from the medieval harbour area of Bryggen in Bergen. Among these are wooden sticks bearing messages such as “If you love me, I love you, Gunnhild, kiss me, I know you well” and “My love, kiss me.” There is even one carving with “Think of me, I think of you. Love me, I love you”, written in almost exactly the same runes as those found on the Lödöse knife—suggesting this kind of everyday rune-writing was shared across the medieval Nordic world.
How do you tell someone you love them in Viking-Age Sweden? You carve a message in runes on a knife: “Think of me, and I’ll think of you.”
The Lödöse Museum in western Sweden is home to many of the over half-million archaeological finds from the region. Among them is an 11th-century skälkniven (paring knife), discovered during an excavation in 1973. Likely used in weaving, this wooden tool has a handle carved with a stylised animal head—its jaw set with powerful teeth.
What really stands out, though, is the runic message carved into it. The Old Norse inscription reads: Mun Þu mik man Þik un Þu mer an ÞRr, which means “Think of me, I think of you, love me, I love you”.
Lödöse itself was one of medieval Sweden’s earliest towns, a place shaped by trade and travel along the Göta älv river, exactly the kind of setting where small personal objects could pass from hand to hand. The Norse carved many messages into wooden sticks, pieces of bone, and everyday items—often short, personal notes. In this case, however, the inscription is harder to understand. Marie Schmidt, an educator at the museum, explains: “It is not entirely clear how to interpret the inscription on the knife. Is this a fiancé’s gift or perhaps a plea from a case of unrequited love? Perhaps it was used as a gift at a wedding?
“We will never know the answer to that. But the message still echoes through history, like a loving whisper.”
Similar personal runic messages are well known from Norway, especially from the medieval harbour area of Bryggen in Bergen. Among these are wooden sticks bearing messages such as “If you love me, I love you, Gunnhild, kiss me, I know you well” and “My love, kiss me.” There is even one carving with “Think of me, I think of you. Love me, I love you”, written in almost exactly the same runes as those found on the Lödöse knife—suggesting this kind of everyday rune-writing was shared across the medieval Nordic world.
You can see this love note for yourself in the museum’s exhibition Medieval Life. Click here to visit the Lödöse Museum website.
Top Image: Photo by Ian Schemper / Lödöse Museum
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