Vy. < .-^^^ \ 1 1 ~~' s 1 ^ .^^" THE RUNIC AND OTHER MONUMENTAL REMAINS OF THE ISLE OF MAN. CHI8W1CK PRESS: — PKINTBD BY C. WHITTIKOHAM, TOOK8 COURT, CHANCERY LANE. n /^ XXE K.VXIC ^4/ Of r/yf ,V^ or ^44^ By the Uev? J. G. Gumming, M. A. F. G. S Head Master of the Grammar School , Lichf/eld. LONDON Bell atitd Daldy, tleet street. Lonifur XicfvfieUl. Kerrutsh k\l^rieale^ Daicgl/LS . lOAN STACK TO THE HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND HORACE POWYS, D.D. Bishop of Sodor and Man. My Lord, The earliest Monumental Remains noticed in the present work were pro- bably erected when your Lordship's ancestors were Kings of Man. The names of the Bishops contemporary with Merfyn Frych and Roderic Mawr have not been handed down to posterity, but the oldest Manx Chronicle assures us that there was a true succession j and this has never been interrupted to the present day, when your Lordship is adorning the Episcopal office in the most ancient ex- isting See of the British Isles. I therefore deem myself peculiarly privileged in the permission which your Lordship has afforded me to dedicate to you these few pages descriptive of the remarkable Memorials, erected in your Diocese through a long series of years, to those who have died in the faith of Christ. With the deepest respect, I beg leave to subscribe myself. Your Lordship's Very faithful and obedient servant, J. G. GUMMING. Lichfield, June 1st, 1857. 891 PREFATORY NOTE. T THINK it right to state that the following work is primarily an endeavour to exhibit in its rude character the ornamentation on the Scandinavian Crosses in the Isle of Man. An artist will no doubt find fault with the roughness and want of finish of the illustrations. They have not been got up to please his eye, but I believe the book will be found not any the less to give a correct idea of things as they are, and this is all at which I aim in its publication. The proper designation of most of these illustra- tions would be, " Beduced Rubbings of Runic Monuments." The manner in which they have been obtained is this : — I employed an Italian to make me casts in plaster of Paris of the carved crosses which are scattered all over the Isle of Man. This was a labour occupying the greater portion of two years. In obtain- ing these casts I was aided most liberally by Sir Henry Dryden, Bart., of Canons Ashby, and I have placed them in the Mu- seum which I commenced in King William's College, Castletown. I found it far easier to make out the details of ornamentation from these casts than from the original stones, both from their colour and the facility of turning them about to any light. Having, therefore, made rubbings partly from the stones and partly from the casts, I filled up carefully the outlines, with the [ vi ] casts before me, and thus had rough drawings the full size of the originals. These were photographed to the size in which they now appear ; and upon these photographs the lines w^ere traced by my son Mr. W. R. Gumming in anastatic ink and chalk, and then transferred to the zinc from which they are printed. With respect to the Runic Inscriptions, these have been copied separately. I found it impossible for them to be drawn without a certain value being given to some very faint and uncertain lines — these therefore I myself traced with the readings which I believe to be the most correct. The doubtful parts, however, I have noticed in the body of this work. The only really satis- factory way of exhibiting them to those who are critical about the Runic readings would have been by means of actual photo- graphs accompanying the work, and this I found, from the esti- mates of different photographers to whom I submitted some specimens, would have too largely increased the cost of the work to general readers. The moulds from which the casts were made are many of them still in my possession, and a limited number of casts could be furnished to those who are willing to incur the expense of having copies. I think it well to notice that as the rubbings were made upon the more prominent portions of the casts, the paper being in part pressed into the hollows, the shaded spaces between the knot- work are a trifle larger than they would have been in making drawings directly from the stones. The knotwork, therefore, ap- pears rather more open than the reality, and does not approach quite as near as it should do to the edges of the stones. [ vii ] My removal from the Island in the midst of this work has also prevented in some measure my giving that finish to it which at one time I hoped to be able to do, and this must account too for the delay which has occurred in my bringing it out. I would observe, in conclusion, that my great object has been to direct the attention of antiquaries to these remarkable remains, under the hope that some one with more leisure and ability than my- self may carry on the work of rescuing them from oblivion. I have shown in the body of this book that many inscribed stones once existing on the Island have been either stolen or destroyed ; many others are placed in very unfavourable situations, exposed to the dilapidating influence of a very moist climate and the still more destructive influence of mischievous and ignorant persons. I trust that some zealous antiquarian may be induced also to bestow some labour on the stone circles, of which there are a great number that have never been noticed or described, but which I am sure would well reward an earnest investigator. TABULAR VIEW OF THE INSCRIBED STONES IN THE ISLE OF MAN. The subjoined Table gives the number of crosses and inscribed stones (not in- cluding the Roman altar, Plate XIV. fig. 50) in each of the seventeen parishes in the Isle of Man. m a o 'ai '> Q c Ol -a V2 Parishes. PLATES AND FIGURES. "5 c .2 '> p a ' S-i (D u O < I- o Michael Ballaugh Jurby r Andreas Bride L Lezayre r Maughold I Lonan PI. I. fig. 1.* PI. II. figs. 3,* 4,* 6* 8.* PI. III. fig. 12.* PI. IV. fig. 13.* PI. VI. fig. 19. Pi. XI. figs. 28,* 29.* PI. XII. fig. 32. PI. I. fig. 2.* PI. II. fig. 7. Pl.III.fig.il.* PL XL fig. 31. PI. III. figs. 9* and 10.* PL XII. fig. 41. PI. IX. fig. 24. PL Xn. figs. 33, 35, 36, 37, 40. PL XIII. fig. 42. PI. VII. fig. 20. PL XII. fig. 34. Total in the Northern Division . . 11 I 3 2 1 7 2 27 o 'cfi '> Q a D O 02 a :2 c r Rushen Arbory I Malew 'Santon Braddan Conchan r M arown i Patrick L German PI. V. fig. 14. PI. XI. fig. 30. PI. V. fig. 15. PI. XIIL fig. 43. PI. XIV. fig. 48.* PI. V. fig. 16. PI. VII. fi^. 21. PI. VIII. figs. 22,* 23.* PI. XII. figs. 38, 39. PL VI. figs. 17, 18. PI. X. figs. 25, 26.* PL XIV. fig. 45.t PL II. fig. 5.* PL X. fig. 27.* Total in the Southern Division . . . 2 2 I 6 4 I 2 18 The crosses marked thus ( * ) are inscribed. t The five stones at Magher y Chiarn in Marown are counted as one cross. Of the above crosses seven in the Northern Division of the Island, viz. figures 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, and five in the Southern Division, viz. figures 38, 39, 43, 45, 48, are probably not Scandinavian ; leaving of truly Runic or Scandina- vian remains twenty in the Northern Division and thirteen in the Southern. There are eighteen at least of these Scandinavian remains actually inscribed with Runes. Probably fig. 31, Plate XL, is also inscribed. THE RUNIC AND OTHER MONUMENTAL REMAINS IN THE ISLE OF MAN. TTTE have distinct evidence from the Chronicon Manniae, the Irish Annals and the Norse Sagas, that the Danes and Norwegians occupied the Isle of Man from the end of the ninth — — /I — J - -1 * . . 1 . 1 /• 1 - EREATA. Page 13, Kne 22. Instead of - the Manx symbol for o is also the ordinary Eunic symbol for b," read " the Manx Eunic symbol for b is the ordinary symbol for o." Page 22, Une 4 from the bottom. For '* GUTTHI," read " GUETHI." Page 38, Une 16. For « new, red," read " new-red." He was succeeded by his son neigi ana granasoii inursiem, but the native chiefs rising in rebellion, Thorstein was expelled A. D. 894, and in his place was appointed one Nial or Niel, to whom succeeded in a. d. 914 his nephew Anlaf or Olave. But about six years after, Gorrey or Orrey (Erik ?), a Dane, having conquered the Orcades and Hebrides, arrived on the shores of Man " with a fleet of strong ships,'' and landed at the Lhane in the north of the island. To him the Manx are TABULAR VIEW OF THE INSCRIBED STONES IN THE ISLE OF MAN. The subjoined Table gives the number of crosses and inscribed stones (not in- cluding the Roman altar, Plate XIV. fig. 50) in each of the seventeen parishes in the Isle of Man. ^ o5 c o s •o > CA Ifl Parishes. PLATES AND FIGURES. r Michael % -Si ^, Ballaugh Jurby fl* r Andreas ^ Biide < 1 L Lezayre PI. I. fig. 1.* PI. II. figs. 3,* 4,* 6,* 8.* PI. III. fig. 12.* PI. IV. fig. 13.* PI. VI. fig. 19. PI. XI. figs. 28,* 29.* PI. XII. fig. 32. PI. I. fig. 2.* PI. II. fig. 7. PI. III. fig. 11.* PI. XL fig. 31. PI. III. figs. 9* and 10.* PL XII. % 41. m \'^\ ^a^"CK [^^ L German PI. 11. fig. 5.* PI. X. fig. 27.* Total in the Southern Division 2 18 The crosses marked thus ( * ) are inscribed. t The five stones at Magher y Chiarn in Marown are counted as one cross. Of the above crosses seven in the Northern Division of the Island, viz. figures 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, and five in the Southern Division, viz. figures 38, 39, 43, 45, 48, are probably not Scandinavian ; leaving of truly Runic or Scandina- vian remains twenty in the Northern Division and thirteen in the Southern. There are eighteen at least of these Scandinavian remains actually inscribed with Runes. Probably fig. 31, Plate XL, is also inscribed. THE RUNIC AND OTHER MONUMENTAL REMAINS IN THE ISLE OF MAN. 'TTIT'E have distinct evidence from the Chronicon Manniae, the Irish Annals and the Norse Sagas, that the Danes and Norwegians occupied the Isle of Man from the end of the ninth to the latter part of the thirteenth century, or nearly four hun- dred years. Harald Haarfager (the fair haired) having made himself supreme in Norway, extended his power to the Orkneys and the Sudoer, Sodor or Sudreyjar (f. e. Southern Islands) ; and in the year a. d. 888, having seized on the Isle of Man, left as his Viceroy or Jarl one Ketil Bjbrns(5n (sunr-bjarnar), with a body of Northmen. Ketil shortly after declared himself independent j and for a few years ruled in Man and a portion of the Sudreyjar. He was succeeded by his son Helgi and grandson Thorstein ; but the native chiefs rising in rebellion, Thorstein was expelled A. D. 894, and in his place was appointed one Nial or Niel, to whom succeeded in a. d. 914 his nephew Anlaf or Olave. But about six years after, Gorrey or Orrey (Erik ?), a Dane, having conquered the Orcades and Hebrides, arrived on the shores of Man " with a fleet of strong ships,'' and landed at the Lhane in the north of the island. To him the Manx are [ 2 ] indebted for the Scandinavian character of their legal institu- tions. He (it is said) established the Insular Parliament of the lower house, 9r, as it is at present called, the House of Keys, so named (I believe) from the Manx words Keare-as-feed, i. e. four and twenty, King Orrey having appointed that this should be the number of Taxiaxi or members : viz. " eight for the out isles and sixteen for the land of Man ;'' the island perhaps originally being divided into sixteen parishes. He also divided the island into six sheadings or shires, which division still exists, and a coroner is appointed for each. He established also the Meeting of Tynwald (Thingavbller), continued to the present day ; indeed, it is one of the strongest proofs of the influence of the Northmen in this territory, and the permanence and excellence of their institutions, that, as Professor Worsaae remarks, " The last remains of the old Scandinavian Thing, which for the protection of public liberty was held in the open air in presence of the assembled people, and conducted by the people's chiefs and representatives, are to be met with not in the North itself, but in a little island far towards the west, and in the midst of the British kingdom." See " The Danes and Northmen" &c. Guttred, the son of Orrey, is named as the founder of Castle Rushen, the likeness of which to the Danish Castle of Elsinore has been noticed by some authors ; the only other buildings of note upon the island (Peel Castle and Rushen Abbey) are also the work of the Northmen. The battle of Largs (Oct. 3, 1263), in which Alexander the Third of Scotland so completely broke up the expedition of [ 3 ] Haco, placed the Isle of Man at the mercy of the Scottish monarch; and Magnus, the then King of Man, despairing of help from Norway, met Alexander at Dumfries, did homage to him, and obtained a charter to hold the island from the crown of Scotland. He died on the 24th of Nov. 1265, being the ninth and last of the Norwegian race of Godard Crovan, which for nearly three hundred years had held the sceptre of the Isle as viceroys to the monarch of Norway. The following year Magnus VL of Norway ceded to the King of Scotland and his heirs the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, the composition to be paid by the King of Scotland being fixed at 4000 marks sterling, in four yearly payments of 1000 marks each, and an annual pension (called by the Norwegians a tribute) of 100 marks per annum. After so long an occupation by the Northmen, we shall not be surprised to find a very large number of the monumental remains on the island bearing distinct evidence of Scandinavian workmanship. In point of fact the number far exceeds, rela- tively to the area occupied by them, those found in any other portion of the British isles. There are at least forty crosses, whole or fragmentary, the greater portion of them, if not the whole, bearing the true Scandinavian type, and nearly half that number containing Scandinavian inscriptions in the ancient Norse language and in Runic characters. It is highly probable that as the first Danish invaders were heathen worshippers of Odin and Thor, or people only just emerging from heathenism into Christianity, they would for some time continue the mode of sepulture common to their fore- [ 4 ] fathers, and the stone circle and " bauta stene" would mark their burying grounds. We have, in fact, many such memorials in the Isle of Man : I could name at least a dozen stone circles still existing in the three southern parishes of the Island, which have come under my more immediate notice. Yet, as the abo- riginal inhabitants, prior to their conversion to Christianity by St. Patrick in a. d. 444, had also used nearly the same modes of burial, it would not be safe to attribute these remains altogether to the Northmen. Hence, though Professor Munch has con- jectured some of the Runic crosses to be of the ninth century, I hardly feel disposed to allow to them a much earlier date than the middle of the tenth century, or about the reign of Guttred, the founder of Castle Rushen, at which time we find from the Chronicles of Rushen, Rolwer or Rolf (an evident Norwegian) Bishop of the Isle. That they had, however, at least respected Christianity, appears from the statement of the same chronicle, which, though giving Rolwer as the first name in the catalogue of bishops, adds, that previously " there was doubtless a true succession.^' Of the very early date of these crosses there can be no doubt, when we take into consideration the date at which the Northmen were expelled the Isle, the form of the crosses which then were introduced, as instanced at Kirk Manghold and Rushen Abbey, the different styles of the Scandinavian crosses themselves, and the change in language and Runic writing, which is also found on them. The fact, also, that many of these monuments have been found built in the walls of old C 5 ] churches, and even of Peel Cathedral, which was finished in the thirteenth century, points to the same conclusion. It is somewhat singular that of the twenty-six crosses etched by Kinnebrook, twenty-five are from eleven of the more northerly parishes of the Island, and only one is from the six more southerly parishes. Professor Wbrsaae has hence concluded that at the time these stones were erected the Scandinavian language and influence was the most prevalent in the northern part of the Island. This is not strictly correct ; for, in reality, the northern district of the Island, whether taken naturally or civilly, con- tains only eight parishes ; and the nine southerly parishes afford, even according to Kinnebrook, thirteen examples of these Scan- dinavian monuments, i, e. one half of those which he has drawn, to which I have been enabled to add six. The fact is, that about thirty years ago several of the old parish churches in the northern portion of the Island were pulled down and new ones erected, and some of these monuments were then discovered built into the walls of the old churches. About six years ago, when the Church of St. John the Baptist was pulled down, three, if not four, of these monuments, were found in the old walls, of which only one has been preserved ; and it is not unlikely that in the other parish churches of the south of the Island (German, Braddan, Santon, Malew, Arbory and Rushen) there may be several of these Runic monuments con- cealed in the buildings. The influence also of the Abbey of Rushen in the south of the Island, connected as it was with Furness Abbey, in Lan- [ 6 ] cashire, and always exerting (and in the end successfully) a Roman against the Scandinavian supremacy, must be taken into consideration. , The chief object of the monks of Rushen, from the earliest times, appears to have been to get the Manx bishops consecrated at York instead of Trondhjem. Drawings of two of the Manx crosses have been given in the fourth volume of the Archaeological Journal ; one from Braddan and the other from Kirk Michael, but without any distinct and particular account of them. Mr. Kinnebrook etched the greater portion of those scattered throughout the Island, but he has only given one face of them, and much of the intricate ornamentation is very indistinctly drawn ; nor were the runes at that time clearly made out. His work is now out of print. There is no doubt that had earlier attention been paid to these remains, we should now be in possession of a much larger series. Many have been destroyed, and others carried off the Island. Mr. Townley in his journal records as a wonderful and praiseworthy feat, that he rescued one of them from its igno- minious position by the way-side, and bore it off in his carriage. Two have been taken to the Museum at Distington, near White- haven, and I have not been able to discover anywhere the Leif cross, a cast of the inscription of which, made by Mr. Bailey, is in the possession of Sir Henry Dryden, at Canons Ashby. An- other cast of the same inscription is in the Museum of the Archaeological Society, London, and another, I believe, in Edin- burgh. With regard to these crosses generally, I would observe that [ 7 ] they appear to have been solely sepulchral memorials. There are none of them to which we can refer any political event. There are no representations of battle scenes, or the making of treaties. The inscriptions, of which we have eighteen, simply state that A. B. erected this cross to C. D. his father, mother, wife, brother, &c. In one or two instances the maker of the cross has also recorded his name. On one the cause of death is mentioned, and on another it is said, that A. B. erected it to C. D. for the good of his soul, or as a meritorious act. We do not, however, find on any of them the request so common on the Irish monuments, for a prayer for the repose of the soul of the de- parted. It will, perhaps, be a matter of dispute whether the strange figures of animals carved upon these monuments (animals for the most part of domestic use or the chase) were intended as mere ornaments, or as indicating the trade or occupation of the deceased. In some instances these animals are used distinctly as terminal ornaments to knot work, or are mixed up with and form part of it. In others, again, we have the representation of hunting scenes, of men and women on horseback, and assem- blages of animals, such as would be found in any ordinary farm yard. We have also musical instruments and weapons of war. The material of which the crosses are made is, generally speaking, the ordinary clay schist of the Island. There are one or two of a metamorphic rock, approaching to gneiss, and there is one at Kirk Bride (of doubtful age) of red sandstone, probably a block found in the northern drift. The tools with which the workmen wrought appear to have been of the rudest character. In only two instances is the stone fashioned into the form of a [ 8 ] cross. What should be straight Hnes are very far from straight ; those which should be parallel are divergent, and the circles are far from round. The knot-work is ill finished, and not to be compared with that on English, Irish, or Scotch examples. With two exceptions, they all contain a glory about the cross, or its place is represented by holes ; even in the two exceptions there is still a circle. In two cases a cross forms the termination of knot-work at the junction of the arms. We are indebted to Professor Miinch for the determination of the Manx Runic alphabets (for there are two, regarded by him as older and later) used in the inscriptions. The difficulty of interpretation is in a great measure owing to the varieties in the spelling of words. Even the common word " aftir" is written efter, aftir, aft, and af, and they appear to have been deficient in the runes representing ordinarily h and y or final r. The runes are, generally speaking, inscribed on the edge of the stone, from the bottom upward. In one case the inscription is at the back of the cross, and in five others on the face. In the Thurith cross at Kirk Onchan we have inscriptions on the back and front, written up and down, and one of them containing the name Jesu Christ. I have before observed that the age of these crosses must lie between a. d. 888 and 1266. They are probably of the latter part of the tenth, the eleventh, and twelfth centuries. They are thus, generally speaking, older than the Irish crosses to which any date can be distinctly assigned. There is a mixture in them of Scottish and Irish types, and so they belong to what is called the Hiberno-Scottish School. When we consider the close con- [ 9 ] nection existing for so long a time between the Danes in Ireland and those in the Isle of Man, we might readily anticipate such a resemblance, but it would not be safe to infer that the Manx cross-makers had borrowed from the Irish, as there is no evi- dence to establish the priority in point of time of the Irish crosses. The beautiful knot-work for which they are remarkable is no doubt found in Irish MSS. to which a much earlier date is assigned ; but it is a kind of ornament which would suggest itself readily to any seafaring people such as the Danes and Norwe- gians, and in the Manx crosses there are some forms of ornament which have never been found in Irish crosses or MSS. or on the beautiful Scotch monuments which approach more closely to the Manx type. In reference to the scale-covered animals on three, if not four, of the Manx crosses, they seem to me a development of the knot-work or cable. In the Harper cross of Kirk Michael (Plate XL fig. 28) we find the cable running round the edge finished off at one end with a head, and at the other sharpened off into a pointed tail. In several of the crosses we find the intertwisted ribbon or cable studded with pellets, sometimes round, at others lozenge-shaped. The pelletted ribbon on the Ballaugh cross (Plate I. fig. 2) only requires a head and tail to become the scale-covered snake or sea-serpent of the edge of the large Dragon cross of Braddan (Plate VIII. fig. 22). The figures generally presumed to represent dragons, appear to me rather as monstrous fish entangled in the meshes of a net. On a general review of these monumental remains, we may c [ 10 ] say that they are truly "sui generis;'' they have their exact counterparts nowhere else. If any existed in lona, they have altogether disappeared; those which do exist there, as far as they can be made out, are of a later date, if we except two which have been presumed to be Irish. See Grahams lona, plates XX. and xxv. This at least is evident from these remains, that amongst those sons of the North, whose chief delight seems to have been in war and rapine, there existed also some of the finer feelings of human nature and an appreciation of what was elegant in art. They had a taste for music and sculpture, and the arts of peace were not altogether neglected by them. Along with representa- tions of the deer and the hunting dogs found on their monuments we meet with rude attempts at portraying oxen, goats and sheep, swine and poultry, and the harp is placed alongside of the sword. They seem to have embraced Christianity sincerely, and to have practised it earnestly, though, as far as we have any evidence, they must have received it in the Isle of Man from a conquered race. ON THE RUNIC INSCRIPTIONS ON THE SCANDINAVIAN CEOSSES IN THE ISLE OF MAN. nr^HE name " Runic'' has been given to an alphabet in use amongst the Teutonic nations, consisting almost entirely of straight lines of very simple combination, and very well adapted for engraving upon rocks, stones, and metal. The word " runer'' or " runes,'' which we often find on the Manx monuments, is derived from the Gothic " runa," which signifies the same as the Welsh " rhin" and the Irish " r^n," a secret. Runes were supposed to be endowed with certain mystic properties, and are said by some to have been made use of in heathen charms and incantations, and on this account probably fell into disuse amongst our Saxon forefathers upon their con- version to Christianity. A doubt, however, has been expressed by some eminent modern antiquaries as to the occurrence of any really heathen monuments inscribed with runes. The use of runes lingered long amongst the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, and we have Scandinavian MSS. as late as the fifteenth century written in this character. It should be distinctly understood that the term " Runic" belongs to a peculiar alphabet, and not to a language ; various languages and dialects being written in Runic letters. [ 12 ] With a general resemblance, there are several varieties in the forms of many of the Runic letters, and hence Runic writings have been divided into three great classes, the Scandinavian, the Germanic, and the Saxon. Of these the Scandinavian appears to be the oldest, after which the Germanic, and then the Saxon. The Manx runes belong to the oldest or true Scandinavian type, yet varying from those in ordinary use as respects six of the letters, as will be seen by inspection of the accompanying table of comparison. We observe also two varieties of the Manx runes, which Professor Miinch has ascribed to an earlier and later date. Those of a later date approach nearer in form to the runes in ordinary use, and a doubt may be expressed as to whether they are so truly Scandinavian as the former, for it is remarkable that on the only two crosses on which they have yet been found, the names in the inscriptions appear to be altogether Gaelic, though the words are all ancient Norse. I do not deem it improbable that both these forms of the Runic Alphabet may have been in use in the Isle of Man at the same time. See Plate XI. figs. 28 and 29- With regard to the origin of the characters of the Runic alphabet, considerable variety of opinion is known to exist. They have been derived from the Roman, the Celtiberian, the Etruscan, and the Greek. Schlegel expresses his belief that they were introduced amongst the inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic by Phoenician merchants. I am more inclined to attribute their introduction into the North overland, and to derive them from Asia Minor. [ 13 ] Those who believe in the personaHty of Odin or Woden, the great warrior and deified hero of the Northern nations, from whom we derive the name of the fourth day of the week, say that he led a tribe of Asiatic Goths from the shores of the Cas- pian into the north of Europe, driving before him the aboriginal inhabitants of Northern Germany and Scandinavia. This oc- curred a few years before the Christian era. I think it highly probable that at that time was introduced into the North the Asiatic form of the Greek alphabet. I am not aware that it has been previously noticed that the Runic alphabet approaches closer to the Constantinopolitan (as seen in the Elaean inscription) and Lycian than to any other with which we are well acquainted. In the accompanying table I have placed alongside of it the Constantinopolitan, and also the Lycian as copied from the book of Travels in Lycia, &;c. by the late Rev. E. T. Daniell, the late Professor E. Forbes, and Lieutenant T. A. B. Spratt. Comparing the Manx Runic alphabets with these two, it is somewhat singular that in the two letters, the symbols for h and 0, in which the Manx alphabets both differ from the ordinary runes, the Constantinopolitan and Lycian alphabets both differ from the ordinary Greek. The Lycian symbol for o is the ordi- nary Greek letter beta (h) and the Manx symbol for o is also the ordinary Runic symbol for h. I am thus led to the conclu- sion, perhaps somewhat hasty, that the Manx older Runic character was that originally introduced into the North. On the other hand it is right to state that what appear to be abbreviated forms of Runic letters are by many scholars looked [ 14 ] upon as indicating a later age. If this be the case, then the Manx alphabet which Professor MUnch terms the newer should in reality be ranked as the older. In the symbols for a, t, w, and 5, the old Manx alphabet has the more abbreviated form. In the rune for 5 it will be seen that the newer Manx, whilst differing from the older, also differs from other Runic alphabets ; the sym- bol, in fact, appears to be reversed. DESCKIPTION OF THE SEPARATE MONUMENTAL CROSSES OF THE ISLE OF MAN. Plate 1. Figures 1 a and 1 b. THIS cross stands on the south side of the churchyard gate at Kirk Michael, built upright into the top of the wall. It contains in the inscription the name of the maker, " Gaut," or, as he calls himself (in the inscription on a cross at Kirk Andreas, Plate III. fig. 10), Gautr Sunr Bjarnar, i.e. Gaut Bjornson. If his own state- ment is to be relied on and taken in its fullest sense, viz. that he made it and all then in Man, we should have a starting-point in the age of these crosses, could we only fix the exact date at which he lived. But this seems impossible, as though the names on this cross and on others evidently from the same workshop are pretty numerous, yet there are none of sufficient note to have been recorded in Manx history. From reasons above given, I do not deem it right to fix the date earlier than the middle of the tenth century. The monument is beautifully carved on both sides, and the Runic inscription runs partly up the edge and partly on one face of the cross. The whole is in a state of very good preservation, and contrasts very widely with the condition of the larger cross at Andreas bearing Gaut's name and made of the same material as this, viz. clay-schist (Plate III. fig. 10). It is therefore clear that we can determine nothing respecting the age of these crosses from their relative state of disintegration. Indeed, I believe some of the most worn to be amongst the latest. This cross owes its preservation, as does that of a much later date on the opposite side of the gateway, to the circumstance of its having been built into the old church of St. Michael, from which it was removed and placed in its present position not more than thirty years ago. The remarkable and beautiful ornament which occupies the centre [ 16 ] of the shaft of one face of this cross I do not remember to have seen elsewhere, certainly not on any of the Irish or Scotch crosses. I have, however, seen a close resemblance to it in drawings of Welsh and Cumbrian crosses by Mr. J. O. Westwood, who has also pointed out to me in the ornamentation of a Roman pavement a pattern to which it has also a close approximation. I would call it chain-cable work. We have a beautiful variation of it in the cross on the other side of the gateway (Plate XI. fig. 28). See also title-page of this work. It occurs on at least five other Manx crosses, viz. Plate I. fig. 2 ; Plate II. figures 3, 4, and 5, and Plate III. fig. 9j and probably it occupied the centre of one face of the lost shaft of cross Plate II. fig. 8. This cross of Gaut now under consideration contains no figures of animals, but only pure knot- work. The same statement is true also of the other cross which bears his name on Andreas Green, Plate III. fig. 10. This is the case also in the Ballaugh cross, Plate I, fig. 2, the St. John's cross, Plate II. fig. 5, and the Kirkmichael fragment, Plate II. fig. 4, all of which I would attribute to Gaut. All these crosses are also inscribed. If we should be disposed to argue against all of them being Gaut's work, from the fact that the spelling of words is not the same on each (for instance, of, qflir, and aiftir, thana, thna^ thonttj thono, thenr\ we must remember that Gaut spells his own name differently on different crosses. The inscription on this cross, very distinct, is, " MAIL : BRIGDI : SUNK I ATHAKANS I SMITH I RAISTI I CRUS I THANO : FUR \ SALU : SINI I SIN : BRUKUIN : GAUT .* GIRTH! : THANO I AUK : ALA : I maun;" i.e. ^^ Malbrigd, the son of Athakan the smithy erected this {cross) for his soul, but his kinsman (?) Gaut made this and all in Man.'' We have to notice from this inscription that the name of the Island must anciently have been pronounced with the " a " long, or as " am," and thus it shows the connection between Man and Mona. We meet here too with the ubiquitous name of Smith, in such a position as to show clearly the origin of that and similar names. It is truly Norse f the Manx would have been " Tears.'' We learn the little value which is to be given to the stops or divi- sion of words and their absence from a sentence, for whilst we have [ 17 ] " i Maun," in Man^ written as one word, we have the name Malbrigd written as two words, Mail : brigdi. A similar case occurs on the Andreas Cross, Plate III. fig. 9, where we have Sand: Ulf'va. two words for Sandulfy and Arin : hiaurg for Arinbjorg. Plate I. Figures 2 a and 2 h. This cross, which is one of the most perfect on the Island, stands in the old churchyard of Ballaugh. I presume it to be the work of Gaut, from the reasons before stated (page 16). His normal idea of two pair of ribbons intertwining and forming the arms of the cross, but fastened also with rings at their extremities, is here carried out on the face of the cross (the inscribed face) ; but instead of the central ring of the former cross, we have a boss surrounded by the ribbons, and the rings (four in number) are carried down the shaft, and both ribbons and rings are split up and pelletted, giving a greater richness to the appearance of the whole. On the other face, the central ribbons (also ornamented) are deficient in rings, but have the boss, whilst on one side of the shaft we have the beautiful chain cable work of Plate I. fig. 1 terminated with a plain cross, and on the other an ornament which occurs on at least two other of Gaut's crosses, Plate II. fig. 4 b, and Plate V. fig. 13. This face is also deficient in the large circle or glory about the arms of the cross. I had the cross dug up prior to taking the cast, and was thus enabled to obtain the lower portion, which had previously been buried deep in the earth, and was not drawn by Kinnebrook. The inscription is tolerably perfect, and runs up one face of the cross, along the edge of the shaft, and into the cavity between the arms. The fourth and fifth words are somewhat indistinct, but I believe the reading to be thus : " THORLAIBR : THORIULB t SUNR : RAISTI I CRS *. THONA : AIFTIR : ULB : SUN : SIN : " i.e." Thorlqf, the son of Thorjolf, erected this cross to Olave his son" There is nothing in Manx history by which we may identify these persons. Olave was a common Scandinavian name. The name Thor- laf occurs on the Dragon cross at Braddan. See Plate VIII. fig. 23 b. D [ 18 ] Plate II. Figures 3 a and 3 b. These are fragments of what must have been a very beautiful cross ; they are built into the top of the churchyard wall, south of the gate at Kirk Michael. The shaft was ornamented on one face with the chain cable of Plate I. fig. 1 a, and on the other had the ornamented ribbons of Plate II. fig. 2 a, as also the beautiful knot of the right hand side of Plate I. fig. 1 a. The cross may have been of Gaut's workmanship, but it has for ornaments on one face on either side of the shaft ill- fashioned figures of men and animals, one of the men being upside down. The men appear dressed in the kilt or Highland dress. Now as Magnus Barefoot (Barfod, Barbeen or Barelegs), who made his terrific irruption into the West in a.d. 1093 and took possession of the Isle of Man when he united the Bishopricks of Man and Sodor or the Southern Isles, received his name from his adopting the Highland cos- tume, it is hardly likely that this cross would contain figures of this description if it were prior to his time, at least if we understand the cross to have been made by and erected to a Northman. It is there- fore probably not earlier than the close of the eleventh century. On the edge of one of the fragments we have the words, " suak : HisTi : cRus : thna : eft : rumun:" i.e. ^^ Suag erected this cross to Romofi'' — and, as a continuation of the inscription, we have at the extremity of the other fragment merely the letters " nt." Each end of the stones is broken and worn, and I am not quite sure whether the first name may not be either Svig or Grim, and not Suak. The heading of this cross was probably very similar to Plate II. figs. 8 a and 8 h, which is a fragment found in the same church wall. The thickness, however, of the latter stone is greater than the present one. It has also its own inscription ; they therefore evidently belonged to two different crosses, though having no doubt like ornamentations. Plate II. Fig. 4 a and 4 h. This fragment of a fine cross, probably of Gaut's workmanship, with the central chain cable running down the shaft, is on the church- yard wall of Kirk Michael. [ 19 ] One side is much worn, and the stone has heen cut to fit a curve in the wall, so that the greater part of the inscription has been destroyed, leaving only the words ..." crus : thna : aftir," i. e. *' This cross to" the names having altogether disappeared. The inscription, perhaps on account of the thinness of the stone, was made along one side of the face instead of on the edge of the cross. The knot-work on either side of the shaft (Fig 4 a) is prettily arranged, and well worth notice. The simple twist on the right hand with inserted pellet, is an advance on that of Plate II. fig. 3 a. and Plate 1. fig. 1 h. The small portion of ornamentation, the T pattern or guilloche, on the inscribed face (fig. 4 h) has its counterpart on the Ballaugh cross, Plate I. fig. 2 b, and forms an edging to one side of the shaft of the cross, and to the base in Plate III. Fig. 9 b. and to one side of the shaft in Plate III. fig. 10 a. Plate II. Fig 5. This is the fragment (the shaft) of a cross found in the old church of St John the Baptist in Kirk German, when it was pulled down a. d. 1 850. It is now erected in the churchyard in the angle between the tower and south porch. Only one face is carved, and the head of the cross and part of the inscription is wanting. But the chain cable is finely developed, and must have formed a prominent feature in the cross, in fact it seems to have been the only ornament upon it. The inscription is along the edge, but the letters are much weather- worn, and though the cutting has been deep, I do not feel certain about the first word, the letters r and u being so much alike ; it seems, how- ever, to have been, " inosruir : raist : runar : thenr : aftir . . ." i. e. " Inosruir carved these runes to,' &c. Inosruir would seem to have been the workman who made the cross, but I by no means feel sure of the reading of this name. Plate II. Fig. 6. This fragment is in the Museum at Distington. The ornament appears to be of the same character as that on figs. 19, Plate VII. infra. [ 20 ] Plate II. Fig. 7. This fragment was found in a corner of the churchyard of Jurby by the Italian whom I employed to make the casts. The other side was too much effaced to afford any figure, if it ever was carved ; no inscription is legible on it. The ornamentation of the shaft is the same in idea as that of fig. 3 cr, but the reverse portions of the long ribbons are pelletted. A stag, boar, and portion of a female figure, appear on the right hand of the shaft ; on the left, a warrior kilted or clad in a buttoned coat of mail, and bearing a very singular instrument on his dexter shoulder, to which appears suspended a smaller figure, as of one whom he had slain. Above we have a larger fragment of a female figure, bearing in her hand a three-pronged fork. The execution of these figures is of the rudest description. Plate II. Figs. 8 a, Sb, and 8 c. This fragment is at present in the Vestry of Kirk Michael, having been removed from the wall of the churchyard. It has evidently been touched up, but not so as to alter the pattern, which is such as to show that the fragment belonged to one of the more highly-wrought crosses. The pattern of figure 8 ^ is the same as in Plate II. fig. 3 a. The knot- work, in the left-hand corner at the top, which is a piece of pelletted ribbon, has very much of the look of one of the monstrous fishes or dragons of the Braddan cross, Plate VIII. fig. 22 a, &c. I shall have to refer to this fact hereafter. The other corner is occupied by a kilted figure, who seems to be ascending towards a piece of cloud overhead. Referring to the other face of the cross, fig. 8 a, we remark at the intersection of the glory of the cross a full representation of the figure of our Blessed Lord, with outstretched arms, (indicating that " ohlatus est quia ipse voluit") and bearing on his head a nimbus. In the left hand corner we have the favourite cock (the symbol of repentance), and in the right hand is an angel or winged figure, underneath which we have the triquetra, the emblem of the Trinity. This seems to me the only cross in the consideration of which we might at all enter [ 21 ] upon the notion of symbolism in the grotesque figures inscribed, and even here it is of a most doubtful character. The only words of the inscription which remain written on the broad edge of the stone are, " GRiMS : INS : suARTA ; " i. e. " Grims : the : Black." I fancy this is one of Gaut's productions. It has been observed by antiquarians that in the most ancient representations of the Crucifixion the body of our Lord is fully draped, but in the later the body is nude. In the present instance the dress is of an intermediate character, though reaching down very nearly to the feet. This seems in itself an indication of the great antiquity of this fragment, and that it is not later than the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth century. The figures on the Irish crosses are, generally speaking, nearly nude. Plate III. Figs. 9 a, 9 b, 9 c. This cross stands in the churchyard of Andreas, near the gate. It is in good preservation, but the workmanship is of the roughest kind. The style differs entirely from any of the foregoing. It seems like an attempt by a very inferior workman (perhaps by Sandulf the Black himself) to imitate the patterns of Gaut's crosses. The chain-cable ornament of the shaft of fig. 9 a seems taken from the Ballaugh cross, Plate I. fig. 2, whilst the fragment of cable-and-ring ornament at the base is like the edge of Plate I. fig. 1 b compacted. The knot, however, at the top of the cross, and those on the right hand side (top and bottom) of the shaft of fig. 9 « do not occur elsewhere. Amongst the animals we notice the goat (top of the right hand side), the boar, and one or two horses and sheep. At the base we have the figure of a female, perhaps Arinbjorg, riding on horseback. The junction of the tails of the second and third figures is remarkable. In figure 9 3 we have a bad attempt to imitate the interlacing ribbons of the shaft of fig. 13. The animals are drawn with more vigour, and we seem to have on the left hand side of the shaft the fragment of a hunting scene, viz. a man on horseback about to leap over a rock and a hound seizing on a deer. The cow and boar are fairly drawn. The hounds on both sides the shaft appear of the Irish [ 22 ] type, and one has a collar on his neck, as also has the boar, with curly tail. The inscription is very perfect, except the commencement of the first word, respecting which, however, there is little doubt: it runs thus : " SAND : ULF : EINS : SUARTI : RAISTI I CRUS I THONA : AFTIR ! ARIN : BiAURK : KuiNO : SING :" i.e. " Sandulf the Black erected this cross to his wife Arinbjorg.'' The absence of any glory about this cross on either face has before been noted (page 8), perhaps the central circles were intended to re- present the same idea. The age of this cross is hardly earlier than the twelfth century. It will be observed that there is a stop or break in the midst of each of the names Sandulf and Arinbjorg. The former part might read as " SANT : OLF : EINS : SUARTI 1 " " Saint Olave the Black." Olave the Black was king of Man in 11 88. Plate III. Fig. 10. This cross, which has been a very fine one of Gaut's manufacture, is now in a sadly worn and dilapidated condition. It stands on the Green at Kirk Andreas, opposite the Church gates. One face is so completely defaced that nothing can be made of it ; the other has just sufficient ornamentation left to enable us to fill it up by analogy. The general design of the shaft is similar to Plate I. fig. 1 h and the tall cross of Joalf at Kirk Michael, Plate IV. fig. 13 ; but instead of the animals at the side of the latter, the cross is filled on the right hand by the guilloche or waved ribbon of T pattern both before noticed, Plate II. fig. 4 b, and Plate I. fig. 2 b, and on the left by a simple knot-work with rings. The inscription is very much defaced, and is almost illegible at the beginning and end. It appears to be, " CRUS : THANA : AF : UFAIG : FAUTHUR I SIN '. IN I GAUTR t GUTTHi : suNR : BiARNAR I (cuB cuLi ?)" i.e. " A. B. crectcd this cross to Ufaig his father y but Gaut Bjornson made it" &c. The last words are very uncertain in reading and rendering, in consequence of the similitude of the runes for r and u. [ 23 ] Plate III. Fig. 1 1 a and 1 1 5. This is the fragment of a very beautiful cross, in the garden of the Vicarage at Jurby, which has not hitherto received any notice. It seems of the same age as fig. 9, being also without any circle or glory ; but the execution of it is much more elaborate and the design richer. On figure 11 « we have, running down the shaft, a double pair of ribbons, as in fig. 3 a and fig. 7? Plate II., but in this case both ribbons are ornamented, not with pellets but cross-bars, forming lozenges, so as to give the idea of a cable laid upon the surface of the ribbon. The pre- valent character of the ornamentation is that of broad split ribbons. The same is the case on fig. 11^, where the shaft is ornamented with what looks like a development of the right-hand side of fig. 3 a. On the left-hand of the shaft we have the wave-ribbon, or T pattern of fig. 4 5, and on the right a beautiful ornament, which I do not remember to have met with elsewhere. The human figures on this cross are pecu- liarly interesting, though, unfortunately, we have only two perfect. On fig. 11 a we have a bearded warrior, in kilt or shirt of mail, with a sword on his left thigh, and in his right-hand a war-trumpet ; on his head is a conical cap, surmounted by a knob or crest, and over his head seems to be flying the symbol of war, Odin's raven. In the oppo- site corner appears a portion of a figure seemingly caught by the leg by an instrument still common in Norway, a thong and ball fastened to the end of a pole. In fig. 1 1 6 we have a female wearing a long tar- tan robe, and with long flowing hair. The style of dress is like that seen in Plate II. fig. 7, where also we have the war-weapon of ball, thong, and pole, and the warrior, clad in a similar coat. It is not improbable that both the crosses were by the same artist. The inscrip- tion on this cross runs up and down the left-hand side of the face, fig. 11a. It is imperfect at the beginning, middle, and end, and the letters are somewhat worn, but seem to run thus : — " . . . . Ru : SUN : IN : onon : rasti : aft : faithur : br. . . ." Perhaps meaning "... Ros'son ; but Onon {erected it) to his fa- ther's brother " The fifth word looks more like " raiti" than " rasti ; " if the former, it is a misspelling. [ 24 ] Plate III. Figs. 12 a and 12 6. This fragment is in the Distington Museum. I believe it was taken from the wall at Kirk Michael. The inscription written along the arms of the cross, on the face, gives us somewhat of the private history of the person to whom it was erected, though his name has disappeared, it is, " . . . . R : osciTiL : viLTi : i : trigu : aith : soara : sun." "... Whom Osketel deceived under security of his pledge of peace.'" The person would appear to have been slain by an enemy who had been "bound to keep the peace," but who broke his pledge. The Norwegian name Osketel became general in subsequent times, and is connected with the story of the eagle and child, the crest of the Stanley family, who possessed the Isle of Man through so many years. Plate IV. Figs. 13 fl, 13 h, 13 c, 13 d. This cross, which is the largest but one in the Island, and by far the most perfect, stands in front of the churchyard gates at Kirk Michael. It has frequently been drawn, but very imperfectly. Bishop Wilson refers to it in his history of the Isle of Man, and gives it almost correctly. There is an attempt at the drawing of one side in the " Gentleman's Magazine," and both sides are imperfectly represented in the Archaeo- logical Journal, vol. ii. pages 75 and 76. The stone is so tall (being also mounted on a lofty pedestal) that it was difficult to make out the details ; but by means of the cast which I had made, they have come out pretty distinctly, and present some interesting features. At the head of fig. 13 a we have, filling up the corners, above the circle the triquetra ornamented, below the circle the triquetra plain. This is said to be a characteristic Irish device. It very fi:'equently occurs on the Manx crosses, with great variety of arrangement. Thus, on either side of the shaft of this cross, fig. 13 a, we have four triquetras, arranged so as to form crosses and circles. It is seen again, in another form, just above, at the base of the two minor crosses, with circles each of a dififerent pattern. It is disposed also in the knot tying together the two fishes or dragons, at the base of the shaft. [ 25 ] It will be observed, with respect to the spirals on each side of the shaft, that the upper pair consist of single, the lower pair of double ribbons. The ornament forming the base or pediment of the cross is, pro- bably, a twisted cable of two large strands, at least it presents much of this appearance in the Braddan monument, Plate VIII. fig. 23, which is not so much worn and is more deeply cut. We have it again, Plate III. fig. 9 b. The animals represented are, on one side, a horse, and a man on horseback ; on the other, two figures, perhaps deer, with dogs on their backs. The dogs have the shape of the Irish hound, and this form is common on the Manx monuments. The large figure at the base of the stone appears to have been intended for a stag. The monstrous fish or dragons are too much worn to determine whether they were covered with scales. It is well to note the singular fancy of making a spiral at the point of junction of the legs with the bodies of many of the animals. The other face of the cross, fig. 18 6, bears an entirely different character. The head and shaft have the characteristics of Gaut, as seen in Plates I. and II. At the head we have a bird perched on the back of a stag and pursued by a hawk. The figures of the animals on the sides are too much worn to determine for what they were all intended ; one of them has much the appearance of an owl, and one is evidently meant for a man on horseback. The edge of the cross, fig. 13 c, is a variation of the ornament in fig. 3 a and fig. 7, Plate II., with the terminal of a cock. The inscription of the other edge, fig. 13 c?, is very distinct and reads, " JUALFR : SUNK : THURULFS '. EINS : RAUTHA : RISTI : CRUS I THONO : AFT : FRiTHU : MUTHUR : siNA : " i.e. " Joalf, the son of Thorolfthe Red, erected this cross to his mother Frida.'^ Probably the figure of the warrior at the head was intended for Joalf. The names Joalf, Thorolf, and Frida, are Norwegian. [ 26 ] Plate V. Fig. 14. This cross is the tallest in the Island, being upwards of eight feet in height. It formerly stood at the cross-four-roads between Port St. Mary and Rushen Church, in the parish of Kirk Christ Rushen, but has been removed to a farm yard close by, where it forms one side of a doorway into a cow-shed opposite the inn. There is hardly any orna- ment left on it, what there is seems like that of fig. 15 ; and, like fig. 16, this cross is pierced with four holes, without any appearance of a circle or glory. No inscription can be made out. Plate V. Figs. I5a, I5b. This cross I found lying on the ground in a corner of the church- yard of Malew, unnoticed and unknown. With the consent of the vicar and churchwardens, I had it removed to the Museum of King William's College, in the same parish. It is much decayed, and in order to make out the tracery, I took casts of the different parts. The stone is a very dark clay-schist, and in it the lines are with much diffi- culty traced. By turning the casts about in the sunlight, after making rubbings, I was enabled to fill up the figures and knot-work in a great measure, though some parts are evidently imperfect. In the general character of the shaft, the cross resembles figures 14 and 16, Plate V. ; but it has representations of animals of a peculiar character, and more closely approaching to those on the Scotch crosses (as, for instance, the most remarkable one at Aberlemno), than any other Manx crosses of which I am aware. I am inclined to affix to it a very early date. Plate V. Fig. 16. This fine cross was formerly the stile at the west-end of Braddan churchyard. It is now removed and erected near the west-gate. The ornamentation is bold, but simple, and producing a fine effect. Instead of the plain circle on the arms of the cross, we have a circle formed of the cable-and-ring ornament before noticed, Plate III. figs. 9 « and 9^, and Plate II. fig. 4 a. The angles of the arms are pierced through with [ 27 ] four holes, a piece of knot-work in the form of a cross filling up the central space. The shaft of the cross is occupied by an endless ribbon or cable, disposed in two rows, forming a series of knots, having the general appearance of the cable-and-ring ornament; but the perfect ring is only exhibited at one extremity of the pattern. The pattern is common on Scotch and Irish crosses. From its exposed situation the cross has been much worn, and it is only in the cast that the details can be fully made out. The reverse face was ornamented, though not so fully, and the pattern has been all but obliterated. The age of the cross I cannot conjecture. Plate VI. Fig. 17. This singularly elaborate and peculiar cross stands in the church- yard of Conchan. It is clearly of a different date and artist to any previously noticed. Here the spirals, which have before been observed at the junction of the limbs of the animals in figs. 9 a, 9 b, Plate III., and fig. 13, Plate IV., are more fully elaborated, and approach more closely to the Scotch and Irish patterns, and the crosses of a later date in lona. The monstrous animals on each side of the shaft appear in- tended for cats. The introduction, also, of the gammadion at the base of the cross is worth notice, and seems unique as respects the Manx crosses. There are no runes on this cross, and it is doubtful whether it be truly Scandinavian. Plate VI. Fig. 18. This fragment, of what must have been a very large and fine cross, is in a garden at Kirk Conchan, forming a portion of some rockwork. It is clearly by the same hand as the last, and, by analogy, it would be easy to complete the whole cross. The figure, in this instance, re- sembles a dog. There was probably a similar one on the other side of the shaft. The figure-of-eight knotwork running round the head of the cross is peculiarly delicate and ornamental. [ 28 ] Plate VI. Figs 19 o, 19 b. This cross stands in Kirk Michael churchyard, to the east of Bishop Wilson's tomb. It is elaborately ornamented on both sides, but without any runes. The tools employed in its fabrication were plainly pointed chisels, the marks of which are still distinctly visible. I have placed it in this plate as resembling in some measure the two last mentioned crosses. It has a very Scotch appearance. The bodies of the animals are extended into the serpentine or dracontine character still more than any previously noticed, though approximating to those on figs. \5 a and 15 i, Plate V. The interlacing of the ribbons in the head of the cross is similar to that on the crosses of Gaut's workmanship ; but there are several blunders which indicate that this was made by an inferior hand, as a copy in design from some previously existing model. It may be observed here, that the Manx crosses in general exhibit less care in the terminations of the knot work than is the case in Scotch and Irish examples. This is seen particularly in the next figure. Plate VII. Fig. 20. This cross stands on a bank at Kirk Lonan old churchyard ; on account of its great size and the circumstance of its face sloping under- most, I was not able to get a cast of it. The figure is therefore a restoration of the entire pattern from drawings, and is more perfect and regular than the original: but the design is preserved, and is remarkably beautiful in character. Excepting in the absence of any figures of animals, it is closely allied to the following cross. Plate VII. Fig. 21. This cross stands at the south door of Braddan Church. It has often been drawn, but the knotwork very imperfectly. The intended circle is much distorted, and the four spaces at the comers, including the grotesque animals, are very irregular in size. Both it and the last mentioned cross may be by the same hand as the two Conchan crosses, figs. 17 and 18, above described. [ 29 ] Plate VIII. Figs. 22 a, 22 b, 22 c, 22 d. This cross, apparently of the blue clay stone from Spanish Head, is the most elegant in form of any on the Island. Professor Miinch thinks it of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century. It stands in the centre of Braddan churchyard, and has often, though not perfectly, been drawn. The shaft has been broken in two, and one portion of the head knocked off; but in the cast and drawing I have restored it, as there is no question at all about the ornament, it being a simple continuation of the guilloche on the rim of the circle. The head is pierced through with four holes, separating the arms, which gives a very light and elegant appearance to it. It is also occupied by two pairs of intersecting ribbons without rings. On one face the lower limb is terminated by the triquetra, but not on the other. The lacertine animals (or probably fish), often called dragons, are differently arranged on either face of the shaft of the cross. Some (but not all) of them appear to be furnished with legs and feet. The edge, fig 22 b, is occupied by one snake-like animal, perhaps the sea-serpent, so firmly believed in by the Northmen. It is, however, a very easy development of the pelletted ribbon, as seen in Plate I. fig. 2 b, by merely adding to it a head and tail. By making two or three rows of pellets instead of one, we obtain the appearance of scales, as on the figures at the front and back of the cross. The inscription along the edge is very plain. " THURLABR I NEAKI : RISTI : CRUS : THONO : AFT : FIAK : SUN : SIN : BRUTHUR*: SUN I EABRs," i. 0. " Thorlof Neaki erected this cross to Fiakf his son, brother's son to JahrT From the language and spelling of this inscription and that on the next cross, fig. 23 6, I believe both of them to be of the same age and perhaps by the same author as fig. 13, Plate IV., where we have also the lacertine or fish-like monsters, and the peculiar fretted ribbon at the base of fig. 18 a, which occurs on 23 a, 23 c, and 23 d. [ 30 ] Plate VIII. Figs. 23 o, 23 J, 23 c, 23 d. This fragment of a cross, similar in character and evidently by the same hand as the last, was formerly built in the church tower of Kirk Braddan, as the lintel to a doorway from the tower into the roof of the nave. A portion of one face (drawn by Kinnebrook) was visible, and on inserting my finger between it and the adjoining lintel, I found there was a Runic inscription along the edge. I mentioned this cir- cumstance at a lecture which I gave in Douglas (which is in the parish of Braddan) in December, 1854, and obtained a promise that the stone should be removed to a more fitting place. This was effected in the autumn of 1855, through the exertions of George Borrow, Esq., author of the " Bible in Spain," &c. It is now placed alongside of the last described monument, in the centre of the churchyard. If we examine that face of this fragment which is without the lacer- tine or fish-like animals (fig. 23 c), we shall perceive that there has been lost a third compartment, smaller, no doubt, than the two others ; the probable length, however, of which would be about twelve inches. This, no doubt, was also filled with knotwork. The size of this cross would therefore be very nearly, though not quite, as great as the former, fig. 22. The upper of the compartments, fig. 23 c, is filled with a plain ribbon, interwoven with one studded with large lozenge-shaped pellets, giving it the appearance of a twisted cord (similar to that on the edge of this monument, fig. 23 a) inserted in the middle of a flat strap. To preserve, however, in some measure, uniformity in the interlacing, a small portion of the otherwise plain ribbon at the extremities of the compartment is pelletted, and the pelletted ribbon is for a small space left plain. In the lower compartment we have two pairs of doubled triquetras^ one pair formed by a plain ribbon, the other by a pelletted one. In figure 23 a (the other face of this fragment) the fish-like monsters are well drawn, and the legs and claws are well developed ; but on none of the animals in this or the other crosses have we the appearance of wings, as has been fancied by some persons. I do not, therefore, think [ 31 ] that the idea of dragons was at all existing in the mind of the artist when he carved these monsters, but that having once pelletted his ribbon, and intertwined it with an unpelletted one, the mere addition of a head, and the appendage also, in two or three cases, of fins or feet, produced readily the monster we have before us entangled in a rope or the meshes of a net. Such an idea is not inconsistent with the fanciful monstrosities which the peculiar genius of the Northmen impressed upon the other crosses of the Isle of Man, whether we consider that they borrowed their general notions of ornamentation from Irish or Hiberno-Scottish models, or that they of themselves originated the form and designs of these crosses. We have on one edge of this fragment, fig. 23 d, a very fine instance of the fretwork ornament or thick cable of two strands to which I have before alluded. The other edge is occupied by an inscription remark- ably well preserved, as far as it goes. It is this : " UTR : RisTi : CRUs : thono : aft : froka : fathur : sin : in thur- BiAUBN : sunr (n n. girthi)," i.e. " Oter erected this cross to Froga his father f but Thorbjorn son of {N N made it).'" The words after " Thurbiaurn sunr" are broken off; but the sense seems to require what I have added, and the added words would about fill up the twelve inches which I have pointed out as the probable additional length of the shaft. We have a similar form of expression in the Andreas (Ufeig) cross before described " in Gautr girthi." Hence we adduce that Thorbjorn was the maker of this cross and that of Thorlaf Neaki (Fig. 22), and probably also of the Joalf cross at Ku-k Michael. Now, on referring to Manx history, we find that in the year 1093, when Goddard Crovan was expelled the Isle of Man by Magnus Bare- foot, one Other or Ottar was appointed by Magnus to be his Viceroy. The " Chronicon Manniae" states that this Other was slain in an insur- rection of the Manx, a.d. 1098. If we can imagine this Other to be the Oter named on this monument, we have at once the date of these three crosses at the termination of the eleventh century, and this agrees very well with the date assigned by Professors Miinch and Worsaae to [ 32 ] the majority of the Manx crosses, from a consideration of the language and character of the inscription. The name Thorburn (Thorbjbrn) is still common in the Isle of Man. Plate IX. Fig. 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, 16 d. This cross, which stands at the right hand on entering the gate of the churchyard of Kirk Maughold, is of a character and composition totally different from any others on the Island. It is carved on a hard whin stone or metamorphic schist, and yet it has not endured so well as others cut out of a softer material. I should be inclined to doubt the Scandinavian origin of this cross were it not for the grouping of the animals in the lower compartment of fig. 24 fif, more especially the figure, faintly made out, of a man on horseback, whose legs nearly touch the ground. The inscribed crosses differ entirely in form from any on the other monuments which we have seen. There is great angularity about the ornaments, amongst which the Z pattern is introduced. The human figures differ entirely from those on the purely Scandinavian monuments. The ornaments on the edges more particularly diverge from the general Manx type. The whole character seems Hyberno-Scottish. There is no inscription. Kirk Maughold was a place of peculiar sanctity and repute. Hence we have greater variety in the monumental remains in and about the churchyard, most of them of a foreign aspect. See Plates XII. and XIII. infra. Plate X. Fig. 25 a and 25 3. This cross lies on the ground in the midst of Conchan churchyard. There is great freedom of style about it, and it is also cut out of a hard metamorphic schist. The knotwork is carved with great boldness, the incision being very deep. The edges of the stone have been left plain. It has no inscription. The lower portion has been broken off. Plate X. Figs. 26 a and 26 b. This slab is cut in the roughest and most careless manner in clay- schist. It is in a garden at Kirk Conchan. The runes are placed most irregularly on both sides of the stone, [ 33 ] running up and down (jSoucrrpo^rjSov), so that it is difficult to make out the order of the words. The maker, however, Thurith, has given us his name. The inscriptions, which are badly cut and spelt, and much worn, are the following : At the head of fig. 26 a^ very distinct, running upwards, the word " CRu" for " crus," cross. Just below, in the upper limb of the in- scribed cross, written downwards, the runes " Isuchrist," " Jesus Christ." On the left side, at the foot of the inscribed cross, the word " THURITH," the maker's name ; considerably below which, towards the edge, the words " raist : runer," " engraved (or made) the runes.'' On the other face of the slab, fig. 26 b, on the left hand side of the shaft, near the edge, running upwards, is, "... suNR : raisti : aftir : sun : sina :" i. e. " (NN's) son erected this to his soUy" and then running downwards the name " murkiblu." On the right hand side of the shaft, running upwards, are the words, " UGIGAT : asuir : athigrit," and then down again, very faintly, the letters, "am: i." The translation of this last paragraph I have not been able to make out, nor do I feel quite sure of the reading of all the letters. I submitted it to the late lamented John Kemble, Esq. and he stated that he could make nothing of it. The stone is decidedly Scandinavian, and the work of a very indifferent country artist. I think it to be older than the three last crosses. Plate X. Fig. 27. The stone containing the inscription here given is built in the stone- work which blocks up ohe of the arches in the nave of Peel Cathedral. It appears first to have been noticed by the Rev. J. L. Petit, M. A. (See Archaeological Journal, Vol. III. page 58.) I have made ineffec- tual applications to have it removed for examination. The difficulty in the way of its removal is a doubt as to whether the ruined buildings of the cathedral are in the hands of the Ecclesiastical or Civil autho- rities. I trust the difficulty may soon be solved. The inscription is not entire, being mutilated at each end and worn in the middle. It seems to read, F [ 34 J *'.... US THENSI EFTIR : ASRITHI : KUNU SINA : DUTUR : UT RAisT. . . ." i.e. " (A. B. erected this cr)oss to Asrith his wife ; the daughter of Ut(f) (Oter ?). C D (carved the runes)." " Kunu" may be a misspelling for " Kuinu," or a later dialect. We have also the variation *' thensi" instead of " thana," " thono," or " thenr." The first two (or three?) letters of " dutur" are imperfect, and they may be either " dot" or " mu," the word then reading " dottur" for "daughter," or "mutur" (muthur) for " mother." As we have the name " Utr" (Oter) in the Braddan fragment, Plate VIII. fig. 23, I conjecture this may be the next name in this inscription. We have only then the word " raist," (carved) remaining legible, which in itself gives us no information. Plate XI. Figs. 28 a and 28 b. This cross, which stands on the north side of the churchyard gate of Kirk Michael, is in many respects remarkable. It is at once seen that it differs in toto from any of the former which have been considered. The work is in pannels, after the Irish type. The figures (as for instance the Harper) are after the same mode. The names in the inscription are all Gaelic. The inscription is written at the hack of the stone, downwards, horizontally, and upwards, and in runes of a peculiar character. The runes and language, in the opinion of Professor Miinch, are of a later date. The inscription is all but perfect, though a part of it is now buried in the wall. I read it thus : " NIAL : LUMKUN t RAISTI : CRUS : THANA : EFTIR : MAL : MURU : FUSTRA : SINA I DOTiR : DUFGALs : KONA : OS : ATHisi : ATI J " i.e. " Niel Lumkun raised this cross to Maelmor his foster-mother, daughter of Dugald the Keen, whom Athisi had {to wife)."" Professor Miinch reads the first word Mai and fustra sin ok, for *' FUSTRA SINA;" also, Lufkals, for "dufgals;" and is, for "os;" translating with some hesitation the inscription " Mai Lumkun, and the daughter of Lufkal the Keen, whom Athisi had, raised this cross after Malmor his foster-father." [ 35 ] The inscription is given in a slightly different form in Gibson's Camden, page 1458. The beautiful ring of Gaut's cable- work, in the centre of the cross, the disposition also of four triquetras in each corner, forming crosses, as in the Joalf cross, Plate IV. fig. 13, must be noticed. The cable running round the head and down the shaft is terminated at one extre- mity by a snake's head, and at the other by a pointed tail. The human figures on either side appear as holding inverted swords. Reclining on the top of the harp is the figure of a lamb, the long tail of which passes over the head of the harper and hangs down his back. Plate XI. Fig. 29. I have not been able to meet with the original cross to which this inscription belongs. Casts of the inscription are in possession of Sir H. Dryden, Bart., of Canons Ashby, and in the Museum of the Archaeological Institute, Suffolk Street, Pall Mall, and, I believe, also in the Museum of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland, Edin- burgh. It is given in Camden's Britannia, Gibson's edition, p. 1458, and is said (Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. II. Part ii., p. 493), to have been built into the wall of the church of Kirk Michael. Professor Worsaae speaks of it (" The Danes and Northmen," &c., page 285), as from Kirk Conchan. It is in the same character and dialect as the last-named inscription (Plate XI. fig. 28 b), and, like it, has the name Leif in it, of a Gaelic form. The inscription is tolerably distinct, but the meaning obscure, the beginning and end being wanting. TRA : ES : LAIFA : FRUSTRA I GUTHAN *. THAN SON : ILAN .... Plate XI. Fig. 30. The stone from which this drawing was made is in the possession of Mr. H. Quayle, Esq., Clerk of the Rolls, Castletown. It was found in the ruins of the old chapel on the Isle of Man, and has been very incor- rectly drawn in the Gentleman's Magazine. The representation of the crucifixion is remarkable, and of a very [ 36 ] ancient character. The body of our Lord is fully draped. The arms extended (oblatus est quia ipse voluit). The hands and feet pierced. A large brooch of knot-work fastens the robes, which are richly orna- mented at the breast. Above the right arm of the cross, apparently the Divine hand is pointing to the act of crucifixion. On one side we have the Roman soldier, in coat of mail and with a spear; on the other side was probably another, with the reed and sponge. This is very Irish in character. The work was in a large panel. There is no inscription. Plate XL Fig. 31. In a Treen Chapel at West Nappin, in the parish of Jurby, is a Ru- nic stone, as a lintel over a window. It is ornamented on the edge with the guilloche, and is probably a richly carved stone. I have not yet been able to get it extracted. The figure is a rude sketch of it in its present position, made by my friend the Rev. W. Lloyd Jones. Plate XII. Fig. 32. This fragment is in the possession of H. R. Oswald, Esq. of Douglas, and is figured in a paper by him in Vol. II. Part II., page 503, Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It is a slab of green stone, exceedingly hard, and was found by Mr. Oswald on a headland, south of Portsoderic, near a small mound of ruins called the Old Chapel, the remains of one of the many Treen chapels of the Island. The drawing is made partly from the plate accompanying Mr. Os- wald's paper, and partly from a cast in my possession of the upper por- tion. Mr. Oswald informs me that the lower portion, containing the knot-work and figure on horseback, has been stolen from him. This is peculiarly unfortunate, the knot- work of the plate being evidently very imperfect. It is in character very unlike any of the previously noticed Scandinavian crosses, and I hesitate to class it with them. [ 37 ] Plate XII. Fig. 33. This fragment was found by the Italian whom I employed, on a heap of stones near Kirk Maughold churchyard. It is now in the Museum of King William's College. The material is a blue clay-schist. The workmanship is of a very rude character and extremely crooked, as is seen by the figure. The ornamentation is like that of Plate X. fig. 25. It is not inscribed. I would observe here that there are several other stones built into houses about Kirk Maughold churchyard which have traces of carving. Some of these stones have been used as steps to a barn, and are too much worn to make out any particulars. Plate XII. Fig. 34. This small cross, of very rough execution, is near the old church at Kirk Lonan. It is three feet high and one foot ten inches in breadth. Plate XII. Fig 35. This double-wheel cross lies on the ground in Kirk Maughold church- yard, near the east end of the church. It is of sandstone, seven feet four inches long and two feet four inches wide. Plate XII. Fig. 36. This cross is erected in the middle of Kirk Maughold churchyard. It is of sandstone. Height, three feet six inches ; breadth, two feet six inches. Plate XII. Fig. 37. This cross stands on a bank by the road side on the left hand, ascending up from Port le Voillen towards Kirk Maughold church. It was originally in the middle of a field, but was removed to its present locality by the owner some years ago. Some zealous antiquarians have hazarded the conjecture that it points out the extreme limits of sanc- tuary. Height, five feet ; breadth, two feet eight inches. [ 38 ] Plate XIL Fig. 38. This fragment was found last year in a wall near Braddan church by Mr. W. Kneale of Douglas, a zealous Manx antiquarian, and placed in the centre of the churchyard alongside of the beautiful dragon crosses. It is very simple in character and probably not Scandinavian. It is not unlike some of the British crosses of Cornwall. Its height above ground is one foot four inches, width one foot two inches, thick- ness of the stone three inches. Plate XII. Fig. 39. This very rude cross, carved on a small piece of green-stone, stood in the middle of Braddan churchyard ; but it is now broken in two. When I last saw it, only the lower portion was standing in its socket. Plate XIL Fig. 40. This cross, broken in pieces, is in a plantation in Glen Roy, in the parish of Maughold. The portions forming the cross and circles are in relief. It is hardly Scandinavian. Its height is four feet, breadth one foot eight inches. Plate XII. Fig. 41. In a wall opposite the west end of the churchyard of Kirk Bride is a cross, almost in the form of a coffin-lid, cut in a slab of new, red, sandstone, probably found in the boulder clay of the neighbourhood. It differs considerably from any of the others. Its length is four feet, width about one foot four inches. It is not unlikely that in the wall of the old church of Kirk Bride there may be many of the ancient crosses of this locality. I am not, however, aware of any others than the last- named occurring in this parish. The old font near the west door of the church of Kirk Maughold, on the outside, is of very ancient character, seemingly Romanesque. It is much to be hoped that it may be restored to its former position within the church. The last age seems to have been one of special desecration in this respect throughout the Island. I know of an in- I 39 -\ stance where one of these old fonts has been converted into a pig- trough. Plate XIII. Fig. 42 a, b, c, d. At the entrance of the churchyard of Kirk Maughold stands a beautiful pillar cross of the fourteenth century, the four sides of which are represented in this plate. From the nature of the stone (red sandstone), it has suffered much more from the weather than many of the more ancient runic monu- ments. That its erection was subsequent to the Scottish conquest of the Isle, A.D. 1270, is plain from the occurrence on it of the shield bearing the three legs of Man. The junction of the legs on the shield is much more simple than is the case in representations of them at the present day, and they are turned in a different direction. The chalice and book seem to point it out as being the memorial cross of some ecclesiastic, probably represented by the kneeling figure, which has been, by some fanciful authors, declared to be intended for St. Bridget receiving the veil from St. Maughold. The ring and cross, the roses, cinquefoils, and oak-leaves, show that he was a person of some note. The nude figure of our Blessed Lord, on one face of the cross, and the group of the Virgin mother and child on the other, under deeply- recessed and crocketted canopies, have been carved with much force. The erection consists of three parts. The basement of three un- equal steps, the slender octagonal shaft, four feet ten inches high, and an entablature three feet high, consisting of two quadrangular blocks of stone. They have been fastened together with iron clamps and lead. Plate XIII. Fig. 43. I have placed this coffin-lid of a Knight Templar, or military per- sonage, on the same plate with fig. 41, as being probably of the same age with it. This is the ci-devant Abbot-stone of Rushen. The fancy of some early writer having evidently converted an imperfect drawing of the [ 40 ] head and shaft of the cross into the representation of a crozier, others, without examination of the original stone, have followed in the same wake, and, from the occurrence of the sword on the same slab, have asserted that it covered the remains of a sword-bishop, that is, a bishop exercising temporal and spiritual authority. It has really nothing upon it necessarily indicating its connection with an ecclesiastic. It occurs in the garden of Eushen Abbey. Reginald, Bishop of Man in 1225, Olave Godredson, King of the Isle, 1237, Gospatrick, the Norwegian General, 1240, Magnus, the last king of the Norwe- gian line, 1265, and many other high personages, were buried within the sacred precincts of the Abbey of Rushen. OTHER MONUMENTAL REMAINS. Though the objects on the following plate do not all come under the head of monumental remains, and are all of them earlier than the Runic monuments chiefly described in this volume, I think it desirable to give a notice of them along with the former, partly because some of them have disappeared from the Island, and partly because the rest have been either imperfectly or not at all described in any previous work. Plate XIV. Fig. 44. Near the Tynwald hill, on the left hand side of the road leading thence towards Glen Moor, is the Kist Vaen here represented. It was discovered in cutting the road deeper five years ago. I am indebted to the late lamented Professor Ed. Forbes for the drawing made at that time on the spot. There was nothing discovered within the large quadrangular cist excepting a little black mould. The tomb consists of four upright stones with a large cap-stone overhanging, the whole being buried under a mound of earth. The bottom was paved with small pebbles. It is similar to those described as found in Anglesea and the Channel Islands (Archaeological Journal, vol. i. page 142, &c. and vol. iii. page 39, &c.) In the absence of remains we can only con- jecture that it belongs to the aboriginal Pagan period. [ 41 ] Plate XIV. Fig. 45. In a field called " Magher y Chiarn," or the " Lord's field," near the Garth in Marown (the central parish of the Island), occur five upright stones of a gneissose rock or metamorphic schist, standing on a platform of blue clay schist. The two tallest stones are inscribed with crosses deeply cut, like the British crosses in Cornwall and Wales. (See Archaeological Journal, vol. ii. page 77, &c. and vol. iv. page 303, &c. and Westwood in the Archaeologia Cambrensis, vol. i. third series.) The lengths and breadths of the shaft and arms of the inscribed crosses are fourteen inches by twelve, and twelve inches by nine re- spectively. The length of the platform of the crosses is eight feet six inches, and the breadth four feet. The height of the erect stones from three feet to five feet six inches. The whole pile is known by the natives as St. Patrick's chair, and he is traditionally said to have sat there to bless the people. The stones may have been originally set up in a heathen period, and subsequently christianized by the inscription of the two crosses upon them. The inscribed faces of the crosses are towards the west. I am not aware that they have been previously noticed. The valley just below them is called Glen Darragh, or the Vale of Oaks, and on the opposite side of it are the remains of two fine stone circles. Plate XIV. Fig. 46. On an eminence called Castle Curry or Chorry (Castle Gorrey ?) in Kirk Maughold parish, are the remains of a stone circle described by H. R. Oswald, Esq., of Douglas, in the Transactions of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. ii. Part 2. It is, however, needless in the present day to point out the errors which were formerly com- mitted in ascribing all such erections to the Druids, and supposing them to have been temples and places of sacrifice. There are a very large number of such remains still upon the Isle of Man, and a very rich harvest amongst them awaits the labours of antiquarians in this locality. [ 42 ] Plate XIV. Fig. 47. On the decline of a hill, in a field by the road side, a mile and a half south of Laxey, towards Douglas, are two stones called the cloven stones, traditionally the burying-place of a Welsh Prince. Towards the close of the last century the remains were in a much more perfect condition, and were sketched by Feltham for his " Tour through the Isle of Man," from which the figure in this Plate is copied. The sketch is a very imperfect one, and the details not readily made out. The locality seems to have been marked by a small circle of stones (of which the cloven stones are the only two now remaining) surrounding a Kist Vaen, or vaulted chamber. It is interesting as giving an evi- dence that stone circles in general surrounded places of sepulture, and had nothing to do with Druidical sacrifices. Plate XIV. Fig. 48. I have in vain hunted for this stone, of which the drawing is copied from one in the Transactions of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scot- land, Vol. ii. Part 2. In the account there given of it by Mr. Oswald it is said to have been dug up six feet from under ground when the present church was being built, upwards of seventy-five years ago. The stone is a whin stone, rough and in its natural state, the characters strongly marked with some rude instrument. The late Dr. Jamieson remarks upon it in the same volume : " It seems evident that n is a combination of av, and — is the con- " traction for vm. Thus I read it as barbarous Latin for avitum " monomentum, signifying the monument or tomb belonging to an- " cestors. The characters seem pretty nearly to resemble the old " Teutonic as given by Astle, Tab. I. page 64. The initial m in * Mo- " nomentum' has the precise form of that of the specimen of Roman " uncials which he gives from a most ancient copy of the four Gospels " preserved in the Harleian Library (vide Tab. XL p. 84). This MS. " is, he says, with great reason asserted to have been written in Italy " above eleven hundred years ago." It would be well to compare this writing with that on the early in- [ 43 ] scribed stones in Wales given in the " Archseologia Cambrensis," third series, vol. ii. page 319, &c. Plate XIV. Fig. 49. On the " bight of the Pollock Rock," as Sacheverell says in his " History of the Isle of Man," at the entrance to the harbour of Douglas, formerly stood a round castellated tower, given in all old maps and views of the Island, and frequently referred to in Insular History. The last age improved it out of the bay. It was destroyed by order of the Insular Legislature, a.d. 1818. The view I have given of it is copied from Feltham's " Tour through the Isle of Man in 1797 and 1798." Waldron attributes its erection to the Romans, with his usual rashness. The small tower rising up in the centre of it gives it a peculiarity said to belong to Pictish raths. In an old MS. history of the Isle of Man, written at the close of the Civil War, and now in pos- session of M. Hildesley Quayle, Esq. Castletown, it is thus mentioned : " Douglas hath alsoe a most considerable fort strongly built of hard " stone, round in forme, upon which are a mounted tower and 4 pieces " of ordinance. It is commanded by a Constable and Lieut. The *' constable and 2 of the soldiers which are there in continual pay are " bound to lye in this fort every night, and four of the townsmen are " bound to keep watch and ward upon the rampart betwixt the fort " and the towne." Plate XIV. Fig. 50. In the grounds of Lorn House, the residence of the Lieut. Governor of the Isle of Man, is a Roman altar, which formerly was within the walls of Castle Rushen. But it does not properly belong to the Isle of Man. Bishop Thomas Wilson a hundred years ago hinted that it had been brought to the Island from Cumberland, though he does not say by whom. I have little doubt that it was formerly in possession of the family of the Christians of Milltown near Ramsey and of Unerigg Hall near Maryport, having been originally erected at the Roman Station of Ellenborough on the heights above Maryport. In fact, it is described in Hodgson's History of Northumberland, Ft. 2. vol. iii. p. 240, where the inscription is read : [ 44 ] " JOVI AUGUSTO MARCUS CENSORIUS MARCI FILIUS VOLTINIA (tRIBU) CORNELIANUS CENTURIO LEGIONIS DECIM.^ FRETENSIS PR^EFECTUS CO- HORTIS PRIMi*: HISPANORUM IN PROVINCIA NARBONENSE DOMO NEMAN- SENSIS VOTUM SOLVIT LIBENS MERITO." Horsley also, in his " Britannia Romana," gives the same reading. I am indebted to the laborious and accurate investigator of the course of the Roman Wall, John Collingwood Bruce, Esq., of Newcastle-upon- Tyne, for directing my attention to the above authors, by which the question as to whence this altar came is completely set at rest. It will be seen that the stone is considerably worn in one or two places, which renders the above reading rather uncertain. The number and name of the cohort, more especially, is mere matter of conjecture, and must be so until we can determine accurately the legions and cohorts which may at any time have been established in the neighbourhood of Ellen- borough. There is a notice of this altar in the Transactions of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii. part 2. page 499, which does not throw much additional light on the subject. An examination of a cast and several rubbings from the stone, leads me to suggest the following reading : lOVI AVG MCENSORIVS MFLIVOLTINIA CORNELIANVSLEG TRETENSISPRAE FECTVSCOHTUN SISEXPROVINCIA NARBONDOMO NEMAVSVMSLM i.e. Jovi Augusto Marcus Censorius Marci Jilius Voltinia {e tribu) Cornelianus legionis Tret ens is prcefectus cohortis Tungrensis ex pro- vincia Narhonensi domo Nemaus votum solvit libens merito. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Adamson, L. A. Esq. Seneschal, Douglas Allen, W. A. Esq. Preston, 2 copies Ansted, D. T. Esq. M.A. F.R.S. Manchester Street, London Antiquarian Society, Newcastle-on-Tyne Antiquarian Society of Scotland Archaeological Institute of Great Britain Archaeological and Historic Society, Chester Architectural Society, Lincoln Diocesan Asaph (St.), the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of, the Palace, St. Asaph Atkinson, Thos. L. Esq. Camden Road Villas, London Babington, C. C. Esq. M. A. St John's College, Cambridge Bacon, Major C. Seafield, Isle of Man, 2 copies Bagnall, J. N. Esq. Charlemont Hall, West Bromwich Bateman, Thos. Esq. Youlgrave Bath and Wells, the Right Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of, the Palace, Wells Beley, George, Esq. Primrose Cottage, Bootle Blackburn, Rev. John, Prebendary, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Brash, R. Esq. Cork Brooke, Miss Annie, Villa Marina, Douglas Brown, Rev. Abner, M.A. Gretton Vicarage, Uppingham Brown, Rev. T. E., M.A. Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and Vice-Principal of King WiUiam's College, Isle of Man Burman, James, Esq. F.R.S. A. Ballasalla Butterton, the Rev. G. Ash, D.D. Settle Caley, James A. Esq. C.E., F.G. S. Peradenia, Ceylon Caley, Rev. R. L., M. A. Precentor of Bristol Cathedral Campbell, Mrs., 50, Moray Place, Edinburgh Carey, Captain C. Beach House, Castletown Chaproniere, Captain, Millbrook House, Shepperton, 3 copies Christian, W. W. Esq. Water Bailiff, Ramsey Clarke, Rev. G. P., M.A. Repton Clayton, Mrs. St. Heher's, Jersey, 3 copies Collinson, Alfred, Esq. M.D. Oxford Terrace, Hyde Park Collinson, Henry, Esq. Shepperton Cooke, Mr. H. F. Byrom Street, Liverpool Cooper, R. S. Esq. High Street, Bilston CrelHn, J. F. Esq. H.K. Orrysdale, Isle of Man Gumming, Rev. Professor, North Runcton, 3 copies Cunninghame, Patrick T. Esq. H.K. Castletown Curphey, Rev. William, B.A. Dorrington, 2 copies Dainty, Rev. Prebendary, Lichfield Davis, J. E. Esq. C.E. Shelton, Staffordshire Day, General, Mountjoy Square, Dublin Delamotte, Edward, Esq. Farnborough, Hants Dixon, Rev. Robert, D. D. King William's College, Isle of Man Dods, Rev. G., D. D. Great Corringham, Lincolnshire Drinkwater, Deemster, Kirby, Isle of Man, 2 copies Dunraven, the Dowager-Countess, Bridgend, Glamorganshire Dunraven, the Right Hon. the Earl, Adare, Ireland Dutton, the Misses, Villa Marina, Isle of Man Earle, Rev. J., M.A. Oriel College, Oxford Ferrier, Rev. E., M.A. Government Chaplain, Castletown Finch, Richard, Esq. Wigan, 2 copies Floyer, Rev. T. B., M.A. Lichfield Fluitt, Mrs. Dee Hills, Chester Forbes, Mrs. Malew Forbes, Rev. Edward, M.A. Douglas Garrett, Thomas, Junior, Esq. Douglas, 2 copies Garvey, Rev. R., M.A. Salt-Fleetby, Lincolnshire Gawne, Ed. M. Esq. H.K. Kentraugh, 3 copies Gedge, Rev. Sidney, M.A. King Edward VI. 's Grammar School, Birmingham Gell, James, Esq. High Bailiff, Castletown Gelling, Rev. Samuel, Kirk Santon Gill, Rev. W. Vicar of Malew Gooch, Rev. John H., M.A. Heath, Halifax Graham, Rev. J,, M.A. Lichfield Gresley, Charles, Esq. The Close, Lichfield Gresley, Rev. J. M. Over Seile Gurney, Daniel, Esq. F. S. A. North Runcton Hall, Norfolk Haigh, Rev. D. H. Erdington Hall, Mrs. Douglas Hambleton, Rev. Joseph, B.D. London Harpur, H. L. Esq. Coton Hall, Nuneaton Harrison, Rev. Bowyer, Kirk Maughold Harrison, Ridgeway, Esq. Douglas Harrison, William, Esq. Rock Mount, Isle of Man Harvey, Rev. Gilmour, Bursar and Chaplain of King WiUiam's College Henslow, the Rev. Professor, Hitcham Hessey, Rev. F., D.C. L. St. Barnabas, Kensington Hewitt, Halford W. Esq. Lichfield Hewitt, Thomas, Esq. Cork Hill, Lord George, Ranselton, Ireland Hill, Thomas, Esq. Wood Hall, Stockport Hinde, J. H. Esq. Acton House, Newcastle Holland, Charles, Esq. M.D. Stowe, Lichfield Holmes, Rev. A. Patrick, Isle of Man Hodson, T. Esq. The Close, Lichfield Hope, the Hon. Charles, Lieutenant-Governor, Isle of Man, 2 copies Horton, Mrs. Talbot Villas, Rugeley Howard, Rev. William, M.A. (H. M. Inspector of Schools) Headingley, Leeds Howson, Rev. J. S., M.A. Collegiate Institution, Liverpool Hughes, Thos. Esq. Chester Jeffcott, J. Esq. Advocate, Castletown Johnson, Mrs. St. John's Street, Lichfield Jones, Rev. H. L. Clifton Jones, Rev. W. L,, B.A. Douglas Karran, James Esq. Douglas Kelly, Rev. W. Andreas Kermode, Rev. W. Ramsey Kewley, Rev. J. W., M.A. Calton, Leek Kinsey, George W. Esq. Sale Moor, Cheshire Laun, Mons. H. Van, King William's College, Isle of Man Leigh, Miss, Godwell Hall, Congleton Leslie, Rev. R. J., M.A. Bingham, Notts Leversage, P. Esq. Middle Temple Lichfield, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of, Eccleshall Lomax, Mr. T. G. Lichfield Lonsdale, Rev. Canon, 4, Chester Place, London Lucey, William, Esq. Bermondsey M'Adam, Robert, Esq. Belfast M'Calmont, Robert, Esq. 30, Eaton Square, London Mackarness, Rev. J. R. Ham Mackenzie, Rev. W. Crescent View, Douglas M'Meiken, Mr. John, Castletown Malhahide, Lord Talbot de, Malhahide Castle, Dublin Master, Rev. George, Welsh Hampton, Salop Matthews, Frank, Esq. H.K. Glyn Moore Miles, Mrs. R. Bingham, Notts Miller, T. W. H. Esq. Architect, 6, New St. Leicester Moore, Joseph C. the Venerable Archdeacon, Isle of Man Moore, Mrs. Thomas D. Highfield Park, Cheshire Moore, Robert J. Esq. High Bailiff, Peel Moore, W. F. Esq. Tromode, Douglas Morgan, Charles, Esq. Llanelly Murray, Captain H., R. A. Thornton, Isle of Man Oldenbourg, Charles, Esq. Manchester, 3 copies O'Reilly, Mr. J. Rochdale Road, Manchester Oswald, H. R. Esq. Douglas, Isle of Man Peach, Rev. J. J., M.A. Holme Pierrepoint Potts, Rev. Robert, M.A. Trinity College, Cambridge Prosser, Rev. W., M.A. Franby, near Hessle, 2 copies Quayle, John, Esq. H. K. Castletown Quayle, M. H. Esq. Castletown, 3 copies Quirk, Rev. James, Attleborough Quirk, Richard, Esq. H. K. Receiver General, Douglas Reynolds, T. W. Esq. Halton Villa, Preston Brook Reynolds, W. Esq. Warrington Rogerson, J. Esq. *Ballamillighan Russell, Jesse Watts, Esq. Ham Hall Selby, John D. Esq. Selkirk, the Right Hon. the Earl, St. Mary's Isle, 2 copies Simpson, Rev. Samuel, M.A. Douglas Skrimshire, F. C. Esq. Isle of Man Smith, W. J. Bernard, Esq. M. A. Temple Sodor and Man, the Honourable and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of, 3 copies Spode, Josiah, Esq. Hawkesyard, Rugeley Steele, Alexander, Esq. A.M. Ph. D. Crescent, Douglas, 2 copies • Stephen, Deemster, Douglas Stuart, John, Esq. F.S.A. Edinburgh Trollope, Rev. E., F.S.A. Leasingham Underwood, Thomas, Esq. M. D. Castletown Vallance, Henry, Esq. Leinster Gardens, Hyde Park Vallance, John, Esq. 20, Essex Street, Strand Van Voorst, Mr. John, Paternoster Row Vincent, Rev. H. St. Dogmael's, Cardigan Wardell, James, Esq. Portland Crescent, Leeds Wasborough, H. S. Esq. Clifton Way, Albert, Esq. F. S. A. Wonham Manor Welchman, Charles, Esq. Lichfield Westwood, J. O. Esq. Hammersmith Wilks, Miss, Douglas Wilson, Senhouse, Esq. High BaiHfF, Douglas Windele, John, Esq. F.S.A. Cork Wood, William, Esq. Wednesbury Worcester, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of, 24, Grosvenor Place, London York, Philosophical Society of 1^ •'so' 1 fiq (WH^M^Mif^ Q '■•^ .~?^ ^ <^ ^^ , . ^ ^ Si « •s :i ^i ?5 !^ S 5! ■^ c (^ % ^'^5 ."^J ^ S; 1 :^ •> ^ ^ ■S liliySi t ^' -^ it -. ,-^ ri^ ^ -<« ^ -^ •>. ^ s ^ 5 ■V ^ ^ ^ -^ .«e < s^ •^. ;5 •"^ ^ ' < "M > >) J< .i; K.' i^ .2: ■^f ^ ^ r/;. ///. Fig. Sw. Fig. <^h Fig. 10 a.. FigJOd: In. a^ Churchy Yard of Andreas (ya IrA^ MOural Si*0^ Fcg.U Oy. Fig. in. Otv KirkAitdrecuy Oreeriy at t/^ie Chuj'cfo Gates . (^'ia fJr^JVa-titrrtf Size.^ Fig. 12 Fig. 121?. Fra^Tncnt irL-CrardeTV oft/ie Vicarco^, Jurby^ In. tlu^Museunv. Distington (Yit the Natural Si^e^j "^LATE. IV. Fig. 13 a.. Fig. JSc. Fig. /3h. Fig. 13 d. //^ FrorUoftiw^ Ckuroh Oa/es, Kirh MiAlta^l. (y^J2 tfie N't! /' (in (/ Si. -.,->.■ ^ ^ •^ ^ 111' I ? ■I «2 1 V^) I ^ S ^ . *-^' si ^ ^ N ■I I -I :^ .5 ^ ^ ? % yni. Fig. 22 h. Tig. 22cl. St? :i — .; Ti^- 2 3 ay. Fig. 23 b. Su &= ll^iai Fig. 23 c. TT .1^ Fig. 23ci. HI Crosses i^i^ Brculdany Ohyurch-Yard^. (^ tJta jy'cciural' Size' .) PLATE, IX. Fig. 24i Fig. 24cL. Fig. 24(1. Fig. 24 h At Kirk Maughold Church^ Oaley. (yjs the Nuturcd Size.) is If I (J 4£r::: ^ 7<- 5; 4 I I ^ '^ ^ -V- -V ■V •<5 I 4 J ^ » si- ^ I "^^ ^ is I" .^■-^ ;- Vv-' ^xi:j,j\jj/. Fig. 42a. 17^. 42 e. Fig. 42 d^. Fig. 42o. Kirk Ma.ud>/haUL CItiorch GaU^. ^ "^,. •?>•. Greek: ^ Corvsicin'ti/^opolltccnyj IjjrcLiz.7t^ a-rt.ci. ordLn^icry- HuTt^lo . A D&T E F CfcK H I&J L M A B&TT A&T © E ^ ^ ^ I s u Y A M N Q P Z T A T < \ A N m V 1 f^ I X p T E F B ? s \ \ 1 \ T&K r \ Y ^ 1 h ^ ^ OhservcclcoTts r f r Y 1^ Y t r Y £olh dhe' alder ft?vcL7^€r 3fan:c7tuTicc Alp7ict3el'$ have \ a*y t^e symi^ol ^r B iTtslead of the ordinary rune ^ ^whilst Insletzd of the ordinctTy ru?t£^^ T for O, ihey dolJv Tutve (^ , ITiey are bot/L na?tlirv^ in a'7^y ruTze for H aitd Y , Ph& ordi7ut?y ruTte^ for wMc/iare % anil /K . Yei thej" bofhy have a^ rune I for E whCcTv is wan^in^ irty ?nany of t7i€ rurizc aiphahef^, hut not yvantln£i7vScandznatian The Older aru/y Jj oierManx Jtunic Alph/zhels d^/er in the ruTzes for A , D, N aTvd S . whilst 171 t?i&se letters' lite la^er lifarue runes correspond wrlh the o?^dinarj- rune,^ exceptlTTglTV tJietorm. ofihe S. ?^\^N^: t\^ LIBRARY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. THIS BOOK IS DUE BEFORE CLOSING TIME ON LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW ^"^^ REC'DLD Utok^/u-2PM<>f 5 ^ < u "O ni -J CO > ar> tr ^ St! < q: eg o CQ Jl^ -1 LiJ q: CO -tfcr Z B£O.OBfc ^^-^'^ 1^ r3 -ca. fl .in :^ I? DO O m iii_ o o O V fee:. 8 77 LD 62A-30m-2,'69 (J6534sl0)9412A — A-32 General Library University of California Berkeley 'omimm m -!^> tO! g^i ll ^ ^ 034