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In Early Irish literature a ''Bríatharogam'' ("word ogham", plural ''Bríatharogaim'') is a two word
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...
which explains the meanings of the names of the letters of the
Ogham Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...
alphabet. Three variant lists of ''bríatharogaim'' or 'word-oghams' have been preserved, dating to the
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
period. They are as follows: *''Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín'' *''Bríatharogam Maic ind Óc'' *''Bríatharogam Con Culainn'' The first two of these are attested from all three surviving copies of the ''
Ogam Tract ''In Lebor Ogaim'' ("The Book of Ogams"), also known as the Ogam Tract, is an Old Irish treatise on the ogham alphabet. It is preserved in R.I.A. MS 23 P 12 308–314 (AD 1390), T.C.D. H.3.18, 26.1–35.28 (AD 1511) and National Library of ...
'', while the "
Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster (Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, ...
" version is not in the
Book of Ballymote The ''Book of Ballymote'' (, RIA MS 23 P 12, 275 foll.), was written in 1390 or 1391 in or near the town of Ballymote, now in County Sligo, but then in the tuath of Corann. Production and history This book was compiled towards the end of th ...
and only known from 16th- and 17th-century manuscripts. The '' Auraicept na n-Éces'' or 'Scholars' Primer' reports and interprets the ''Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín''. Later Medieval scholars believed that all of the letter names were those of trees, and attempted to explain the ''bríatharogaim'' in that light. However, modern scholarship has shown that only eight at most of the letter names are those of trees, and that the word-oghams or kennings themselves support this. The kennings as edited (in normalized Old Irish) and translated by McManus (1988) are as follows: *beithe means "
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
-tree", cognate to Latin ''betula''. The kenning in the Auraicept is *:''Feocos foltchain in beithi'' "of withered trunk fairhaired the birch" *luis is either related to ''luise'' "blaze" or ''lus'' "herb". The kenning *:''Li sula luis (.i. caertheand) ar ailleacht a caer'' " elightfulfor eye is ''luis'' (i.e.
rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
) owing to the beauty of its berries" :the kenning "for the eye is ''luis''" would support a meaning of "blaze". *fern means "
alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
-tree", Primitive Irish ''*wernā'', so that the original value of the letter was The kenning is *:''Airenach Fiann (.i. fernd) air is di na sgeith'' "the van of the warrior-bands (i.e. alder), for thereof are the shields" *sail means "
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
-tree", cognate to Latin ''salix'', with the kenning *:''Li ambi .i. nemli lais .i. ar cosmaillius a datha fri marb'' "the colour of a lifeless one, i.e. it has no colour, i.e. owing to the resemblance of its hue of a dead person" *nin means either "fork" or "loft". The Auraicept glosses it as ''uinnius'' "
ash-tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergreen ...
", :''cosdad sida nin .i. uinnius, ar is di doniter craind gae triasa'' "A check on peace is ''nin'' (i.e. ash), for of it are made spear-shafts by which the peace is broken" *úath is unattested in inscriptions. The kenning "a meet of hounds is ''huath''" identifies the name as ''úath'' "horror, fear", although the Auraicept glosses " white-thorn": *:''comdal cuan huath (.i. sce L. om); no ar is uathmar hi ara deilghibh'' "a meet of hounds is ''huath'' (i.e. white-thorn); or because it is formidable (''uathmar'') for its thorns." :The original etymology of the name, and the letter's value, are however unclear. McManus (1986) suggested a value Linguist
Peter Schrijver Peter Schrijver (; born 1963) is a Dutch linguist. He is a professor of Celtic languages at Utrecht University and a researcher of ancient Indo-European linguistics. He worked previously at Leiden University and the Ludwig Maximilian University o ...
suggested that if ''úath'' "fear" is cognate with Latin ''pavere'', a trace of PIE ''*p'' might have survived into Primitive Irish, but there is no independent evidence for this. (see McManus 1991:37) *dair means "
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
" (PIE ''*doru-''). *:''arirde dossaib duir'' "higher than bushes is an oak" *tinne from the evidence of the kennings means "bar of metal, ingot". The Auraicept equates it with "
holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
" *:''trian roith tindi L .i. ar is cuileand in tres fidh roith in carbait'' "a third of a wheel is ''tinne'', that is, because holly is one of the three timbers of the chariot-wheel" :the word is probably cognate to Old Irish ''tend'' "strong" or ''tind'' "brilliant". *coll meant "
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
-tree", cognate with Welsh ''collen'', correctly glossed as ''cainfidh'' "fair-wood" ("hazel"), *:''coll .i. cach ac ithi a chno '' "''coll, i.e. every one is eating from its nuts" *cert is cognate with Welsh ''pert'' "bush", Latin ''quercus'' "oak" (PIE ''*perkwos''). It was confused with Old Irish ''ceirt'' "rag", reflected in the kennings. The Auraicept glosses ''aball'' "
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
", *:''clithar boaiscille .i. elit gelt quert (.i. aball)'' "shelter of a ''boiscill'', i.e. a wild hind is ''queirt'', i.e. an apple tree" *muin: the kennings connect this name to three different words, ''muin'' "neck, upper part of the back", ''muin'' "wile, ruse", and ''muin'' "love, esteem". The Auraicept glosses ''finemhain'' "
vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
", with a kenning consistent with "love": *:''airdi masi muin .i. iarsinni fhasas a n-airde .i. finemhain'' "highest of beauty is ''min'', i.e. because it grows aloft, i.e. a vine-tree" *gort means "field" (cognate to ''garden''). The Auraicept glosses "
ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...
": *:''glaisiu geltaibh gort (.i. edind)'' "greener than pastures is ''gort'' (i.e. "ivy")." *gétal from the kennings has a meaning of "killing", maybe cognate to ''gonid'' "slays", from PIE '. The value of the letter in Primitive Irish, then, was a voiced labiovelar, w The Auraicept glosses ''cilcach'', "
broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
" or "
fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
": *:''luth lega getal (.i. cilcach) no raith'' "a leech's sustenance is ''getal'' (i.e. broom)." *straiph means "sulphur". The Primitive Irish letter value is uncertain, it may have been a sibilant different from ''s'', which is taken by ''sail'', maybe a reflex of /st/ or /sw/. The Auraicept glosses ''draighin'' "
blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...
": *:''aire srabha sraibh (.i. draighin)'' "the hedge of a stream is ''sraibh'' (i.e. blackthorn)." *ruis means "red" or "redness", glossed as ''trom'' " elder": *:''ruamma ruice ruis (.i. trom)'' "the redness of shame is ruis (i.e. elder)" *ailm is of uncertain meaning, possibly "pine-tree". The Auraicept has ''crand giuis .i. ochtach'', " fir-tree" or "
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
tree" *onn means "
ash-tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergreen ...
", although the Auraicept glosses ''aiten'' "
furze ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...
", *úr, based on the kennings, means "earth, clay, soil". The Auraicept glosses ''fraech'' "heath". *edad and idhad are paired names of unknown meaning, although ''idhad'' may be a form of 'yew-tree', altered to make a pairing. The Auraicept glosses them as ''ed uath .i. crand fir no crithach'' "horrible grief, i.e. test-tree or aspen", and ''ibhar'' " yew", respectively. Of the ''
forfeda The ''forfeda'' (sing. ''forfid'') are the "additional" letters of the Ogham alphabet, beyond the basic inventory of twenty signs. Their name derives from ''fid'' ("wood", a term also used for Ogham letters) and the prefix ''for-'' ("additional") ...
'', four are glossed by the Auraicept, ''ebhadh'' with ''crithach'' "aspen", ''oir'' with ''feorus no edind'' "spindle-tree or ivy", ''uilleand'' with ''edleand'' "honeysuckle", and ''iphin'' with ''spinan no ispin'' "gooseberry or thorn".


References

*Damian McManus, ''Irish letter-names and their kennings'',
Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...
39 (1988), 127-168. {{DEFAULTSORT:Briatharogam Ogham