Information opportunities of the scandinavian runic inscriptions of the history of Ukraine as proto-book

The functional mission, ornamental decoration and details of the Scandinavian runic texts as peculiar samples of proto-book are researched. The main attention concentrates on consideration and the analysis of runic inscriptions on stones of the XI century from the island Berezan in the Nikolaev area (Ukraine), Alstad in Oplandsk area (Norway), Pilgords in Gotland (Sweden) as geographical directories and record keeping documents from historical geography of Ukraine and trade business. The importance of Scandinavian runic stones consists not only in their original external form. Out of text reality of inscriptions opens before the historian the considerable massif of information opportunities of runes of rather social status, the property relations, military, political and trade activity, historical geography. It promotes consideration of runes on a research field, as absolutely new historical source of the history of Ukraine. The accounting of external and internal components of a monument, give all grounds to consider inscriptions as a peculiar sample of proto-book. Considering information opportunities of the Scandinavian runic inscriptions on historical geography of Ukraine and trade cases, we find functional purpose of texts. The geographical nomenclature specified in inscriptions, in a certain measure, was imprinted in layers of the East European toponymy, occurring at different times and, first of all, is connected with the the Middle Dnieper. It gives the grounds to interpret the Scandinavian runic inscriptions also as a peculiar directory of geographical indexes.