0 2 PROCEEDING SOCIETYSE 0¥TH , DECEMBE , 1876R11 .

II. O MONUMENTAOTW N L STONES "WITH INSCRIPTION- RE S CENTLY DISCOVERED IN . BY GILBERT GOUDIE, ESQ., F.S.A Scot. face tTh that Ogham-inscribed monuments have been found onl Celtiyn i c districts, or in districts where Celtic influences have at one time prevailed, invests with considerable interest the discovery of relics of this descrip- tio n outlyini n g districts wher Celtiw efe c traceremain.w no s Sucs i h th ee Shetlan casth n ei d Islands, wher Pictise eth h peopl languagd an e e have disappeared befor Scandinaviae eth n racTeutonid ean c dialect, which have held entire island e swath morr n yi sfo e tha nthousana d years. Only five specimen Ogham-inscribef so d stones have hitherto been found e mainlanoth n f Scotlando d n IrelanI . d Walean d s the e mucyar h more common. The Scottish consist of the well-known Scoonie th ; e Stone, presente Museue th o dt 186mn i 6stone th ; e froe churchyarth m f Aboyneo d a cas ,f whico te s addeth wa ho t d collection in 1873 by the Marquis of Huntly ; the stone in the Museum Duke oth fSutherlan f eo t Dunrobida thad n t Logie-Elphinstone;an a t , Aberdfienshire. e yeath r n 186I e Bressath 4 y Stone a sla, f chloritbo e slate richly sculpture reliefw lo ,n d i wit n Oghaha m inscriptio e edgeth n , o nfoun d in the island of that name in Shetland, was presented to the Museum by the late Rev r HamiltonD . n 187I smalle.1a r slab, bearin e incisegth d outlin crossa f eo , wit n Oghama h inscription, e Brocfounth f n hi o d Burrian islane th Nortf n do i , h Eonaldsey Orkneyn i , s presentewa , y b d Dr Traill of "Woodwick ; and, more recently, a fragment with two letters in the same character was found in the parish of Cunningsburg, in Shetland, by Mr Eobert Coglo,—these discoveries thus adding Shetland provincOrknew d ne e knowan a th s o yea t n domai f Oghano m relics. The Scottish Ogham monuments wer el eigh thual number—fivn n i tsi e fromainlande mth froe mon , twd an o, from Shetland—untie th l stone exhibitew sno d were discovere summee th n di f 1876ro . The best known remain antiquitf so Shetlann yi Standine th e dar g Stones and sepulchral cairns, and the Brochs or circular towers of the , which have appeared so frequently in the Proceedings of this Society, and have contributed so largely to the collection in the Museum. But there is another MONUMENTAO ONTW L STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS1 2 .

class—the early ecclesiastical remains, whic alse har o numeroust no d an , less interesting islane th f Unstn do I . , twenty-four site churchef so e sar said to have been identified;J and the other districts, if carefully examined, would probably show number proportionn si , thoug mosn i h t casee th s remain n ruii r have no ar se entirely disappeared r HenrSi . y Dryden, who has done so much for the antiquities of the North, has taken the measurement a numbe f o s f theso r e remain n the~northeri s n districts; those elsewhere have bee t littlnbu e noticed. On the west side of the southern promontory of the Shetland mainland, in the parish of , is the small isle of St Mnian's (locally termed t Eingan's)S , wit chapea site f heth o l presumably dedicate thao dt t saint, and which seems to have survived the Reformation, and to have been in existence within comparatively recent times. excepe w accoune f I remarkable th t th f o t e voyag f Mcoleo o Zenoe th , Venetian yeae th r n i ,1380 firse th , t detailed descriptio Shetlane th f no d Islands is given by Buchanan (1582),2 in which no mention is made of St Ninian's Isle. It appears, however, as " S. Tronons Yle " in Timothy Fonts' map, prepared about the year 1608, and published in the great e Blaeuatlath f f so Amsterdam. so 3e rea b Thiy d eithema s mis a s a -r print for St Eonon's Isle, or possibly as St Tronon's, seeing that, accord- inBishoo t g p Porbes t NiniaS , s beenha n know n somi n e northern district Englanf so t Trinyon.S s da 4 In addition to the figure of a house surmounted by a cross denoting a church, there is adjoining to it, on the map, the mark indicating a man- sio hamletr no , most probabl remaine yth whaf originalls o wa t ymona - astic residence, and latterly the dwelling of the resident priest up to the Eeformation disappeared.w l whicno al s t hha bu , 5 1 Sir H. Dryden, Bart.—Ruined Churches in Shetland. Privately printed, 1868. 2 Rerum Scoticarum Historia, apud Alex. Arbufhnetum. Edin., 1582. 3 Orbis Theatrum Terrarum. Amsterdam, 1654. 4 Live t Niniat KentigernS S f so d nan . 256p , . I do not know to whom the island belonged prior to the middle of the seventeenth 5 centuryd Augus2 n O t . 1667 e land th merks8 , (1 s ) were wadsette o Laurenct d e Stewart of Bigtowu by James Sinclair of , with consent of Arthur Sinclair, s eldeshi t d sonGrizean , l Sinclair, heires f Houso s s (Oondeseendence n Process,i James Scott v. J. B. Stewart, 1779). In 1709 the isle was conveyed by Charles Stewart of Bigtowu to his son John Charles Stewart (Register of Sasines, General Register House). n 173 I e propertth 2 y devolve o Clementint d a Stewart, thea n 2 2 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , DECEMBE , 1876R11 .

The island is pretty accurately described by the Kev. Mr Brand, in the year 1701 follows a , s :— Norte th o "h NesT e Westh sf o lyet t Ninian'sS s Isle, very pleasant; wherein ther Chappe a Alta whereoit eis ane in r land n some superstitious Peopl buro ed n Candle thio st s day. Some take this Islea rathee b o t r kin f Peninsulado , joyne e MaiBana th y f o nSanddb t ko whicy b , n hi int Peoplo b Islee g aoth ny Eb , ema tho ' sometime without sno t danger."1 The resemblanc eIsle herWhithornf th e o o et supposee th , e d th sit f eo original Candida Casa of the Saint, is striking. It, too, at present a pen- insula, is, I believe, insulated at certain tides; suggesting the idea that the founders of St Ninian's in Shetland were not unacquainted with the little isle in Galloway which was consecrated by the life and labours of e saintth . Indeed s especiall knoe wa w ,o w Apostle wh thayth e h t e of> the Britons, and of the Southern Picts, was also revered as a father by the of Ireland, to whom Whithorn was a favourite resort. And as on the mainland, close to the Isle of Whithorn, a splendid church and a priory were in the course of time erected, so we find that there was also adjoinine onth g mainlan Shetlandn di placa t a , e bearin e suggestivgth e nam f Ireland,eo 2 ver yt Ninian' S nea o t r s Isle churc,a f moro h e than usual pretension walle steeplth d , san f whiceo h were standin lato s gs ea 1711.3 There is reason to believe, on the authority of Brand (1701), that this was a church with a round tower, like the famous Church of Egilsey in Orkne I hav t ye bu • sough vestigy , thoug an it vai n f i r t e o fo n th h spo whicn o believets i t hi havo dt e ctoo bees y b dha e n m pointe o t t dou natives, whose account from tradition entirels i , y consistent with whae w t learn regarding it otherwise. Brand's descriptio t Ninian'S f o n s Isle-is repeate Martiy db n (1703),* •and in Sir Eobert Sibbald's book, published in 1711,6 it is particularly minor r marriag, whohe n o , 174n i e Joho t 4 n Bruee (Stewart), dispone whole th d e lands to him (Henry Blair v. J. B. Stewart, Nov. 18, 1783); and he, it is stated, demolished the remains of the chapel and built the retaining wall. It ceased to he inhabited abou year0 16 t s ago, whe peae nth t fuel failed. 1 Brief Descriptio Orkneyf no , Zetland, Pightland-Firth Caithnessd an , ,y &cB . the Rev. John Brand, 1701, p. 84. 2 Perhaps, however, thi modera se b nam y n eforma Eyrr-land,f mo placa e adjoin- gravella g in ysea-shoree banth y kb . 3 Descriptio Islee th Shetlandf f s. o Sibbaldn o R r Si ., . 171136 . p , 4 Descriptio Westere th f no n Isles . Martin&c , , 1703. 5~0p.. cit.,36 . p MONUMENTAO ONTW L STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS3 2 .

referred to in much the same way. Dr Arthur Edmondston, the historian of Shetland (1809), give passina t si g notice, wit allusion ha tradia o nt - churce th o tiot h s nhavina g heen erecte Dutaa y db h captai acknown i - ledgment of preservation from a storm at sea 1—a tradition common to many similar sites in the islands, but which does not deserve serious notice. The isle is again referred to by Dr Hibbert (1822), who (quoting Eev1770)f e o r Low'th . M . , sMS state s that— lowee "distinctle Th h r kirstoree y th k ma f yyo traced, which, having once been vaulted, is supposed to have served for a burying place." And lastly, Mr T. S. Muir, in his Ecelesiological Sketch, bewails the disappearance of these slight traces when he examined the site in 1862.2 In July last I visited the island, in company with the Eev. J. C. Eoger, hope th f bein eo n i g abl traco et e some portion e foundatioth f so e th f no chapel possibld an , f findinyo g some reli f earlco y timest scarcelBu . ya trace remained of the shrine of St Mnian. Time and, still more, the barbarous han f man o dd accomplishe ha , s demolitionit d , almost every stone t earthfasno , r beneato t e surfaceth h , having been removea y db late proprietor build a retainin s an , a t g wale onlth l y t a clospoin , eby t wher isle eaccessible—ths th ei e terminatio beace th f sanf ho no d which connects it with the mainland. Though the chapel has thus disappeared, and the island is now entirely devoted to grazing purposes, the site retains a traditional sacredness in the eyes of the natives of the neighbouring mainland district whoso t , e forefather bees manr ha n fo t i sy age lase sth t resting place—interments having been discontinued only within the memor e presenth f yo t generation. desolatios wa l d silencAl nan e e moaninexcepth e waves r th fo tf go , screechine th f sea-fowle o bellowing th d an , f cattlepredictioge o Th . n popularly ascribed to St , in reference to the future of his island sanctuary, seemed to be more literally fulfilled here than even in loua : The time shall come when lauding monks shall cease, And lowing herds here occupy the place. Indeed ther soms ewa e difficult prosecutinn i y gsearce a site e th th ,n ho cattle contesting possession of the ground, and tossing the skulls and

Vie1A w Anciene oth f Presend an t t Zetlane Statth f eo d Islands ,. 116 p vol . .ii . 2 Shetland. An Ecelesiological Sketch. Privately printed. 1862. 4 2 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , DECEMBE , 1876R11 .

trampling the bones which are strewn about the sand-blown surface, or protrude from beneath. Some of the interments are evidently of great ag e; other e comparativelsar y modern tombstoneo Tw . prostratew no s , bearing dates about forty year smalleo s tw back d r an ,stone s with rudely cut initials, were apparently the only inscribed monuments remaining. But on a more careful search I found embedded in the sand a monument e earliesth of t times—the Ogham-inscribed stonexhibitedw eno d an , whic hI hav e honouth e f presentino r r acceptancfo g Societye th y b e . Two other stones, similarly inscribed I soo, n after found. They were fragments, somewhat deface exposurey b d d havan , e since disappeared, but I hope to be able to recover them. The stones originally composing the fabric of the church, and now forming the retaining-wall before referred wer, to e also examined carvino n t ,bu r lettering o founds gwa . The stones are naturally smoothface n regulai d an dr layers havd an , e been brought apparently from the cliffs opposite on the mainland. The attentio r RogeM f no r having y thib , s discovery, been directed e subjecth f o suct o t h early inscribe ds sincrelicsha ee h kep, s hi t eyes open to purpose; and within a month after our visit to St Mnian's Me, he found in a cottage in the parish of Lunnasting, 30 or 40 miles distant a ston, e also bearin inscription ga n Oghai n m charactersd an , which I have now the pleasure to present, in his name, for your accept- ance. The inscription is in an admirable state of preservation; and it is remarkable thae stoneth tforme e states th a , y b dr possessor founs wa , d at a depth of 5 feet from the surface, in a moss at a distance of some miles froknowy man n ruin. have W e thus thesy b , e discoveries additio n Oghaa o , tw f mno monu- ments unrecovereo (besidetw e th s d fragment t Mnian'sS t e a sth o t ) eight previously known to us as existing in . The St Mnian's

FIG. 1.—Edg t Niuiau'S f eo s Stuue. stone is an'oblong almost rectangular slab of sandstone 2 ft. 6J in. long, by 10J in. broad, and 2 in. in thickness. The inscription is perfectly distinct t unfortunatelbu , y imperfec ende on , t whera t stone eth e appears to be fractured. ON TWO MONUMENTAL STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS. 25 The Lunnasting 8£in. stonft 3 .s ei breadthn i long . y abouin b , 3 , 1 t and 1-1 in. in thickness, and is in- scribed on the flat surface (see fig. 2.) The St Ninian's stone is a care- fully prepared slab, such as would not be much out of place in a modern churchyard- im t ; indeedno s i t i , probable tha sidehavs y tit sema been sculptured, althoug scaline th y hb g surfacee th off o fpositivo n , e traces of this have been lefb. The Lun- nasting stone, thoug a hfin e clay- slate, smoothfaced, ia very mucn hi s naturait l state—a weird-like waif, most strikingly suggestiv ruda f eo e distric remota d an t e age. Through the kindness of Dr John Stuart opportunite th I hav, d eha y of submitting the inscriptions on both stones to Dr Ferguson of Dublin eminene ,th t Ogham scholar, who pronounces them most interest- ing specimens, and undoubtedly Celtic. Mr W. F. Skene, LL.D., s alsha o favoure e wits m dhi h views, which concur with those expresse Fergusonr D y db I hav. e further to express my indebtedness to Sir Henry Dryden, Bart., for kind suggestions, in reference to the read- ing, and, generally, to Mr Anderson, our curators valuablhi r fo , e aid, so readily accorde evero dt y member of the Society in investigating ques- tions of history or archaeology. FIG. 2.—Lunnastiiig Stoue—Face. 6 2 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , DECEMBE , 1876R11 . e characterTh n boto s h stones present divergences froe usuamth l types on the Irish and Welsh monuments. In the case of the St Ninian's stone, the inscription is on the edge ; in the Lunnasting stone it is on the face; while most generall stone cornere yth th fleasghe uses f eth i o s da or stem-line. Again n boti , h stones ther lettere ar e s forme digity b d s projected obliquely fro stem-line mth eithen eo r side, instea s mora , edof generally, at right angles to it; and in the Lunnasting stone, as in the Orkney one, the further ends of these strokes forming each separate letter are connected by a cross line (see fig. 2). The Luunasting stone also bears combination d markingan s s which entirele seeb mo t y new. Apart froe inscriptiomth n proper, therincisen a s i e d marking, resembling, at first sight, a rudely-formed cross, the. Runic character >*» (M)masonia r o , c mark t thougbu ; h this strange figur s probabli e f yo cardinal significanc t e interpretationwitnouth ye s n e i a e th te ar e w , mean determininf so s charactegit valuer o r . These peculiarities present,, obstacles to interpretation by any of the common keys, explaines a 1 anciene th n di t Irish manuscripts would an , d seem to suggest the inference that these Shetland monuments and the Orkney specimen before referre examplee ar o d t systea f so r schoomo f o l Ogham writing in the founded upon the original Irish models, but developing in the course of time independent characteristics of its own. Attributing, however, to the characters the powers of those most nearly resembling them according to the ordinary alphabet, the St Ninian's stone reads— (****) ESMEQQJSTAJSTAMMOFFEST Lunnastine th d an g stone— EATTUICHUEATTS: MAHEADTTANNN: HCCFFSTEF: NCDTONS The latter especially seems a strange and inexplicable aggregation of consonants; but while a satisfactory rendering of neither stone has yet

Account illustrationd san Oghae th f so m alphabe Booe givee th ar Ballyf t ko n i - 1 mote (written about 1370) e Booth ,f Leiuster ko Booe th f Lecakfacd o d an an ,- n; similes have been published by the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland e WelsTh .h Ogham monument e figurear s n Hubner'i d s recent work, " Inscriptiones Britanuias Christian*," Berlin, 1876. The Irish monuments are described from tim e Proceeding timo eth t n ei e Royath f so l Irish Academy. ON TWO MONUMENTAL STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS. 27

been got I trus, t that longe er , , throug r FergusohD otherr no s skillen di Celtic philology n possessioi e shal w e ,n explanatioh a l f o n f theio n r meaning which will restore to us, in all likelihood, the long-lost names of two Celi-De1 (" Culdees Pictisr "o ) h saints, these monuments seldom con- taining more than the mere name and father's name of the person com- memorated ; as in the celebrated bi-lingual stone found at St Dogmael's, near Cardigan e inscriptioth o t , whic n t Mnian'no S e h th tha n s o t stone bear markesa d resemblance whicd an , h reads— Sagramni maqi Cunotami wit equivalene hth Roman i t n characters Sagrani Fili Cunotami « = Sagrani the son of Cunotam.1 The presence in some form of meqq, meccii, maqi, ( = " son,") which w e e Bressat Ninian'S th fin d n o yan her d s ean stones a strikin s i , g peculiarity very frequen thesn i t e inscriptions. While we are thus as yet without a satisfactory interpretation of their inscriptions, what may we venture to assume as the historical import of these Shetlan Orkned dan ye concluded b monument y ma t I I thin, s1 k 1st. That they are of Celtic origin. 2d. That the Christiae yar n memorials. 3d. That thei e determiner b datey ma s e Scandinaviaprios a dth o rt n occupation of the islands in the ninth century. If these positions can be satisfactorily established, the stones have an important historical bearin g; the y stand s materialbefora s u e an- din dubitable proofs of a fact, the probability of which could only be based previously upon inference and conjecture, viz,, that the Irish monks penetrate o thest d e Norther e nearl th Isle yn i smiddl e agesd an , that Christianity, introduce y themb d , flourished amon e Pictisth g h inhabitants long before the overthrow of the latter in the 9th century by the Pagan . The introduction of Christianity in the Northern Isles is usually f Osmuno y ascribe Ba e incidend e walth th n Orkneyo i t ld n i t , when,

i This ston figures i e Arck/xologia th n di Cambrensis Aprir e fo th ln i 1860 d an , 1 •'Inscriptiones Britannia: Christianas," supra oit. See also Mr Whitley Stokes's Three Irish Glossaries, p. 56, 28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 11, 1876. yeae th r n 1000i Eare ,th l Sigur compelles dwa d hy King Olaf Trygvisson, sworde poine 'ath th t f abjuro o tt , n e me Tho Odind s withi d an r l an ,h al to accept instead the Christian, faith and baptism.1 Indeed the chronicles e Norsemeoth f n would almost imply thab the islands wer t onlno ey destitute of Christianity, but actually uninhabited, before their arrival. " In the days of Harold of the Fair Hair," according to the , " the Orkney Isles were settled," or colonized, " but previously they were a retreat of Vikings."2 And the Saga of King Harold Harfagr, which describes more in detail the overthrow of those Vikings, wholly ignores in the same way the aboriginal inhabitants. The existence of the Pictish islanders, whether eventually exterminated by, or amalgamated with, their Scandinavian conquerors, need not, how- ever doubtede b , . e Orkne"Th y Islands were discovere conqueredd dan (by Agricola) Thuld seen,s an , ewa " says Tacitus;3 accordin Eutropiuso gt , they were added to the Eoman Empire a short time before this (about the year A.D. 43), by the Emperor Claudius.* "The Orkneys were steeped in Saxon gore, while Thule ran warm with the blood of Picts,"5 says Clau- dian,—whatever weight we may be disposed to attach to such testimony from, classic authors. Coming e dowMiddlth o nt e Ages, wer lik, ewe Mr Fergusson, in his " Eude Stone Monuments," to follow Geoffrey of Mon- inouth (1147) as a trustworthy guide, we should accept the islands, on his authority, as not only inhabited,6 but as also Christianised (as undoubtedly they s were)contributina d an , e earlth yt ga tim speakf e whiceo ar e h-w ingvere th , y flowe f Christiao r n chivalry—Sir Gawayn r GarethSi , r Si , Gaherys and Sir Agravayne, sons of Lot, King of Orkney—to the brother- hood of the Bound Table at Arthur's Court at Caerleon !r But though all history were silent, and all romancing discarded, the

accoune th e Orkneyinga e th Se n i t Sage th Olaf ao n Saga, i f d Trygvissonan . 1 dogumA Harallds hins lidrfac/ra bygdus Orknceyiar, enn ddr var titar Vikinga- 2 b'oli.—Orkneyinga Saga. • 3 Insulas quas Orcades vacant invenit domuitque ; dispecta est et Thule. —Tacitus —"Life of Agricola." 4 Quasdam insulas etiam ultra Brittaniam, Oceanoin positas Samano imperio addidit quce appellantur Orcades.—Eutropius, Lib. vii. 6 Madwrunt Saxonefuso Orcades, incaluit Pictormn sanguine Thule,—Claud. Historia Sritonum, chap, . ix.&c , 6

M'irta L e e Se d'Arthur , passim. 7 MONUMENTAO ONTW L STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS9 2 .

Pagan Picts of the Northern Isles have yet left enduring monuments behind them, whose evidence canno gainsaid,—the b t e Broehs, monoliths, cairns, and megalithic circles, which, as Malcolm Laing observes, were grey with the moss of ages before the first Norwegian prow touched the shores of Orkney; and the Ogham-inscribed monuments discovered withi yearlase w nth fe t s establis facte hth sexistence botth f ho e ane dth Christianisatio thosf no e early tribes beyon ddoubta . A lingering belief has indeed come down the ages that the religion of the Cross flourished among the Picts until it was overwhelmed by the torrent of Gothic Paganism, which deluged the islands with the arrival of the Norsemen in the ninth century. It is stated by the chroniclers that books, bells, and crosiers, left by Irish missionaries, were found there firs e Eercn i th t y d settlersnamee b an th Papf d so Papylid an ; aan , still preserved in Iceland, Orkney, and Shetland, have been regarded (with goo apparentdw reasonno s i referrins s a )a , retreate th o g t f thos so e early Culdee saints.1 Express reference to their contemporary existence with the Picts is made in a native document, the Diploma of the Genealogy e Orkneoth f y Earls, prepare t Kira d k wall, abou e yeath t r 1453r fo . King Eric (the Pomeranian) Thomasy b , thee th ,n " Bishop grace th ey b , of God and of the Apostolic see, of Orkney and Zetland." According to this document:— "In the time of Harold the Hairy (Contains) King of , who was in possession of the entire kingdom, this land or country of the Isles of Orkne inhabites ywa cultivated dan nationso tw y db , namely Pete th , i and the Pape (inliabitata et culta duabus nationibus scilicet Peti et Pape) which two nations were utterly uprooted and destroyed by the followers doughte oth f y Prince Eognald presseo s o d,wh upon those natione th f so Peti and Pape that none of their posterity remained. But true it is that the land was not then called Orkney, but the land of the Pets, as is clearly verifie a chronicl y b d e extan t dividina thia t se s e dayth g y ,b Scotland and Orkney, which sea to this day is called the Petland Sea

presumee b y ma d1t I that in Shetland, befor devastatioe eth Northmene th y nb , the Culdees (Celi-DS) were established at Papal in tlnst, Papal in Yell, Papil in t Papa Burrd a an Stou a; r (Big), Papa f ScallowayLittleo Papd y an Ba ,a e inth . (See Orkneyinga Saga, p. xx.; and also paper by Captain Thomas, E.N., in the Pro- ceedings, vol. xi. part ii.) 30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 11, 1876.

(quod usque ad hodiernum diem mare Petlandicum apellatur), as distinctly follow n thesi s e chronicles. King Harol e Hairth d y first landen i d Shetland wit fleets thereafted hhi an , Orkneyn i r d conferrean , saie dth d Orkney and Shetland upon the before-named Prince Eognald the Stout, by whose followers the foresaid two nations were overthrown and destroyed, as our chronicles clearly show."1 The Pets foregoine referreth n i obviousl e o dt gar Pictse yf th ther I . e e th t e resPapea y th b t t o se weres wh i doub y shoulo t t i an , s a te b d Icelandic chroniclers. The Landndmabok, the colonization register of Iceland, states that— " Before Icelan colonises dwa d from Norway wern eme , living there whom the Northmen called Papas; they were Christians, and it is thought they came over the sea from the west." ArWise th i e repeat same sth e story addsd cleas an , ,wa r "that I t they were Irishmen." 2 Thi affirmes i d furthe ancienn a n i r t document Ohronicone ,th Norvegice- (evidently the " Chronicle" referred to in the Diploma), which contains a remarkable account of both the Papas and the Picts.3 Apart, however, fro mvagua e referenc Shetlano et Irise th hy d b mon k Dieuil (A.D. 825), we have only one recorded visit by these Christian missionaries, relate Adamnany db biographee th , t ColumbaS f o r . About 1 Wallace's "Account of the Islands of Orkney," &c., 1700, p. 121. 2 Orkneyinga Saga. Introduction, pp. xii. xiii. Chronicone 3Th Norvegice f whic (o e onl hth y known transcript, bearin havo gt e been the property, in 1554, of Robert Eeid, and Zetland, is pre- served at Panmure House, in a hand apparently of the 15th century) is almost un- known in this country ; but was printed by Professor Munch of Christiania, in his Symbolm ad Historian Antiquiorum Rerum Nm-veginorum, 1850. The following passag :—6 e. p occur , it n si De Orcadibus Insulis. Istas insulas primitus Pet t Pape i e inhabitabant. Horum alteri scilicet Peti parvo superantes pigmeos statur n structurii a s urbium vesper t mane e e mira operantes meredie vero cunctis viribus prorsns destitut subterranein i i s domunculis prsetirnore latuerunt. Sed eo tempore non Orchades ymmo terra Petorum dicebantur, unde adhuc Petlandicum Mare ab incolis appellatur quod sejungit insulas a Scocia. .... Qni populus unde illuc adventasset penitus ignoramus. Pape vero propter albas vestas quibu t clericu s i induebantur vocati sunt, und theutonicn ei a lingua omnes clerici Pape dicuntur. Adhuc quedam insula Pape illib ya s denomiiiatur. ON TWO MONUMENTAL STONES WITH OGHAM INSCRIPTIONS. 31

the year 580, Cormac, one of the followers of the saint, proceeds to the islands, protecte influence th y db Columbf eo a with Bruidh Meilkonc eMa , Northere Kinth f go n Picts t whosa , e cour Nesste e castlth ath t a n , eo native chief or king (regulus) was present at the time of Columba's visit.1 Unfortunately the account given of St Cormac's mission is very meagre. Wha sawe h t , resultse wha th dide h d lefte ar an ,t unrecorded. BuOghae th t m nioaunients which have been found latelislandse th yn i , coupled with the local traditions, the historical indications referred to, and the early dedications still remaining to saints more Celtic than Scandina- vian, while all other Celtic traces have been swept away, leave no doubt as to a Christianity existing in pre-Scandinavian times. Oghams are, as we know, an occult form of monumental writing prac- Celtie tiseth y cdb ecclesiastic earle th f yso Middl e Ageshave W e. seen that the Irish missionaries were no strangers to the Northern Isles in those earl conclusioe y th ages d an ; s irresistibleni , bot philologican o h l historid an c grounds, that these Orkne Shetland yan d stone Celtic,e sar — say o t worthae ,th s i tk Irise eitheth hf o rmissionar y monks (the Pape before referred f nativo to) r ,o e Picts instructe themy db . Such being e caseth , these monument e ncessarilar s y Christian s i atteste s a , d further, in the cases where sculpturings occur, by their style of art, and the symbols which they bear. If, therefore, Celtic and Christian, we can- t supposno e e earlietheb o mt r e thaCelti e th visi nth f o ct missionary Cormac contemporare th , t ColumbaS f yo , abou yeae A.D0 th t 58 r.; nor , unles sa Christia n remnan havn ca te survived ami e exterminatinth d g paganism of the Norsemen, can they be assigned to a later date than the invasio yeae e latteth th r f n i ro n872 . s thusi Thei e ,ag rpresumably , frothousane mon thirteeo dt n hundred years. These Ogham monuments speak to us, therefore, with no uncertain sound, across a wide chasm of time. They are monuments of Celtic Shetlan n thai d t early period betwee e terminatioth n e Eomath f o nn occupation of Britain and the ascendancy of the Norsemen in Northern Europe; when Anglo-Saxons rule Englandn di Pictd Scotd an , san s pos- sessed divided sovereigntie Scotlandn si fusee er , d intunitee oon d nation by the powerful arm of Kenneth Macalpin. These stones also remind us forcibl f thayo t long nigh f ignoranco t whicn ei h Europe lay, when lona 1 Adamnan, Vita Sancti Columloe, Lib. II. cap. xliii. 32 .' PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 11, 1876. pierced the gloom by a light which, radiating from it, illumined far anu near; when s soa , eloquentl e Couny th tol Montalemberte y d b t e th , Monk Wese th f tso penetrated intremotese oth t region barbaroue th f so s north, preaching a higher life and a nobler faith. In all the circumstances, there can be little doubt that this SI Ninian's Isl n Shetlani e a sea f s thoso t dwa e Christian heroe thousansa d years ago, an isle of saints, a second lona or Lindisfarn, a centre of light for the adjacent mainland and isles. But all is now gone, without a vestige except this Ogham, monument, and the imperishable name of St Ninian, t of thei o tel s rlu lives, their labours theid an , r deaths— " In Paradise Ecclesise Virtutum ex dulcedine Spirame t aroraatunda m Niuianus cffilestiuuj."