Celtic inscribed stones are stone monuments dating from 400 to 1000 AD which have inscriptions in
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
or
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
text. These can be written in
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 langua ...
or
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
letters. Some stones have both Ogham and Roman inscriptions. The stones are found in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, and parts of western
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(mainly
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, and
Lundy
Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It was a micronation from 1925–1969. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon.
About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently chang ...
). Most seem to be grave-markers or memorials to a dead individual.
The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project database records over 1,200 such inscriptions, excluding
Runic
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
ones. It maintains an online database of them.
They relate to other standing stones with images, such as the
Pictish stone
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are ...
s of Scotland, or abstract decoration, such as the much earlier Irish
Turoe Stone and
Castlestrange Stone.
Cornwall
East Cornwall
The Tristan Stone
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...
, perhaps of c. 550, is near
Fowey
Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...
, having been moved from just above the harbour at
Polkerris
Polkerris ( kw, Pollkerys, meaning ''fortified pool'') is a small village on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It forms part of the civil parish of Fowey.
The village is part of the Rashleigh estate which is commemorated in the nam ...
. It has a
Tau cross
The tau cross is a T-shaped cross, sometimes with all three ends of the cross expanded. It is called a “tau cross” because it is shaped like the Greek letter tau, which in its upper-case form has the same appearance as Latin letter T.
Anothe ...
on one face, and on another the Latin inscription:
''DRVSTANVS HIC IACIT''
''CVNOMORI FILIVS''
'Drustanus lies here, son of Cunomorus''
Not far from Worthyvale in the parish of
Minster is an inscribed stone (Latini
c iacit filius Macari = Latin son of Macarus lies here). This stone is popularly known as King Arthur's Grave due to the erroneous identification of
Slaughter Bridge with the site of Camlann.
West Cornwall
The
Mên Scryfa
Mên Scryfa (or ''Mên Scrifa'', literally "stone with writing") is an inscribed standing stone in Cornwall, United Kingdom (). The inscription, dating to the early medieval period, commemorates "Rialobranus son of Cunovalus."
Location
Mên Sc ...
is also inscribed in Latin, perhaps adding to a much earlier
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
.
The Selus Stone (thought to date from the late 5th or early 6th-centuries); it bears the Latin inscription Selus Ic Iacet (Selus lies here). This is thought to refer to
Salomon of Cornwall
Salomon (also known as Selyf, Selevan) was a late 5th century Cornish 'warrior prince', possibly a King of Cornwall. His feast day is Oct. 18. He was the father of the Cornish bishop Saint Cybi.
Narrative
According to Sabine Baring-Gould, Salom ...
, otherwise known as Saint Selevan. It is preserved at
St Just in Penwith Parish Church
St Just in Penwith Parish Church is a parish church in the Church of England located in St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, United Kingdom, UK.
History
The church is dedicated to St Just; in 1478 William of Worcester reported that the church enshrine ...
.
In the south aisle of
Cuby church is an inscribed stone of the 6th or 7th century (''Nonnita Ercilini Rigati
..ris Fili Ercilini'').
The churchyard of
St Clement contains an inscribed stone cross: the first word of the inscription is perhaps ''isnioc'' (later opinion believes ''ignioc'').
[''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 73–74] The inscription is ''Ignioc Vitali fili Torrici'' (i.e. Ignioc son of Vitalus son of Torricus) and the dating is 5th to 7th century. Another inscription is in Ogham, perhaps partly in Irish. The inscriptions are both older than the carving of the upper part into a cross.
An inscribed stone, dated from the sixth to eighth centuries, was found imbedded in the walls of the fifteenth-century
parish church. It bears the name of "Cenet
us, son of Tege
omalus".
Gallery
File:Inscribed Stone in South Hill Churchyard - geograph.org.uk - 261575.jpg, The inscribed stone at South Hill
File:Worthyvale ogham stone closeup.jpg, The inscribed stone near Worthyvale
Image:Ignioc stone.JPG, The inscribed cross at St Clement (Ignioc stone)
Wales
Standing in a field between
Penbryn
Penbryn () is a small coastal village and community in Ceredigion, Wales, about from Cardigan.
History
Corbalengi Stone
Standing in a field between Penbryn and Tresaith (grid reference SN28905137) is the 6th century Corbalengi Stone. This 1 ...
and
Tresaith
Tresaith (otherwise Tre-saith) is a coastal village in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberporth and Llangranog. It is linked to the former by a two-mile section of the Ceredigion Coast Path, part of the Wales Coast Path. Tresaith is within the Cered ...
(grid reference SN28905137) in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
is the 6th century
Corbalengi Stone. This 1.4 metre high
monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive rock (geology), stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological for ...
is believed to date from the post-
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
period and carries the inscription "CORBALENGI IACIT ORDOVS". The stone was first noted by
Edward Lhywd in 1695 who described it as being in a field near the church. It was originally associated with a cairn of smaller stones beneath which was discovered an urn of ashes and some
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
coins. The final word 'Ordovs' of the inscription (after IACIT, "lies") is believed to refer to the
Ordovices tribe of North Wales, with the suggestion that the stone was carved by local tribes in honour of a member of the Ordovices who had settled in the area.
Other readings and interpretations are: "''Cor Balenci jacit Ordous''", interpreted as: "The Heart of Balengus the Ordovician lies here", and "CORBALENGI LACIT ORDOVS" ("Lacit" = "thrashed", rather than "Iacit" = lies), in which case it would refer to a tribal battle between the Ordovices and the "Corbalengi". Although the Ordovices are reasonably well known, no other record of a Corbalengi tribe is known.
References
Further reading
*
R. A. S. Macalister
Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister (8 July 1870 – 26 April 1950) was an Irish archaeologist.
Biography
Macalister was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Alexander Macalister, then Professor of Zoology, University of Dublin. His father wa ...
''Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum''. Dublin: Stationery Office, 1945
*Elisabeth Okasha, ''Corpus of Early Christian Inscribed Stones of South-west Britain''. Leicester: University Press, 1993
*Charles Thomas, ''And Shall These Mute Stones Speak''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1994
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celtic Inscribed Stone
Sub-Roman Britain
Celtic inscriptions
Celtic art