CHAPTER XI

RUNES AND OGAMS

The Runic alphabet originated among the Scandinavians, who probably adapted it from some other script, since no traces of any pictographic characters whence it may have been derived have been found. Some scholars hold that it is derived from the "Phœnician" alphabet; others say that it comes from the Latin. Canon Taylor has a definite theory that it is a degraded form of the Greek alphabet; for in the sixth century B.C. the Goths swarmed in the region south of the Baltic and east of the Vistula, and in their trading relations with Greek colonists north of the Black Sea may readily have obtained a knowledge of the Greek alphabet. The question, however, of origin remains, and is likely to remain, unsettled.

The sharp, angular form of the runes proves that they were incised on wood, stone, or some such rigid material, and these characters persist in the few manuscripts which have been found. The primitive Gothic alphabet is named, on the acrologic principle, "futhorc," after the first six letters, _f_, _u_, _th_, _o_, _r_, _c_. It was divided into three parts or "aetts," named after the first letter of each "aett" or family--"Frey's aett," "Hagl's aett," and "Tyr's aett"--as shown in the following illustration from an article on Runes by Miss Gertrude Rawlings (_Knowledge_, 1st October, 1896).

The Scandinavian, Anglian, and Manx runes are local variants of this oldest form. Runic inscriptions--monumental and sepulchral--have a wide, although exclusive, range. They are found in the valley of the Danube, but not in Germany; in America, but not in Ireland; in the Isle of Man, but not in Wales--thus evidencing their restriction within Scandinavian lines of migration. The oldest was found at Sandwich, in Kent; but an especially interesting example is the well-known Ruthwell Cross in Dumfriesshire, on which is inscribed a poem, "The Dream of the Holy Rood," ascribed to Cædmon, the herdsman poet of the seventh century. The early voyage of the Vikings to Vineland, as they named America, has illustration in a Runic epitaph cut in a rock on the Potomac. "Here lies Syasi, the fair one of Western Iceland, the widow of Koldr, sister of Thorgr, by her father, aged twenty-five years. God be merciful to her." The old alphabet was displaced by the Latin on the conversion of the peoples of Northern Europe to Christianity, but not before Ulphilas, the Bishop of the Goths, had woven some of its characters into the compound script which was the vehicle of his memorable translation of the Gospels, the lovely manuscript of which, in gold and silver letters on purple vellum, is worth a visit to the University of Upsala to see.

The curious Ogam alphabet, which may date from the fifth century A.D., and the use of which did not extend outside the British Isles, is held by some scholars to be derived from the Runic, but its characters indicate that more probably it is a debased copy of the Roman. Ogam, according to Professor Rhys, the highest authority on the subject, probably means "skilled use of words." The letters are formed by straight or slanting strokes drawn above, or beneath, or right through horizontal or perpendicular lines. The alphabet is divided into four aicmes or groups, each containing five letters: the first aicme, B, L, F, S, N being placed under the line (assuming this to be horizontal); the second aicme, H, T, D, C, Qn, above it; the third aicme, M, G, Ng, F(?) R, diagonally through it; and the fourth aicme, comprising the vowels A, O, U, E, I, intersecting it at right angles. Canon Taylor sees in the ogams an adaptation of the runes to the needs of the engraver, "notches cut with a knife on the edge of a squared staff being substituted for the ordinary runes." And he thinks that the derivation of the ogams from runes is shown in the fact that their names agree with the names of runes of corresponding value, and that they are found exclusively in regions where Scandinavian settlements were established. Professor Rhys regards them as "probably, the work of a grammarian acquainted with Roman writing, but too proud to adopt it." The larger number of Ogam inscriptions occur in Ireland; others are scattered over Scotland, Wales, and the south-west of England.

It may be thought that any survey of the history of the Alphabet, however free from overcrowding in detail, and however popular in treatment, would outline the story of the origin of, and changes in, each of the twenty-six letters which are, for the English-speaking races, the vehicle of communication and the depository of knowledge. But, probably, enough has been said to show that the information which would alone warrant such table of derivations is not yet forthcoming, and, perhaps, never will be. The most plausible theory that the wit of man, supported by a set of facts that seemed to hang well together, could devise, was formulated by M. de Rougé, and it has been seen that the epigraphic material found in the Ægean renders his apparently well-based and coherent theory no longer tenable.

Neither would there be advantage in cataloguing the two hundred and fifty alphabets which have come into being since prehistoric man scratched his rude pictographs on the faces of cliffs and on fragments of slate or bone. Some fifty of these alphabets have survived, and of these about half are found in India, but, whatever of historical value they may hold, their use is restricted and local. The rest are, in the main, variations of three scripts--Roman, Arabic, and Chinese--and an outlook on the world's course makes it no matter of doubt that it is with the Roman, as the vehicle of culture of the most advancing races of mankind, that there lies the maintenance of supremacy and the extension of its sway.

+Aabcdefghijklmnoprſstuvwxyz& aeiou

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZ

a e i ó u | a e i o u ab eb ib ob ub | ba be bi bo bu ac ec ic oc uc | ca ce ci co cu ad ed id od ud | da de di do du

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. _Amen._

OUR Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy kingdom come, thy Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this Day our daily Bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us: And lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil. _Amen._

HORN BOOK, ONCE THE UNIVERSAL PRIMER

(_Now so excessively rare that a good example fetches £20 and upwards_).

INDEX Abu Simbel, 206 Acrology, 86, 104, 153, 210, 223 Ægean civilisation, 159, 187-194 Akerblad, 129 Akkadian civilisation, 105 " cuneiform, 100, 170 " religion, 105 Alaskan life, pictograph of, 65, 66 Algerian rock-paintings, 33 Almanack symbols, 102 Alphabet, Abyssinian, 213 " Arabic, 209 " Aramean, 207-8 " Armenian, 211 " birth of the, 124 " Chalcidian, 199, 215, 216 " Coptic, 216 " Corean, 87 " Dravidian, 207 " English, 37, 220-222 " Ethiopic, 213 " Georgian, 211 " Greek, 136, 213 " Hebrew, 136, 151, 208, 213 " Hellenic, 207, 213 " Indian, 213 " Indo-Bactrian, 211, 212 Alphabet, Ionian, 215 " Irish, 218 " Latin, 38, 199, 216, 217 " Mongolian, 208 " Ogam, 225 " Pehlevi, 93, 211 " Phœnician, 188, 194, 196, 207, 213 " Pictograph and, 26 " Runic, 220, 223 " Russian, 215 " Sabæan, 212 " Samaritan, 152 " stages of development of, 38, 39 " Syriac, 208 " variations in English, 220 Amenophis III., 110 America, development of man in, 74 Arabic numerals, 209, 212 Art, prehistoric, 24, 25 Asoka, 211 Assyrian numerals, 210 Australian aborigines, 27 " grave-posts of, 52 " rock-paintings of, 29 Ave Maria, 80 Aztecs, 75

Baal Lebanon, vessels from, 145, 146 Babylonian characters, 99, 186 Babylonians, 105, 157, 208 Bark, picture-writing on, 58, 59, 67, 68 Behistun rock-inscription, 94, 95, 101, 128, 181 Belts, wampum, 45-51 Benefit of clergy, 22 "Bible," etymology of, 10 Bible as charm, 19 Bite, written charm against centipede, 19 Black letter, 219 Body, parts of, used for measurements, 101 "Book," etymology of, 10 "Book of Breathings," 119 "Book of the Dead," 117, 125, 200 Borchardt, Dr., 116 Brahma, 16, 17 Budge, Dr. Wallis, 119, 123, 127, 130, 133 Burckhardt, 180 Bushman rain-charm, 34 Bushmen rock-paintings, 30-32

Cadger's Map, 57 Cadmus, 17 Cædmon, 224 Cave-man, art of, 24, 25 Census-roll, Indian, 71 Champollion, 129, 130 Charms, written, 16, 17, 19, 20, 119 Chinese characters, 83 " determinatives, 85 " picture-writing, 83, 84, 103 Clay tablets, 89 Cleopatra, 130, 131 Clermont-Ganneau, M., 146 Clog almanack, 45 "Code," etymology of, 10 Cords, knotted, 39, 43, 82 Corean alphabet, 87 Creation tablet, 110 Cretan hieroglyphs, 167, 184, 195 " linear characters, 171, 173, 175, 184 Crete, Mycenæ and, 182 " origin of Ægean civilisation in, 192-94 " relics of script in, 51 " Syria, Egypt, and, 159 Cuneiform writing, 89-112 " " discovery of, 93-97 " " meaning of, 89 " " mode of, 98 Cursive characters, 217 Cypriote's syllabary, 178 Cyprus, civilisation in, 179

Darius, 93, 95, 127 Della Valle, 90 Delphi, 162 Deluge tablet, 111 Demotic writing, 115, 127, 216 De Rougé 139, 142-45, 226 De Sacy, 93 Determinatives, 85, 100, 103, 122, 170 "Digits," etymology of, 101 Dikta, Mount, slab from, 171 Diodôros, 196 "Diploma," etymology of, 11 Disease, barbaric theory of, 60

Edwards, Chilperic, 112 Egypt and Babylonia, 112 Egyptian art, 115 " demotic, 115, 127, 216 " hieratic, 115, 125-127, 139, 155, 194 " hieroglyphs, 41, 114-124 " numerals, 210 " writing, stages of, 115 Enchorial writing, 127 Eshmunazar, sarcophagus of, 140, 153 Eteocretans, 184 Europe, continuity of man in, 24, 189 Eusebius, 137 Evans, Arthur, 25, 51, 154, 159, 177, 189, 193, 195

Fingers as pictographs, 101 Flinders Petrie, Professor, 116, 177, 185, 186, 202 Frazer, J. G., 193

Gardner, Prof. P., 158 Goulás, 162 Græcia Major, 199 Graffito, 161 Grave-posts, Indian, 53-55 Greek alphabet, 199 " papyri, 198-206 " settlements, 198 " signary, 185 Grotefend, Dr., 93, 101 Gurob, 177, 202

Haddon, Professor, 19 Halévy, 104 Haynes, 108 Herculaneum papyri, 201 Herodas, mimes of, 202-204 Herodotus, 39, 92, 97, 134, 137, 138, 190, 199 Hieratic writing, 115, 125-27, 139, 155, 194 Hieroglyphic wheels, 45 Hieroglyphs, Cadger's, 57 " Egyptian, 114-124 " Hittite, 150, 168, 173, 181, 195 " Mexican, 73 Hilprecht, Dr., 108 Hittites, 179-81, 185 Hoffman, Dr., 45, 52, 54, 64 Hogarth, D. G., 159 Horus, 158 Hunting expedition, pictograph of, 62, 64 Hutchinson, Mark, 32 Hyksos, 119, 154

Iberian signary, 185 Ideographic stage of alphabet, 38, 72-79 Ideographs, 101, 115, 120-21, 167 " comparative, 124 Indian and stolen loaves, 16 " census roll, 71 " chief, pictograph of life of, 67 " grave-posts, 53, 54 " petition for fishing rights, 69 Innuit record of departure, 72 Inscriptions, cuneiform, 90 Ionia, 194 Iroquois, 50 Isis, 130, 158 Itzcoatl, 79

Japanese writing, 86 Jesus, "Sayings" of, 205

Kahun, 177 Karian signary, 185 Keane, Professor, 99, 191 Kenyon, Mr., 200 Klein, Dr., 147 Knôsos, 162, 191 Knotted cords as records, 39, 82

Latin alphabet, 38, 199, 216-17 Layard, Sir A., 98 Legends in Genesis, origin of, 112 "Letters," etymology of, 10 "Libel," etymology of, 10 "Library," etymology of, 10 Linear signs, Cretan, 171, 175 Lion weights from Nineveh, 146, 149 Love-letter, pictorial, 58 Love-song, pictorial, 58

Magic through writing, 16 Mahaffy, Professor, 91, 97 Malacca, East, 19 Mallery, Colonel, 64, 73 Man in America, 74 Maneh, 150 Mariner, William, 14, 15 Marshman, Dr., 82 Masons' marks, 163 Maspero, 103 Mathews, R. H., 29 Max Müller, Prof., 9, 182 Mayas, script of the, 75-79 Medicine-man, song of, 59 " bad, 61 Mediterranean signary, 185, 189, 195 Memory-aids, 37 Memphis, 138, 188, 202 Menes (?), tomb of, 116 Mexican hieroglyphs, 73 Military expedition, pictograph of, 67, 70 Milk-stones, 160 Minuscule, 37, 219 Mnemonic stage, 38, 39-51 Moabite Stone, 144, 145, 147 Moses, legend of, 106 Mycenæan civilisation, 186-188, 193 " relics, 51, 176, 183 " relics in Sardinia, 189

Nâgari, 17, 87, 207 Nebo, 16 Nebuchadnezzar, 94 Nestorians, 208 New Zealand totem-marks, 52 Niebuhr, Carsten, 92 Nineveh, 98, 99, 146 Nippur, discovery of oldest-known writing at, 108 Nuffar (_see_ Nippur) Number of words from letters, 9 Numerals, 209, 212

Odin, 17 Ogam characters, 225 Ogmios, 17 Ormuzd, 96 Osiris, 117 Oxyrhynchus, 205

Palæography, Greek, 199-206 "Paper," etymology of, 10 Papyrus, 10, 125, 126, 200 " Papyrus of Ani," 119 " Prisse, 126, 140, 145, 153, 200 "Parchment," etymology of, 11 Paternoster, 80 Pausanias, 190, 193 Payne, 76, 77 Pelasgians, 190 Pen, antiquity of metal, 11 Persepolis, 90 Peruvians, 40, 75 Philæ, obelisk at, 130 Phœnician alphabet, 152, 188, 194, 196, 206, 213 " characters, 135, 137, 148, 151, 154, 177, 185 Phœnicians, 179, 188, 194, 195 Phonetic stage of alphabet, 38, 79-81 Phonogram, 39 Pictograph parent of alphabet, 26 Pictographs of man, 36 Pictorial stage of alphabet, 38, 51-72 Picture-writing as charm, 19 Picture-writing, illustrations of, 35, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 83 Pinturos, Maya, 77 Planetary signs, 101 Pliny, 135 Poole, R., 153 Præsos, 160, 184 Precepts of Ptah-Hetep, 127 Prehistoric art, 24 Pre-Phœnician civilisation, 186 Prousia, 183 Ptolemy III., 133 Ptolemy V., 131, 133 Ptolemy XV., 123

Quipu, 39, 40

Rain-charms, 33-35 Rameses III., 180 Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 94, 97 Rebus, 79, 123 Reinach, M., 189 Renan, M., 146 Rhys, Professor, 226 Rock-paintings of Australian natives, 27-29 Rock-paintings of Bushmen, 30, 31 Rock-paintings of North Africa (Algeria), 33 Roman alphabet, 37, 217 " capitals, 37, 217 " type, 37 Rosary, 39 Rosetta Stone, 94, 128-33, 181 Rosetta Stone, inscription on, 132 Runic alphabet, 215, 220, 223-25 Runic letters, 104 Russian alphabet, 215 " letters, 104

St. Patrick, 219 Sardanapalus V., 16 Sardinia, 189 Sargon I., 106, 107, 180 Sassanid inscriptions, 93 Schliemann, Dr., 158, 182 Schoolcraft, 53 Seal-stones, engraved, 51, 160, 167 Semang rain-charm, 35 Semitic characters, 140 Signary, Greek and Mediterranean, 185, 195 Siloam, Pool of, 146, 151 Skin disease, charm against, 20 Spencer and Gillen, 29 Stele of Canopus, 133 " Shera, 116 " the Vultures, 106 "Style," etymology of, 11 Syllabaria, 103 Syllabaries, 39, 103, 173, 178 Symbols, 38, 73, 102, 120, 164-66 Sympathetic magic, 21, 61

"Tablet," etymology of, 11 Tallies or tally-sticks, 44 Tasmanians, 27 Tattooing, 51 Taylor, Canon Isaac, 38, 78, 99, 102, 123, 125, 135, 139, 142, 145, 149, 154, 199, 206, 219, 223, 225 Tell-el-Amarna tablets, 109, 110 Tell-el-Hesy, 177, 179 Thoth, 16, 126, 132 Tiryns, 191, 194 Tonga Islands, 14 Totem-marks, 52 Trade marks, 51 " signs, 102 Trench, Archbishop, 10 Ts'ang Chien, 16 Tsountas, Dr., 171, 173, 185 Tylor, Dr., 41, 45, 55, 80, 81, 86 Tyre, 137

Ulphilas, Bishop, 225 Uncial letters, 37, 219

Virgin's Pool, 146, 151 "Volume," etymology of, 11 Von Tschudi, 41 Vowel signs, 92, 124, 213

Wachsmuth, 191 Wampum belts, 45-51 War-song, pictograph of, 68 Wheels, hieroglyphic, 45 Whitney, Professor, 85, 114 Writing as magic charm, 16 " belief in divine origin of, 16 " value of invention of, 13

Yahweh, 17, 149 Young, Dr. Thomas, 129 Yucatan script, 73

Zodiacal signs, 102 Zoëga, 129

GEORGE NEWNES, LIMITED, LONDON

THE CRETAN EXPLORATION FUND.

Patron: H.R.H. PRINCE GEORGE OF GREECE, =High Commissioner of the Powers in Crete=.

Directors: ARTHUR J. EVANS, M.A., F.S.A., _Ashmole's Keeper, and Hon. Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford_. DAVID G. HOGARTH, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,

_Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Director of the British School at Athens_.

Hon. Treasurer: GEORGE A. MACMILLAN, Esq., _Hon. Secretary of the Society for Promoting Hellenic Studies_.

Hon. Secretary: JOHN L. MYRES, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., _Student of Christ Church, Oxford_.

_The following Appeal has been issued by the Directors_:--

The new conditions in which Crete is placed, and the final emancipation of the island from Turkish rule, have, at last, rendered it possible to organise a serious effort to recover the evidences of her early civilisation.

How important are the results which a thorough-going investigation in this field holds out to archæological science may be gathered from what has already been brought to light in far less favourable circumstances. The path of Cretan exploration was opened out by the English travellers Pashley and Spratt. Their exploratory labours have been followed, in more recent years, by the striking discoveries of Halbherr and Fabricius. The great inscription containing the early laws of Gortyna stands alone as a monument of Greek civic legislation. The bronzes of the Idaean cave have afforded a unique revelation of the beginnings of classical Greek art. Further researches, to which English investigation has once more contributed, have brought into relief the important part played by the still earlier civilisation of Mycenae, the wide diffusion of its remains, and even the existence in the island of an indigenous system of sign-writing anterior to the use of the Phœnician alphabet. Additional indications, indeed, have come to light which carry back the chronology of the earlier relics of Cretan culture far beyond the date of Schliemann's great discoveries on the mainland of Greece, and attest an intercourse with Egypt going back to the third and, it may be, even the fourth millennium before our era. We have here in Crete the first stepping-stone of European civilisation.

The better to solve the many interesting problems thus opened up it has been decided to form a "Cretan Exploration Fund," under the direction of the above named and in co-operation with the British School at Athens, in order to carry out a series of comprehensive excavations.

In order fully to realise this scheme it will be necessary to raise a sum of at least £5000. The object has a real claim on British enterprise. From a national point of view, this task of scientific exploration in Crete is a fitting sequel to the joint work of political emancipation in which we have taken part. It may be mentioned in this connection that the French School at Athens is already organising plans of excavation on other Cretan sites, and that a mission with a similar object is being despatched by the Italian Government.

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End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of the Alphabet, by Edward Clodd