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Home , Arabic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Ogham, Phoenician alphabet, Runes

ite atu Vo l a t n . o R So . R e t ed T a . . 1 1 87 " p r ro f r r , , r ,

THE - AND - MUSHAJJAR

A STU Y .

BY RICH A R D URTO N F . ,

e ad an uar 22 (R y ,

PART I .

The O ham-Run .

e n u IN tr ating this first portio of my s bj ect, the

- I of i Ogham Runes , have made free use the mater als

r John collected by Dr . Cha les Graves , Prof. Rhys ,

and other students, ending it with my own work in

the Islands . i The Ogham , the fair wr ting of

' Babel - loth ancient , is called the ,

’ Bethluis Bethlm snion e or , from its initial lett rs, like “ ” Gree co- oe Al hab e t a an d the Ph nician p , the Arabo “ ” Ab ad fl d ebrew j . It may brie y describe as f b ormed y straight or curved strokes , of various

lengths , disposed either perpendicularly or obliquely to an angle of the substa nce upon which the letters

n . were i cised , punched, or rubbed In monuments

supposed to be more modern , the letters were traced , b T - N E E - A HE OGHAM RU S AND L M USH JJ A R .

n not on the edge , but upon the face of the recipie t

f n l o t sur ace ; the latter was origi al y wo d , s aves and tablets ; then stone, rude or worked ; and , lastly, metal , Th . e silver, and rarely iron place of the bevel was often taken by a real or an imaginary perpendicular,

o re re or h rizontal, bisecting the shortest notches p

- Fle as h senting cuts ; or, more generally, by a g ,

- - - f f . stem line, trunk line , or Rune Sta According to 1 “

Re . the Charles Graves, The continuous stem line along which t h e Ogham letters are ranged is

rid e o ium termed the g ( p ) ; each short stroke , perpendicular or oblique to it is called a twig

ea le a a o (fl jg ; in the plural p rcg ) . That auth rity

- i also opines that the stem line , as a rule or gu , like

a - i u o u the Devan gari H nd , was borro ed fr m the R nic ” g ul f. The “ Tract on Ogham s and Irish grammatical 2 treatises contain some eighty different m odifica

a t Wormius tions of the Ogham lphabe , while enu m erat e s twelve varieties of the Runes proper -most of them mere freaks of fancy, like similar prelusions 3 in the East . The following is the first on the list , and it is c ertainly that which derives most directly from the old Orient home .

1 th Paper on th e Ogham Charact . Proceedings of e Royal A m t 9 3 60 . Irish cade y, vol . iv, par , p . “ ” “ 2 t th e t ritt t th e t The Trac is in Book of Ballymo e, w abou nin h it s t th e t t t . t t cen ury, and assuming presen form in four een h The rea ise ’ is th e t Doct orum U al ce : U i ch e t n a n e l e a n e l e Precep a ( p p or p r g r or g p ) , th e t th e m s th e t t t Primer (Precep s) of Bards, co po ed in nin h or en h “ ” t u an d foun d th e L t t m cen ry, in Book of ecan, a manuscrip da ing fro “ ” 141 7 It t o m th e t t A D . . . is said have been co posed in firs cen ury. ’ ’ J O D on ovan s . G (p . xxviii , ohn Irish rammar, Dublin, 3 A t A t H a t See ncien lphabe s and ieroglyphic Char c ers explained, s m L n J H . 1 6 0 . &c . 8 , by o eph a mer ondo , T - EL - M USH A JJA R HE OGHAM RUNES AND . 3

b l F J I] b b c c m 3 n 3 1c 11 a o u e E f f - t t FFFEH H Ild t i i t fi rfi The num b er and the power of the le t t ei s are “ t h e a t h e given , as above, by uthor of Paper on “ . I am aware that this form in which the

directing - line has been cut up to make steps is held by some scholars to be a sort of artificial ladder ” l Ogham . Yet it is an undoubted reviva of the most archaic type ; and from it the tran sition is t he six easy to modification popularly known , the ” t e en th figured in the Tract on Oghams . p St b l f } s n m u n g { z

h d t c q a o u { Here evidently the only needful was to make the stem s t rokes of the primitive a l h ” continuous F e asg . Let us now compare the Ogham proper with what “ ” may be called the Ogham - Runes ; the latter 5 bein g opposed to Run ogham or Secret Ogham in — s uch phrases as Run ogham n et Fian of the Fen ian s

- or ancient Iris h militiamen . The Ogham Runes represent the three groups of letters (fitter) gener

ix w s . ally kno n as the Futhorc, from the initial

‘ R I’ P ‘ P H P I t B H .

Corres on din O ham - Run es p g g .

A. : 5 f 4 4 r aa e fi f . r e fi f i . u t k H n i a s T F h o r b l m y (6) 4 5 L oo 3 8 . mt . . , p ’ ’ 5 O Brien O Reill t t t Run b and y (Dic ionaries) , ransla ed y Secret '

W l Ri nn . e , 4 T - EL - M U SH A A R HE OGHAM RUNES AND JJ .

(The le tters may evidently be inverted with the twigs pointing upwards . ) The ab ove specimen of the Ogham - Runes is quoted 6 ” 7 Lil e ren H e rm oth e n a from Joh . G . j g . In we ” - o find the opinion that this twig Rune, corresp nd 8 w Craob h or u m ing ith the Ogham ( virg lar Ogha ) ,

o o of i an d c mp sed an upr ght stem side branches , sug ” “ ” a ' gested the stepped, ladder or primitive Ogh m

and hence the perfect popular Ogham . This theory m has by no eans been generally accepted . Yet it well ex emplifies the principle upon which the various — Abecedaria were constructed namely, that the for any sho wed in the first instan ce

a its particular group mongst the three ; and , secondly ,

r the place which it held in that group . Go an sson 232 n i . (Ba t l , p ) figures an ancient monument on which are a few words written in these Ogham Rfinne trecfen Runes with the twigs ( f ) , the remainder being in the common Runes . Among the class - Runes supposed to have been developed from the Futhorc there is a vast variety

n of forms . We eed only quote the variety called

H ahal - Runes , whose resemblance is most striking to h ” th e Ogham Craob .

O 1' V 1

It is popularly asserted that the inventors , or

of rather the adapters the Ogham, gave to its letters 8 0 the names of trees or plants . the Chinese

' 6 “ n lara . 5 0 . Ru , p 7 2 v 23 . l . . V o . , p ’ ’ 8 O Don ovan s G a t t 4—4 J . 3 7 See ohn Irish r mmar, In roduc ion, pp h Vir ei Clearacteres Craob Ogham, g THE OGHAM - RUNES AND EL - M USH A J J A R z 5

“ ‘ a M oh is Radic l, or key for , a tree , a plain l with two additional oblique strokes 7 h General “ V allan ce y ( Prospectus of a Dictionary , who h makes this remark , seems to have held t at the

- w tree form was adapted to the name, hereas the l virgular shape named the letters . The E “ ” Mush a ar El- Sh a ari jj or j , the branched or the “ - l r i tree ike , ce ta nly arose from the appearance of the letters . In the original Alphabet two letters are

an d called after trees, the the ; the 9 P i al latter I have shown is like poplar ( pp ) , the only term which spread through deriving directly

n Bhur a To from the old Arya home ( j ) . the thorn and the birch the m ore developed An glo - Sax on

: alphabet added four yew, sedge , , and ash . All the Irish letters are made to signify trees or plants

are but at least ten of them not Irish terms . A d mongst foreign wor s , curious to say, is the

Be thluis L lute second letter of the , a quicken, or mountain ash ; whilst the same is the case with

77. win men Bethluisn in the third letter ( , or , an ash) in (Beth - m e n The latter t erm h as suggested to some that in old Ogham the letter 77. stood

U raice t third . But there is nothing in the p t o support this theory . On the contrary, there are passages to show that the word 727572 was occasion ally

a n fi e t ken in a general sig i cation , and was us d with reference to all the letters of the alphabet in

l Be thluis F eada All the etters of the are called ,

“ 9 Et a See Ultima Thule (Nimmo and Co . ) and rusc n Bologna . T - E L —M SH A A R 6 HE OGHAM RUNES AND U JJ .

o o r Fe ab a wo trees ( ) , a term especially ” o applied t the as being the true trees . The are Taob omma or side - trees (t aob om m a)

t h e F or ead a - x and f , over trees or e tra

th e n o trees . The division of alphabet is i to f ” aic m e groups ) of five letters , each named after

- l s 77. B o its initial . Thus , , f, , compose the gr up

aicm e - b it OZ t c H - aicm e - h ( ) ; , , , , g the group ( ) , and

F o eaola x so forth . The five diphthongs ( fi or e tra

ea oi ui at are Foraicm e trees , , and become the

Fo l al cm e - group ( l ) . The words were read from the

o i of b ttom upwards , often round the head the stone th an d running down e opposite shoulder . If hori z on t all t y disposed, the order was from lef to right, like Sanskrit and other when w ritten backwards in Semitic fashion ,

m r s e cres in fro ight to left , y was tended . R The groups, both in unic 1 i:1 and in Ogham are : . Lines d 4 t o the left of the Fle asgh when

9 1 o perpendicular, or bel w it when l t 6 l 3 i horizontal ; hese are , , f, , 2‘ 71 1 h , according as they number ,

2 3 4 an d 5 i , , characteristic 1 2 i : twigs . . L nes to the right ? l

m , h d t c 4 or above the line ; , , , , g,

n cu A ( 3 . Longer strokes cross 0 4 ing the bevel on the Fl easgh P 5 . m n n st z r obliquely, , , g , , . I? ( ) 4.Shorter cuts upon the stem x i c fi line usually represent the five 1£ 17 a o u e i h l’ vowels, , , , , . Sometimes T - A - H A A R HE OGHAM RUNES ND EL M US JJ . 7

they are mere notches ; in other cases t hey are of l considerable ; for instance , in the St . Ga l

x Code of Priscian , whose eight marginal notes in u A D 4 5 8 8 . . . 7 7 Ogham are attrib ted to , Thus the total characters originally numbered i 1 6 the 2 0 2 5 in Run c and in Ogham , or , simple

il n and . These two lustratio s , in which t they are compared with the Roman alphabe , show

their deficiencies . Of the five diphthongs , only the

ea has o h first ( ) been found up n t e ancient monuments . The nex t added to it was the second (oi) and lastly the a t tea ea came other three ( , and ) which were m l e ployed occasiona ly . The absent consonants are k w 90 z c v . j . , g) , p , , , , The disappearance of the 10 0 1 , which Bishop Graves holds to be a primitive ” t h o let er in the P enician alphabet, and which was s o much used in , is significant, or rather should h be so , to t ose who hold the Ogham to have been th l U modelled upon e Roman sy labarium . nknown to

u b t o Rom aic the Irish tong e as is the or modern Greek ,

x bit U raice t it is e pressed by , and the p assigns as a

r b — reason that p is an aspi ated , which it is not . There are rare and pre s um e dly modern characters

- 93 for the semi vowel g, and for the double

0 0 , GIL - ACE , ) , which was also denoted by

uch - ra an sk rit h a and . The naso palatal g of S character lost to the abecedaria of Europe—is h e t b preserved in Og am . The is denoted by r or r . Thus Elizabeth an d Z acharias become Elist ab e th

' St ach arias I/Lb er H mn or um and ( g ) , and in the

Uraice t < t et a p Greek 5 is written r Finally ,

H rm h n a 469 . e ot e . , iv , ’ D 4 2 v 8 ts d . O on o an (p . ) makes or s 8 T - E L - M U SH A A R HE OGHAM RUNES AND JJ . several o f the signs are supposed t o denote different sounds . I have no intention of entering into the x ed

a - question of Ogham ntiquity, or of its pre Christian 12 t - versus its pos Christian date . Dr. Graves deter mines t he question as follows One of the first things t o be remarked in this alphabet is the separation of the letters into consonants and

o v wels . This arrangement alone ought to have satisfied any scholar that it is the work of a

n ot marian , and a genuine primitive alphabet .

a n Ag in , the vowels are arra ged according to the

a method of the Irish grammari , who have divided

s . them into two classe , broad and slender The

b a 0 u road , (identical in the oldest ) , and ” are put first ; the slen der e and i last Thus d as regar s the origin of the Ogham alphabet , the author came to the conclusion that it was introduced into from or North Germany ; and that it was fram ed by persons acquainted w ith u b the later and developed R nic ets , such as ’ - O n n h ax n . Co or those used by t e Anglo S o s . Dr

o h e als doubted the antiquity of t Ogham alphabet . He held that the Irish possessed a primitive m 1 6 i t h e abecedariu of letters (l ke Runic) , all named after trees ; and , consequently , that the tree - shaped letters (formee r ectilin eares) may be a modern in vention . ’ O Don ovan (1 845 ) makes the Bab el- lath alphabet

- - 2 24 Beth luts mon 6 . contain , and the letters The d h n u Reveren T omas Jones , reduces the ine 1 Irish alphabet to 8 .

i 6 L c t 3 0 . oc. , — - H A A R THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M U S JJ . 9

13 But these ar e ob ections to the a l ha b et n ot to the j p , char acters com osin it h p g . Wit respect to the artificial

of w n distribution the vowels , Dr . Graves o s in the nex t sentence that it was not by any means strictly observed by the earliest writ ers of this co untry ; adding that frequent violations of it are t o be found in “ ” the Book of Armagh and in the monuments of olden

fo n time . His argument , u ded upon the present

h n . O a . systematisation, is absolutely worthless g cannot be an original and primitive alphabet in its actual and finished state it may have been so in its

o m rude f rm . A case in point is the odern Deva ” a u n gari, still sed for Prakrit as well as for Sanskrit . That beautiful an d philological is the work

a of gr mmarians who knew as much as , and perhaps

o more than , Priscian and D natus . Nothing can be , h at any rate not ing is , more artful , more scientific ,

- than its distribution of the sound symbols . Yet the

u ou original and simple abecedari m was old en gh,

d o having been simply borrowe from the Ph enicians . We know that the Hindus wrote letters in the days

x Girn ar of Ale ander, and the inscriptions prove that the ancient form of the complicated modern alphabet was used in I n dia during the third century The same may have been th e case with th e primiti ve

1 2 can Ogham of 6 or 0 letters . All we now say is , that either the inscriptions have perished or they are yet to be found ; and no won der when

cut they were on wooden staves , , and tablets

r fr x in i ul ur Bhun a t b Barb a a a e s sc p at a s .

A mmian M arcell ( . . )

Critical Essay on th e Ancient Inhabitants of th e Northern Parts ” ’ ’ L 1 2 Chiefl a re l t o O Flah ert s t t 7 9 . of Bri ain or Sco land . ondon , y p y y t Ogygia V indica ed . I 0 T -RUN EL -M USH A JA R HE OGHAM ES AND J .

Bishop Graves himself quotes many remnants of tradition touching the use of Ogham amon g the heathen Irish—not to speak of the Catholic legend

Fe n ius Fe arsaidh d - son h a e t . of , great gran of J p ” Le ab h ar Uidhri m A story in the na h , entions

th e Diet the Ogham , inscribed on end of the or headstone planted over the grave of King Fot h adh Air th e ch ul A D 2 85 g (the Robber) , who r ed Ireland in . . . ” The refers t o the Ogham of

Fiach ra h D l c . A . o (ob . A similar a lusi n is found “ ” l 4 De irdré — in the Elopement of , their Ogham names

ri were w tten .

A Eoch aidh Aire m gain , the Dallan , sent by , “ K Et ain e ing of Ireland , to recover "ueen , made ” four wands of yew and wrote in Ogham on them .

Tocm arc Et ain This event is attributed ( e) to B C . 1 0 0 t . Lastly we are old that in heathen times the Irish marked everything which was hateful t o them ” in Ogham on the Fé ; the latter being a

u for made of the , a fey tree , and sed measuring the corpse and its grave . The cave of t h e Ne w G m range tu ulus, ascribed to the Tuath De

Dan an o d A D . 1 699 x f w a s . e , and pene in , e hibits a Ogham characters (numerals ? ) and n them a 15 decided representation of a palm branch . There u a l is another, attrib ted to p gan ages , on a lar

Dun loe o K stone near Castle , c unty erry . We may t th e then hold , wi h Professor Rhys , that origin l of Ogham is stil hidden in darkness .

A note by Bishop Graves on Scythian letters,

‘4 “ t 1 808 1 2 — t th e G . 7 9 . Transac ions of aelic Socie y of Dublin, , pp ’ ’ 1 5 2 44 t F r n s 8 . e u o Don ovan l oo cit . O . , , pp and See bo h figured in g

m t . 20 7 R t . ude S one Monu en s, p ‘6 “ ” 2 t 25 t e . r h n v. . H e m ot e a . , vol , p , rminal no e - - H A A R 1 1 THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M US JJ .

“ shows that the predicted futurity by ih scrib ing straight line- sticks with secret enchant

m Amm ian x x x 2 . ( . Marcell . i , , The Sor tes P ra’n estin ce 40 of Cicero (De Div . ii , ) were ” n inscribed on oak with marks of a cient letters .

Sor tes ae . . 0 . C sar (Bell Gall ii , speaks of similar

n x . amo g the Germans and (Germ . c . ) note that twigs or staves were marked with certain

signs . We have found no characters more ancient — than Oghams and Ogham Runes in ,

and the conclusion is obvious . I do n ot propose any attempt at determining

h ha whet er the Og m was or was not a steganography , a cypher, a series of symbols in fact , a secret form of the Roman alphabet used only by the initiated among the pre - Christian and the Christian Gaoid ” 1 7 h il v e . g . Dr Gra es has laboured hard to place the 18 , not the characters , in the rank of a comparatively modern cryptogram , known to knights

litera ti fl n ta and , and used chie y for mo umen l and

o e o l magical purp ses . He has prov d c nclusive y that the average of s are as simple as the i Etruscan , often cons sting of a single proper name , ” generally a genitive governed by Lia (lap is

h li x u In se a lc ra s . p ) , e pressed or nderstood Ireland it is accompanied by a patronymic ; in Etruria by a.

x matronymic ; the letters occur mi ed with Runes , t and even wi h Latin , as Miss Margaret Stokes has “ ” 19 shown in her admirable volume of Inscriptions . — 4 v . 2 2 2 m oth en a . . . 00 . . 08 5 H er . , vol iv , p , and vol , pp The att ention of th e reader is called t o th e distinction between th e alphabetic order and th e charact ers w hich compose th e alphabet . “ ‘9 t t th e t IV t . . Par . , Pla es ii and iii of Chris ian Inscrip ions in Irish ” t t L D L a fl e b G L . angu g e , chie y collec d and drawn y eorge rie, . , and 1 2 T - EL - M A HE OGHAM RUNES AND USH JJ A R .

’ The Bish op of Limerick s elab orate and ex tensive arguments concerning the modern origin and the secret nature of Ogham appear to have been gen er 20 ally adopted . Mr . Gilbert Gordie ex presses the “ o as p pular opinion Oghams are , we know , an occult form of monumental writing practised by the Celtic ecclesiastics of the . The Maes How e insc ription appears to be a crypto

t he gram, and same is the case with its , equivalent, ” M ush a ar - the Arabic jj , or Tree Alphabet . 2 1 Professor Rhys is the objector in chief t o the ’ Bishop of Limerick s theories and opinions . He holds that the stepped or ladder Ogham is purely fl “ artificial , and found chie y in the Essay on Ogham . h He believes that the cryptic runes , from w ich the

fair writing has been derived, are not proved old

o n en ugh in any shape to origi ate the Ogham . He does not see any cause for accepting the assertion that the Ogham alphabet was intended for cryptic 22 “ it purposes ; owning the while , is possible , how " it h ever , that may ave, in the hands of pedants,

s o . been applied , just as it was growing obsolete 3 2 He quotes (p . 0 ) from a well known member of the Royal Irish Academy , Ogham inscriptions are of the simplest .

Reli n ie Celtiche t Al . 1 8 2 t . 7 . edi ed by Miss S okes so Cav Nigra, g , Turin, The oldest Rom an alphabet found in Ireland is of th e fifth century ’ O D on ovan . ( , xxxvii) 20 18 h E 77 . t e R V l t 1 . o . . xii , par dinburgh, Proceedings of oyal

c t A t t . So ie y of n iquaries, Sco land 2 1 “ tt On Irish Ogham Inscriptions . A le er addressed (at special A t t t J R . . reques ) by ohn hys, M , la e Fellow of Mer on College, Oxford, & c e t th R t o W m t s . . . e illia S oke , M D , , Pr siden of oyal Irish n 1 1 1 8 5 . 2 1 4 R J a . 7 A 8 87 . m t R O c t. cade y, da ed hyl, , ead , 22 0 1 it . 3 . L oc . c , p T - A EL - M H A A 1 HE OGHAM RUNES ND U S JJ R . 3

23 in scri Professor Rhys , treating of the Welsh p

h r tions w ich date f om the second century, shows

th e for how Ogmic alphabet , claimed their own country by certain Irish antiquaries , passed from

in to Ireland ; and that the art, if ever

t h e K vented by elts , must have been due to the b n . a cestors of the Welsh He elieves , moreover, i that the Ogham , supposed to typ fy the rays of t h e light and similar poetic fancies , rude system t used before the introduc ion of Runes , was borrowed

Kim ri h o by the from t Teut nic neighbours . He hazards a conj ecture that though the origin is still

P hoen i hidden in darkness , it was based upon the — cian a conclusion apparently formed before

A then ceani my letter to the . In his address to

i m o that great scholar, the late Will a St kes , he would assign the chief part of the earlier class of

x u Irish Oghams to the si th cent ry, or , rather , to t the interval between the fif h and the seventh . He d suspects that one instance , at least, ates before the — departure of the Romans fro m Britain especially

Lo h or x alluding to the g altar e amined by Dr . S . It h Ferguson . He ends with saying, is notewort y that British Ogham - writing is to be traced back t o a time when we may reasonably suppose Kim ric n ation l t a ity to have revived , and a reaction agains Roman

x habits and customs to have , to a certain e tent ,

l s taken place , when the a t Roman soldier had taken

L Trub n er 1 8 W . : L t 77 . ec ures on elsh ondon , I know ’ The A cad O . H . e th e . 1 2 book only from Mr Sayc s review ( y, May , It is out of print and we can only hope that t h e learned author t t o th e th e will lis en of publishers, who are clamouring for a second edition . 24 A 7 1 877 . pril , 1 4 - EL - M USH A THE OGHAM RUNES AND JJ A R . his departure from our island But since the

' l u Roman a phabet had been introd ced into Britain , it is highly improbable that another and a clumsier v one should ha e been invented and got into use . t The inevitable inference then seems to be, tha Ogmic - writing dates from a time anterior t o the ” n R introductio of the oman alphabet .

U . pon this part of the subject, Dr now Sir m Samuel Ferguson, poet and scholar, infor ed me

t on e n tha in of the county histories of Cumberla d , ’ h ad o - whose author s name he f rgotten , a Palm rune attracted his attention . He spent a long day at the o u Shap "uarry , near Dalston , w rked to s p ply the

P r ceten tura t n l , or Sou her Roman Wa l of Hadrian or

Surrus n n rt . , co necti g the Tyne with the Solway Fi h t This in eresting relic of an alphabet , which may v ha e dated from the days of the Latin Legionaries , . ” - had unfortunately disappeared . The Cave pit, at

Cissb ur at y, near Worthing , shows least one charac 25 t w o o i ter, and imperfect cuts contain two Ph enic an

as 1 and Etruscan (Plate XXV, Figs . and See

also Inscribed Bone Implements, by J . Park

Harrison , M . A . he divides the marks upon chalk m an d m into two orders Sy bols Si ple signs . Many of

' the latter are Branch - Runes l A ‘w " and P

t e The mos important evidence adduc d by Prof.

- Kim ric Rhys in favour of his Teutonic theory is, that the third alphabetic letter the Jim (soft g as George) of the Arabs and Phoenicians and the (or hard g as Gorge) of the Hebrews an d who pro m as Gham m a ch nounce their Gam a , becomes a h x Ch c . ( ur ) This fact, he says , can be e plained only

25 h n h ica l I ns i ut a 1 441 J ourn a l o t e A t ro olo t t e M 877 . f p g , y, , page - - A A R 1 5 THE oc H A M RU NEs AND E L M USH JJ . on the supposition that the reached the

Kelts through the . U raice t th e Be thluisn ion According to the p ,

n K n e n ius was invented by the i g , F Fear saidh w h o , , about one generation before the 26 Ex odus came from his northern home and esta b lish e d a philological school of seventy- two students i 27 in the Plains of Sh nar . In the Book of Lecan is found a tradition supposed to be interpolated , that , “ th e - t K , sun faced , bro her of Breas , ing of

Eladan Elat h an Sa ien tia Ireland, both sons of or ( p ) , d u in the ays of the Teutonic T ath De Danaan , “

B . C t about nineteen centuries . , invented the let ers ” of the Scots , and the names belonging to them . a Prof. Rhys opines that this mythic l Irish was to be identified in ancie nt Gaul under the name ” O m iu s h g , with the Roman Hercules , in the Wels ” f dd Ova h O t e . y , a savant, the of Eisteddfod Kimric legend also traced the origin of letters to

O rven - gy , father of the Dawn goddess Gwenh w far f y (Guinevere) , the fabled wi e of Arthur .

O O rv en Our author also that gy is , letter

Z An ro - i us for letter, the end g y or Ahriman , the

- n d bad god of ight and darkness and col . Here , then , we are in full Persia and amongst her sons , the

a Manich eans, of all sects perhaps the most vital and i i persistent . But grant ng the Teutonic or gin of

Ogham , the question arises, says my erudite friend , W id f. d Pro Sprenger, hen and how the Teutons borrow it from the Phoenicians 7

45 2—5 th e h n . . 3. H erm ot e a . , vol iv , pp The legend is universal in ancient lit erat ure of Ireland . 27 t t The dat e is given wi h considerable varia ions . 1 6 M - EL - M U SH A JJA R THE OGHA RUNES AND .

o This much has been quoted from thers . The first part of this paper may fitly end with my own work in the Orkney Islands it was the application of an to an Icelandic grafit to in

- — - w Palm runes , Tree runes , or Twig runes , hich the Bishop of Limerick would make the primitive form of Ogham . It is not a little curious that the mob of gentlemen who criticize with ease , has not , in a single case at least which came under my notice, remarked the curious discovery of a Scandinavian inscription in an Arabic character.

A ride to Hums , the classical Emesa , on February 27 1 87 1 old a , , and a visit to my friend the Matr n or Metropolitan of the Nestorians , Butrus (Peter) introduced me to the alphabet known as El- Mus

b ran ch e d l et t e rs hajjar , the tree or , one of the many cyphers invented by the restless Oriental brain .

o o d f Sh rtly afterwards (June , I f un mysel i inspect ng Maes Howe, the unique barrow near K irkwall (Orkneys) , under the guidance of the late

Mr . George Petrie , a local antiquary, whose energetic labours and whose courtesy to inquirers will long 28 keep his name green . The first sight of the Branch or Palm - Runes amongst the common Runes of Maes Howe reminded me of the alphabet which I had copied in northern . “ arre r MP Mr . James F , . ( Notice of Runic In s cription s discovered during Recent Ex cavation s ” in the Orkneys , printed for private circulation , first established the important fact of

x n e isti g in Orkney , where none ” had hitherto been found . He gives (Plates VIII

28 m ” i 285 —8 t . . . 7 . See Ul i a Thule, vol , pp

1 8 A - E E L - M USH A JJA R THE OGH M RUN S AND .

Mr . Petrie announced his discovery as follows ‘ ’ -b I attempted , by means of your tree ranched

- alphabet to read the palm runes of Maes Howe , but

t o failed . It then occurred me that they might

o o c rrespond with the Futhorc , and , btaining the

key of the cypher, I completely succeeded after a ’ i F arr r s . e few hours trial On referr ng to Mr . copies o f the translation given by the Scandinavian pro

fe ssors , I find that Professor Stephens appears to have put five runes into the first two classes

- 1 I which makes the third palm rune ( No . ) to be , t h e k e instead of g , moreover, he does not give y. My first attempt at classifying the Runes by means

o of the cypher, turned out c rrect and I have there fore retained that classification in reading the second r insc iption . It is evident that the classification

of u could be altered at will the person sing it, and this uncertainty of arran gement must constitute the f ” di ficulty of interpreting such runes .

arre r Mr . F (Plates VIII and IX) gives both sets

- 2 u an d . 9 f of Palm r nes , borrows (p , re erring to Plate VIII) the follo wing information from Professor Stephens The six crypt -runes or secret staves E K represent the letters A , , R , L , I , , R , and

A alik r signify or Erling , a proper name, or perhaps ”

f. the beginning of some sentence . Pro Munch observes The other characters in the third line are

s - known a or Bough Runes . They were

t h e t he u used during later times of R nic period , in

n ot the same manner as the Irish Ogham , but are

n here i telligible . The writer probably intended to

n U . represe t the chief vowels, A , E , I, O , , Y The

29 Lim - u Generally r nar. - - THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M USH A JJA R . 1 9

Runic alphabet was divided into two classes ; the strokes on the left of the vertical line indicating the ” class , and those on the right the rune itself. And K m - Professor unz declares , The pal runes under neath cannot be read in the usual manner ; the a o i first, third, and fourth of the runes being , , and

the writer probably intended to give all the vowels , and some of the letters have been obviously mis

carried , and have perhaps been altered or defaced at

a later period by other persons . In the first of

- w th e these , a cross line has been added to sho that ” a letter is intended . Of No . XVIII (Plate X) Mr . Farre r notes : The palm - runes are rarely capable h P r . un c of. M of being deciphered . similarly declares ” - u The bough r nes are not easy to decipher , whilst “ Cleasby (sub voce) ex plains them as a kind of ” in d magical runes . They are mentioned the El er

dd Si rdrifurmal E a ( g , Stanza II)

Lin e - rune s th ou must k en

A n th ou a l each w ouldst b e

A d trow t o h al h urt n e e s .

A scholar so com petent as Sir George Das e n t assures me that he knows no other allusio n to them

in old Scandinavian literature . The Bishop of Limerick believes that in this case

- ow n the Rune graver has introduced his name , evidently intendin g thereby to give a proof of his ” 30 us e Runic accomplishments by the of a cipher.

But Dr . Graves is possessed by the dominant N . XX idea of a cryptogram In . XIX and

' Iorsafarar b rut u O rk hrou h Plate X) we read , g

h n a H rm ot e . . . 6 e 3 . , vol iv , p 4 20 — EL - M USH A JJ A R THE OGHAM RUNES AND . — the Jerusalem farers (pilgrims t o the Holy Land) ” n Ork h ow - r broke ope , the shelter mound . The e

are also seven , and one inscription (No . XIII)

a t . must be read , Arab f shion, from right to lef We

Co uillards may therefore believe that certain old g ,

e n and possibly Crusaders , returning home with lar e d o g ideas , vi lated the tomb in search of treasure, an object especially Oriental and put a single n ame an d an unfinished in scription to warn followers that

h ad they left nothing of value unplundered . I cannot but hold this interpretation of a Scandi navian t by an Arabic character as proof positive “ that the Semitic Mushajj ar and the Palm- runes of the Ogham and Runic alphabet are absolutely identical .

i To conclude the subject of Ogham , with a not ce of its derivation from the of Babylon and o and from the Ph enician . The former sup t d posi ion has been much debated and even advocate , 31 but n ot by Orientalists . Bishop Graves remarks that although the arrow - headed characters include some phonetic signs , they rest mostly upon an

n ot . idiographic base . His objection is valid The

n cuneiform , as everyone k ows , gave rise, at

o i an d an age anterior to Ph enic an , to the Cypriot pre 32 ll b . An d Cadmean sy a arium , used at Troy finding

of El - M ush a ar on e a modified form jj , in Pehlevi , is m t o te pted refer it to the Persians , a restless and ingenious people who would have been more likely

”

1 2 . . 47 oth en a . . 7 H erm , vol iv , pp ’ 32 Of th e 1 8 t t t See Schliem ann s Troy . inscrip ions found in ha “ 1 1 t o th e t t t s valuable volume, belong Trojan s ra um, and of he e a five are Cypri n . - A EL - M H A A R 2 1 THE OGHAM RUNES ND U S JJ .

than any Arabs to have converted its arrow - heads into a cryptogram . The main obj ections to the

1 oe e Phoenician theory are three , the Ph nicians w re

of Semitic stock , a race which borrows and improves i : but does not orig nate it is, in fact, remarkably

2 o barren of invention ; , the Ph enicians , although

k n w they used , as we o , letters in were by n o means a literary race . They doubtless corre s on de d p , engrossed , and kept their invoices and the ir ledgers with ex emplary care ; but with the sole ex ception of the A shm un az ar or Sidonian w epitaph , that touching and beautiful ail over a

n lost life, they have not left a si gle monument of

oe t i 3rd remarkable p y or prose , and lastly, they had a far handier alphabet of 2 2 letters chosen from

n the Egyptian , the latter bei g contained in 25 characters besides some 400 hieroglyphics : consequently they would hardly want a second .

o Perhaps our Ogham may be of a still nobler st ck , and I here venture t o suggest that it may have originated with the far - famed Nabat or Naba

h ae n s t a .

x the Finally, we may e pect, when subject shall h ave acquired importance, to find traces of this m alphabet in places hitherto unsuspected . It ay be 34 worth while to investigate the subj ect of the Runes m found upon stones in the Vernacular lands . So e scholars have interpreted them by the vernacular

t t t o B C . 5 There is no known Ph enician inscrip ion an eda ing . 00 ’ E n 1 38 t t Rén a . th e (M . rnes , p of Schliemann s Troy excep only ” t t t t t o . Moabi e S one , if ha noble monumen be held Ph enician 34 m A fur clavisch e . 1 877 2 2 H t S . rchiv Philologie Berlin , , Band, ef ) t 6 “ o i. h H t . t e s Mr. owor h also refers me vol , series , of Memoir of ”

t s . th e A cademy of St . Pe er burgh 2 2 - EL - M USH A A R THE OGHAM RUNES AND JJ . tongues ; whilst others look upon them as wholly i n l . . M orfil x . . o Scand navia Mr W R , of O f rd , a t competent scholar, believes the Glagolitic alphabe in which the supposed Slavonic Runes are stated to

a of . lat e : be tr ced , to be introduction others hold it t u to be distinc ly fo nded on Greek .

T PAR II .

In this part I propose to collect all the scattered

- ar the notices concerning the little known jj ,

- - ul o wn Arabic Tree alphabet , adding the res ts of my i observations . Its birt h is at present ve led in m b ut h ystery. I have heard of, never ave seen, rocks t and s ones bearing the characters , and the manu scripts are by no means satisfactory . 1 87 7 v i In the spring of during my is t to Cairo , that literary city of the Arabs appeared to be the best place for investigating the origin of the ” M ush a ar o mysterious jj . Amongst those c nsulted o o A K was the Aulic C uncill r, lfred von remer, the

Cultur eschichte & c . : ripe Arabic scholar of the g , he l Fihrist vain y turned over all the pages of the ,

u . (Fl gel , Leipzig, Prof Spitta, Director of the

‘ ’ ’ ul Bibliote ue Kheolivia te d e Z I n struction ubli ue usef g p g , A - EL - M H A J A R 2 THE OGH M RUNES AND US J . 3

El - Jem am iz in the Darb , was not more fortunate . a H H D nish Bey, Professor of Turkish to . . Ibrahim

n Pasha, the young Prince now studyi g in , had heard of the cryptogram : he declared that it

l El - Sh a ari - should be ca led j (the tree shaped) , and thought that it was an Arab, not a Persian

n . E . t H inve tion Fortunately I also consul ed . Yacoub 35 n s f Artin Bey, an Arme ian and Chri tian o ficer, then attached to the household of th e same Prince ; and l the following is the resu t of our joint enquiries . litera ti l Moslem are , as a rule , painfu ly ignorant w of the history of and , although many kno

El - Mush a ar El - Sh a ari the words jj and j , few have any definite ideas upon the subject . I have often heard reports of a manuscript which contains b u t a complete description of the character, none could tell us either the name of the book or of its

r author . A popular tradition traces the o igin of ’ 36 - El - ii - k the Arab Tree runes to H d , the well nown

H az ram aut Himyarite prophet , buried in (Hazar m v h a e t ) . Christian writers often identify him with l ’ Kh aldii n Heber, a hypothesis which Ibn Tabari disdainfully rejects . It is also reported that the

35 “ t t ’ t A t Tancred declares ha my friend s fa her, r in Bey, was of m A t th e m t . Israeli ic blood The na e, in India ra oon, is Turkish for of “ A R u t H aroutioun e m . a , eaning in rmenian es rrec ion Im gine a Hebrew choosing such cognom en " The confusion arose from th e th A m A t th e H A rt om sim ilarity of e r enian r in and ebrew . 36 K . . . 66 e s t o th e The oran (Sab, chap vii , v ) s nd him on a mission ' t h m t H ri A d th e e . t o T be of , Pelasgi of Se i es e is supposed have ’ t o 1 5 0 th e A t K K K n . 7 a lived abou , under di e ing, hul hulj n . The ’ m a b A . a K a u . ? m s gives his lineage as Bin ir, b Sh li b F lagh (Peleg ) m m Nuh ‘ S l Sa . a e loc h k h sh ad . cit Ar a . . b . p b (She ) b ( ) and popular t H ud ’ w t t o . A t o . R a opinion add genera ions hese six b bdillah b . ib h ’

U z . Sam A A . Kh olud : . A d . . b . b b us ( ) b ram b b Nuh . 2 4 - EL - M U SA H JJA R THE OGHAM RUNES AND .

alphabet was used in the reign of El- Maamun XXV Ith 1 K i A D . 8 3 ( Abbaside hal fah , . o Yac ub Artin Bey had promised to procure for me ,

o o if possible, the v lume containing this rtant 37 ’ ’

o . Ab ii l n tice Again , we trace it to the days of

- Sa f el - Daulah Hazan ( y ) , the literary Prince of 2 3 A . D . 0 2 . . 93 : Aleppo and Damascus (acc A H . 3 5 D . . 6 A . . ob A H . when it was used e di for chronograms . Meanwhile that celebrat d c “ ” t ion ar El- K r z b di D 1 3 5 u e o a a A . 0 y am s (of F . — 1 41 4) declares that El M ush ajj ar is a form of t

(writing) , and straightway passes on to another subject . All w e know for ce rtain is that El- Mush ajj ar appears in two forms among the 80 alphabets

A b ib ak r recorded by Ibn Wahshiyah (Ahmad bin ) . This author is called by Kirsch er Aben V aschia ” ’ V ah schia d He rb elot sub voce Falah at and , and by ( ) , “ ” 38 V ah a hi h K l sc a . He is mentioned in the ashf e

’ Z un ii n l (Reve ation of Opinions, by Haji K A D 1 0 . . i . 6 8 hal fah (ob A . H . as being employed in translating from Nabathaean into t Arabic . Two other authori ies quoted by Ham mer confirm the report . It is generally believed that he flourished in our ninth century that he

I H 4 r: A D A . 2 1 finished his book about . ( . .

n t t th e n l it m U for una ely, ow er, who speaks high y of , is a confir ed t th e t t n al l th e il vagran , in habi of disappearing for mon hs, and showi g w d H l t C th e t t . en husiasm of his forefa hers e occasiona ly visi s airo, in vain t t 1 87 —8 th e tt t t o out . 7 7 a emp make money of a small es a e During , “ L ow so vexed him that he would neither lend th e work or its m give na e . 38 H erb elot l A b oub ek r A m . De , however, ca him ben h ed 39 s m L t A t A ts J H . Sec . xvi , ncien lphabe , by o eph a mer ondon

m 1806 . Bul er,

2 6 A - EL - M USH A JJA R THE OGH M RUNES AND .

The following are the varieties which I have hitherto been able to procure

I b No. I . n Wahshi ah ( y ) .

L} “ U J r st f f filfl p fi l ‘

’ t h z w h (1 1) a 1 . 3 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

. n m l k 40 30 20 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1

Ditto I . ] . No. ( )

r r wr

r see sa r e a . w f re fe rs“ w ith the addit ion als

h a e III A M od cation o t e bov . No. . ( ifi f )

s s s r s r r s s v s s w r t t re et rs w re w r wi th the addition of a distinct character for 3 hi) - L - M H A A R 2 THE OGHAM RUNES AND E US JJ . 7

I rom H unts . V. No. (f )

V. rom ditto . No. ( f )

e e 3? f er H s’ sr srr r s .

It is t o be noticed that all these modifications are read from right to left, and are disposed in the w ff Hebre order this , which di ers . from the common form mostly by placing the additional Arabic letters

El - Ab ad at the end , is still known as j , after its four initial characters . The Moslems trace this dis position backwards through the Prophet Hud to Father Adam ; b ut we hold that it was adopted about the begin ning of the Christian era when the

Himyaritic characters became obsolete . The terms

- - S El M ush ajj ar and El h aj ari (the branched or the

- A ) . tree shaped are evidently rabic But , as shown ” - by the Icelandic Limb runes , the syllabary may have had various vernac ular names invented by every race that adopted it . This artless article is li evidently capable of universal app cation . It may

l vice oersd be written from left to right , as we l as , and it is equally fitted for ex pressing English and

Arabic . Like the Ogham , it is slow and cumbrous but so are all alphabets in which the letters are

leas h - detached . The F g or directing line which IV . appears in No and in the Ogham , is general to 2 - EL -M H A A R 8 THE OGHAM RUNES AND US JJ .

u the Hind alphabets , whose source was the o - Ph enician . The latter, probably in a pre Cadmean w rid form , passed east ards from Syria as a centre ,

Southern or Himyaritic Arabia , to the vast Indian

o Peninsula, which was apparently unalphabetic bef re

35 0 . B C . Thence, altered once more, it was spread by the Buddhists through Central Asia as far as the

Wall of China . Westward , the Greeks , the Etruscans and the Romans carried it over the length and ll breadth of Europe ; and our daily A , B , C , D sti represents the venerable Hebrew - Arabic Abj ad and

Th lt a C e . the Greek Alpha, Veta, hamma, ’ The following are Ibn Wah shiyah s remarks upon the six forms given above 1 No . is The alphabet of Dioscorides the

Disk oridus cl - i El Doctor ( Hak m) , commonly called

‘ Mush a ar jj . He wrote on trees, shrubs and herbs ,

ul x and of their secret , usef and no ious qualities in ff ‘ this alphabet , used since in their books by di erent ” 43 philosophers . 2 P No . is The alphabet of lato , the Greek

Phil osopher . It is said that each letter of this f alphabet had dif erent imports, according to the ”44 ff o a air and the thing treated f. 2 3 . No . , which evidently modifies No , was copied for me by my friend Yacoub Artin Bey . In the library of the late MustafaPasha (Cairo) he found an undated N manuscript p o . i) , apparently not ancient upon the margin of the last page, probably for want “ t h e Kh at t ha ari S . ofa better place , had been copied j u n l It is the f ll Arabic , as compared with the i comp ete

vi 8 W H t . x 8 3 . Ibn ahshiyah, in ammer Sec , pp . and — 9 4 . i . 6 I b d . , pp - - 2 THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M U SH A JJ A R . 9

Hebrew alphabet with a term inal addition of Let . The latter both in the Abj ad and in the popular

o x system is written therwise than might be e pected . 4 No . is the only system that has a base line, and its elements appear in the fo urteen letters w hich 2 conclude No . it is one of those which I copied at

Hums , and it contains only the ancient and universal

n six . Semitic letters , lacki g the last of Arabic 5 - . u No , also copied at Hums , is based pon the same system as the former ; but the gave i t i warn ng tha it is applied to Pehlev or old Persian, 4 whereas No . is Arabic .

6 E l - D urar cl No . is found in a manuscript called

M un takha bd t Islah cl - Gha la td t cl - llI ashhuri fi , or

Pearls Choice and Scattered , in Rectification of ” vulgar Errors . It was translated from Arabic into A 1 2 2 1 A D 1 05 . . 8 Turkish in . H . 3 and its

° information is distinctly borrowed from Ibn Wah ’ — ’ shiyah s Shauh E l mushtahd f i M a rifa t Rumuz cl Akldm Desirable Advice in the knowledge of the Secrets of written Characters As regards the assertion that Dioscorides wrote in the ldm el

M usha ar - jj (Tree shaped characters) , perhaps the Arabic version of the Greek physician was made in this cryptogram ; and the work of the translator or the scribe was eventually attributed by confusion to

the author . - E — 30 THE OGHAM RUNES AND L M USH A JJA R .

PART 111 .

O ham -Run es an d E l- M us a r Various N otes on g h p a .

U A correspondent in the nited States , who does not wish to be named , draws my attention to the Lycian characters on the Xanthus Tomb and other 45 casts and monuments in the .

During the last generation . some thirty years ago, it was the general opinion that the language of these Z epigraphs had some connection with end, and the characters with Greek . A few of the letters resemble Ogham- runes and El -Mush ajj ar : for in w l it oc . c . stance, the characters belo the alphabets ( )

J P . I ? are true runes and Mr. Sharpe suggests

a that they are imperfect copies of { E or F . The

h n i i - other letters are apparently P oe c o Greek . I am also told that a simil ar family lik eness appears in 46 the coins called by Se st in i Celtiberian and which

Grassin M . , with the generality of numismatologists ,

’ m ed a illes in connue sets down as s. Another correspondent threw out the following hint regarding The Coins of the Eastern Khalifahs

45 “ A A t L C s s See n ccoun of Discoveries in ycia, by Sir harle Fellow . 4 h L : 1 8 0. E a t e L tt e 442 ondon Murray, speci lly ycian le rs in p . , and “ ” A On th e L s t s A ppendix B, ycian In crip ion , by Daniel Sharpe . lso — th e i 193 1 96 . . . . t 23 1 844 vol , pp , Proc of Philological Socie y, Feb . , . ‘6 ” 4t t 1 4 l é é o . as 8 1 C asses g n rales, Floren i , . ’ ri 8vc L 1 l I é e . : 838 b . De , eleux Paris, A - EL -M USH A A R THE OGH M RUNES AND JJ . 3 1

. 1 of the British Museum , by S Lane Poole (vol . , — . Cro ez c ous ue les arb rissea ux a u r e vers p y g ,

’ ’ d es m ed ailles Sassa n id es aien t uel ue ra ort avec , q q pp ’ cette ecriture He adds , I find in the above volume Am aw e e ul Copper Coinage , , with form a of faith ’ only .

All dill

sill Alli

The subjoined contains name of the mint (Tiberias) and bears no date

Rev . ea. R a Ar ev . M rgin .

” M s au i n i ll i ” u a (All x w f r

’ dr y ( In Allah s n am e ; this coin w as

All m in ted at Tab ari ah yy .

Now the earliest copper coins in the British 2 A . . 9 Museum bear the date H , and these evidently w m e . precede it, so that may refer the to A H .

On the other hand I would remark that , in the four specimens given above , the twigs appear to

t w o be merely ornamental , being always in ; three , or four pairs , hence we must prefer the opinion of

M uhammed an ische M un s Prof. Stickel of Jena ( l ean d o o . ) , f llowed by Mr Bergmann of the Museum ,

- Vienna , that they are either mint signs , denoting the places of issue , Tiberias , Hamah , and Damascus r or that they are merely intended to fill up the a ea , like the circlets, the elephants , and other animals which appear upon the coins of Abd c l-lVl alik bin 2 - EL M H A JA R 3 THE OGHAM RUNES AND US J .

M e rw m an and various of the O miades . In those days the Moslems were n ot so squeamish about representing things of life and even the human

For o form . instance , Tiberias issued a c in bearing on the obverse a robed figure standing upright with

o o sword and band lier slung ver the shoul der. On the reverse is a Byzantine vase with a globe instead of a cross . The inscription , in detached characters resembling those of the Nabat (Nabathaeans) is Khalid ib n Wa lid Z uri b a i Ta b ari ah m a , f yy . I y

cl - K li i note that the Bayt ha d , the descendants of ll fl J . the Conqueror of Syria, sti ourish at erusalem

in The Rev . Dr . Badger also po ted out to me . in

’ E x ose d e la Re li ion oles D ruz es the p g , by that 48 a. . celebrated Orientalist, Silvestre de S cy, the following figure of Mohammed borrowed from the

El- pages of Nuwayri , and composed of i beg nning as usual from the right .

’ The French author adds P our g trouver l a llusion

’ ’ ue l on cherche on ceri t le m ot eo en diculairem en t g , p p ,

‘ et on a ltere n u eu la orm e oles lettres ou eut-etre p f , p l ur conser ve e on e un e form e p lus an cie nn . Some

o ru fifteen years ago Dr. Badger c pied a t e mono

o o e x gram fr m a c pper plate found at Aden , w s W l i e. a Sal ani . pressing the words (Adieu) , ,

+ l + m .

fi ‘ w d

ll x 1 877 Trave ing to Ale andria in October, , with

- him Dr. Heinrich Brugsch Bey, I showed my letter

43 s R 1 838 . t t o i Pari , Imprimerie oyale, In rod . vol . . , p . lxxxvi .

3 4 T - EL - M H A HE OGHAM RUNES AND US JJA R .

N 2 6th 1 87 7 w ul He replied ( ovember , ) that it o d be difficult to copy the swathes as the marks were

h ot o r a h r H rr e . e doubtful , and that a competent p g p , .

- Standl, had failed to reproduce them in sun picture . The colour of the cloth had been darkened by time w to a dull yello , and the letters refused to make

in st ru an impression perhaps, however, a better hi ment might have succeeded . The idea of was ng the fa scie (sw athin gs) white was rejected for fear of

obliterating the marks . Two years before the date of my application the Oriental Society of Leipzig had addressed the

Directors of the Museum, requesting a loan of ben d e the (bandages) , but the Government had

i n aid i refused ; prom si g, however, to the stud es of savan ts charged with the transcription . And

h ad here the matter dropped . At the instance of

Rein isch - k Dr . Leo , the well nown Professor of U é L ub ié Egyptology to the niversity, Vienna, Abb j proposed to reproduce in print these p an nilini (little cloths) and other interesting remain s under his charge ; but the necessary in the shape of a subsidy of public money was not forthcoming . J 4th 1 87 8 On une , , I received another letter from Ab b e the , giving the history of the mummy as di follows . Accor ng to the Museum registers ,

Michiele e about half a century ago , one Buri , a con cep ista (inferior employé) of the Hungarian ul m A ic Chancellerie , brought it back with him fro

Egypt . The owner left it as a dying gift to his of i brother Elia, parish priest Golubince , in Slavon a,

- D ak ovar and sub deacon in the diocese of y , where

- t r m r w . s n o resides the far famed Mgr S os eye . This - E - M H A A R 5 THE OGHAM RUNES AND L U S J J . 3

w ecclesiastical o ner also dying, the mummy found

il t w o its way to the Museum , packed , as it st l is , in modern chests , the horizontal containing the band ages and inner parts , and the vertical , the skeleton nude and propped by an iron bar . It is complete in all its parts the hair is thick and well- preserved and traces upon the bro w suggest that the head had A di A b b e L i e . ub é be n partly gilt ccor ng to the j ,

Dr. Brugsch , who inspected the mummy after it had been unrolled by others, pronounced it to be

Cr etan .

Traces of writing are shown by seven fragments , whose measure in m etres is as follows

03 58 l on g x 01 82 x

0 282 x

‘ 02 60 x

02 1 5 x

01 46 x

0 1 33 x

A local photographer , Sig . Pommer, at last suc

w as s ce e de d in making a copy . The latter to

Rein isch w h o Prof. Leo , concluded his reply with ; ‘5 ’ V r lau -n ur rne in e Ue berz eu un d ass i cen n es o fig g g ,

Ihn en elin t die I n schri ten z u ublicir en diesel g g , f p , ben cin en orm es A ufsehen in d en g elehr ten Kreisen ” rd en we . The Egyptologist was requested m for a subsidy to I . R . Acade y of Sciences , or to obtain subscriptions for coverin g the

x en se s l . p of pub ication Nothing of the kind , how

. ver , seems to have been done

During my absence in Midian, Mrs . Burton sent d 2 - - H A A R 3 6 THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M U S JJ .

m to Agra , for the purpose of copying the inscription ,

’ il n at Mr . Ph ip Proby Ca tley, of Trieste, who first was look ed upon as a rival photographer . Sig . Pommer had aspired to making a “ good job he asked ten florin s for photographing each fourth of what may be 2 2n d 1 87 8 looked upon as a chapter . On January , ,

n o o Mr . Ca tley wrote to me as f ll ws On the mornin g of my arrival at Agram I called Ab b e c on Ljubi , who received me most cordially,

ih and put himself entirely at my disposal . I then s e ct e d n u p the bandages , of which many had been

' ’ re m ov e d t o o swathed , and had been the Direct r s study from the antiquarian department of the Museo

del Triregno, where the mummy stands . Though

well preserved on the whole, the greater part is ill egible ; time and the ex udations of the dead have

i - sta ned them dark brown . They consist of linen

o in strips , varying fr m one to three yards length, off and cut the piece , as they show no selvage . The breadth is about t w o inches ; the stuff w ould be c o alled c arse in our days, the warp and woof are qually thick ; and the tex ture of the lin en is very

even .

“ The writing is divided into sections of five or

six lines each , measuring about seven and a h

in ches long, according to the length of the cl These must have been in hundreds and one of best specimens was shown to me at " the town ’ r h r s g ap e . Each piece appears to have

chapter, separated by intervals of about two é breadth . The Abb styled the characters G tico mischia ta con car a tt eri j era that the

A - EL -M USH A A R THE OGH M RUNES AND JJ . 37

50 - A . D Graeco tury . The idea may have

arisen from the condition of the thick strokes, which ex tended originally over one and even two threads n o w they have been erased on the upper part of the

thread , so as to leave marks , often double , in the intervening spaces only . I mentioned to the Dirc o tor my intention of copying the characters on tracing - cloth ; the simplicity of the idea seemed to

x x m e cite his merriment . However, ne t orning he

r admi ed the results obtained , and he asked me to leave some of the material so that he might try his

hand .

w - Choosing a ell marked chapter, I went to work

- it by pinning a piece of tracing cloth over , and then following the characters as ex actly as possible with a

- pencil Curious to say, the tracing cloth , instead of preventing the characters being seen or rendering

e them more indistinct, brought them out , I suppos by uniting the two strokes formed by the ink having

been erased on the single threads . The work was continued as long as I could find a piece clear enough

co to be pied , and where the characters were near enough to one another for deciphering . 1 5 The copies have been numbered from to . 3 In No . you will remark that two lines are wanting at the bottom . The original does not show any i m ’ sta ns or arks that could have been characters ,

i . while the three top l nes are distinct I take it , therefore, to have been the end of a chapter, or 4 perhaps of the whole volume . No . shows on the

5 ° u - wh o t t a th e t Dr. Br gsch Bey , upon hese subjec s is perh highes t t s h as b th e t o th e t living au hori y, a signs, as een seen, mummy fif h c B C entury . . - - H A R 3 8 THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M U S A JJ . right hand a break in the manuscript which has d been denoted by a otted line .

n did So far Mr. Ca tley, who his work carefully and t in ex en so. completely . I give it

The following appears to be the alphabet . The signs number 2 7 but two of them are so similar to m others that they may be o itted, thus reducing the total to 2 5 the number assigned by Plutarch to the hieroglyphic

Lastly, as regards the Agram mummy, I have received a promise from my learned friend , Dr . H .

- Brugsch Bey, to send me his copies ofthe inscriptions

’ tr r n u taken from what he calls this es o in con . We have now reached 5 00 but we may go 54 ’ further back . Dr . Schliemann s learned volume “ ” m : 1 87 5 ( Troy and its Re ains , London Murray, )

’ m on umen ts ures few shows , among the fig , not a in specimens of lines so disposed that , without hav g

or El—M ush a ar o Ogham jj on the brain , I cann t but

fe w hold them to be alphabetic . A instances will f l su fice . We find the fol owing t wo forms rand

- on an inscribed terra cotta seal (p . which may 55 consequently be presumed to be significant ; and there is something very similar on the Piece of

A u pp . Br gsch reversed . m The sa e . t R C 1 200 an d th e t The Siege of Troy would be abou . , founda ion of 14 0 s 200 t o th e K th e t 0 . ci y Thu years would be allowed five ings, Eri th on ius s c Ilus L m . Dardanu , , Tros, , and ao edon, preceding Priam 5 5 s 8 t h t K a t m . 7 t e See eal No , wi h signs resembling ancien opp s a ped

upon th e coins of Corinth . A - E L - M U SH A J JA R 39 THE OGH M RUNES AND .

W 1 30 Red Slate , perhaps a hetstone In p . , ” - Terra cotta with emblems , the figure to 1 the right shows the following distinct types , y

s m m et rv 1n No . 3 76 (repeated with equal y whorl ,

3 4 2 00 . . , , , e N . Pl XXVII) 2E (s e also whorl o , Pl

4 23 5 1 6 . . 4 . 5 , N , XXXIII) , and , 23 o p These can

hardly be modifications of Aryan symbols , as — the unex plained Rosa mgstica ; the well known

’ - 6 5 eo n FE the , the signs of fire and of

n good wishes , and the origi al cross , especially its

modification , the Maltese ; nor signs of lightning ; nor mere branch ornaments as on the elegant “ - - 2 82 bright red vase of terra cotta (p . ) nor sym

b olical signs as on the cylinder (p . “ - G Again , the Terra otta Vase from the house of

1 30 ul Pr am (p . 8) gives the pec iar It may be

only an ornament , like the Greek honeysuckle, the simplified form of the Assyrian Hom or Tree ” ff of Life , the Hindu Soma ; but the di erence of number in the branches on both sides of the per

e n dicular n . p , suggests somethi g more Many of the ” b - whorls again show what may e Palm runes . I

3 09 will quote only two . No . (Pl . XXI) bears with six lines to the proper left and nine to the w 399 . e right . On whorl (Pl XXXIII) have a variety of similar form - - 40 THE OGHAM RU NES AND EL M U SH A JJA R .

. On whorl No . 25 , and i

494 PI. LI c : ( ) , are inscribed k and g whilst 1 496 . 1 5 1 45 1 46 . whorl No , the lines Nos . , and No

m m rz b f. G o e as deter ined by Pro p , ear letters alpha b et ic and Cypriote . Dr. Schliemann is confident

x o o m that these e isted in Homeric Tr y, alth ugh Ho er uses the word ypoiqfiew in two places only with the of a sense to gr ve (scratch into) . ’ It is not a little curious that Schliem ann s other ” a & c : great work Mycen e , . , London Murray, 5 49 il 2 5 with its lustrations and plates , i contains no sign wh ch can be considered alphabetic , f w and very e of the branch forms numerous at Troy. I find only two instances one of the r tw ice re

“ e a e d 48 1 0 2 p t in No . (Pl . ) and the other in No . “ (Plate XVIII) where occur s with Tl thrice repeated . - ’ o m The age of the items f rming Dr. Schlie ann s great finds can be se ttled approx imatively with

a i . comp rative ease . Th s is not the case with Cyprus l ” Ces n o a & c . . ru General L P . di Cyp s , , London 1 87 7 — o l Murray, ) believes that his terra cottas m st y — date from 400 300 ; but evidently the re are

w 7 07 . articles hich run up to the days of Sargon ,

t w o i m a Here, again, I find only nstances of what y “ on be branched Runes . One is a pottery jar

(Plate XLII , fig . which shows the combination of t h e human figure with the geom etric pattern :

the proper left of the standing warrior bears with

out any simil ar s1gn on the corresp onding field . 22 a . Ag in , in Plate XLI (Gem No ) occurs a double

- A EL - M USH A J A R 42 THE OGHAM RUNES ND J . not sufficient to establish a distinctly alphabetic character .

Amongst the finds at the cemetery of Marzabotto , 1 B 000 . C . dating from at least , I find the following Etruscan mark 5 7

Again , my attention was drawn to Etruria by the 58 i I n tor no a li Scavi a rcheolo ichi fine fol o, g g (in the

Arn e aldi property) , near Bologna, lately published by

S oz z adini . G the Count enator G , whose long labours have done so much in illustrating the condition of early remains in his native land . Page 32 offers a highly interesting talk of Sigle ’ ” potters marks ) from various cemeteries , especially that of Villanova . The destruction of the latter

i t h e settlement was determ ned by the Count , from

a s r ud e t 700 t h e presence of an , to da e about , or 5 9 Mort ill et Age of Numa . M . de , on the other hand , woul d make it much older . The table in question is divided into four heads 1 ra lti , those scratched (g fi ) on the base of the articles 2 after baking ; , the marks on other parts of the

3 ra lti pottery also baked , the basal g fi made after 4 the oven had done its work ; and , the signs inscribed 1 . . 39 i upon bronze vases No , numbering , suppl es

5 7 ie . . 2 r fi ular tt ffit sco Table III , p , Ma g condo e a gra i, nei vasi ” z m t ll e cro oli tt . t . t i per i ne a N p di Mar abo o Pri o Supplemen o Par e Pr ma . 1 2 8 . R & c. 7 oma, ,

58 a G 1 877. Bologna Fav e aragnani, “ — L e . 88 89 t le t & c. Pp Signe de la Croix avan Chris ianisme, - L - M H A A 4 THE OGHAM RUNES AND E US JJ R . 3 seven more or less connected in shape with the

- w Palm runes , without including the crosses hich m ay belong to any age . The r the T and the ” j ; are perfect with their variants , the X s and

e 3 . e e e th 16 Less r markable ar th J: the 4, and

— 2 the seven branched tree No . gives four

: . , , e types viz the I th I , the :E, and the f in this category the five crosses are noticeable , vary ing from the simple j to a complex modification of the Swastika Cf " ) that pecul iarly Aryan symb ol m ” which gave rise first to the Christian Ga madion,

. 3 and lastly to the Maltese Cross No . gives three

: f signs the I : the and the i , besides the

X crot ch ett e d two crosses plain ( ) and Lastly , 4 ’ 1 N . e e 1 e o giv s two th and the I In Tabl , also we find the Phoenician Alif ( Vs and the s Si le ame occurs eight (nine times in the g , which 2 6 are printed (p . 3 ) in my little volume upon ” Etruscan Bologna . I venture to suggest that these grafilti are true letters and not mere marks . Similarly in the

Wusum fin d tribal signs of the Bedawin , we distinct survival , real significance underlying what

r . seems to be simply a bitrary For instance, the ’ ir ff A n ez ah c clet a ected by the great , or Central m Arabian fa ily, is the archaic form of the Arabic

A n y , the Hebrew Oin , which begins the racial

name . - E L - M H A A 44 THE OGHAM RUNES AND U S JJ R .

The following communication to the Ar chaeographo 60 Triestin o suggests a further ex tension of the s ystem also possibly Etruscan . 1 87 6 h ad In September, , I occasion to visit the

- island town Ossero , in the Gulf of Fiume , whose watersbathe the southern and the south - ea stern shores

Cavanilla of the Istrian peninsula. Landing at La ,

z an ancient Sue Canal in miniature , spanned by a

w e bridge right worthy of the Argonautic days , were m et by his Reverence Don Giovanni Bol m arcich A rchi ret e , p of the Community , who was good enough to show us his finds and the places A which had produced them . mongst the number was a common - shaped sepul chral lamp (lum e etern o) which struck me forcibly . The inscribed lines may have been , as suggested by the learned Dr . Carl

K ir unz , D ector of the Museum of Antiquities ,

Trieste, the trick of a waggish apprentice ; but they are disposed upon a true Fleasgh or Runi ff s Sta , which mere cratches would hardly be , and there is evident method in their ordering . If it be asked what El - Mush ajj ar and Ogham - Runes have to do in the Archipelago of Istria, I reply that Palm runes appear in imp ossib le places ; and that the

ra P orto Lion of Marathon , which named the Pi eus

L eon e l o , and which sti l stands bef re the Arsenal ,

Venice , is covered as to the shoulders with legible

n win ill Runic i scriptions . The follo g ustration shows m the la p in natural size, and the marks were drawn m for me , in order to correct and control y own ni copy, by Don Giovan .

“0 i l asc co o . . 1 . 877 . F ii , vol v of - - H A R 4 THE OGHAM RUNES AND EL M US J J A . 5

Amongst the impos sible places where Ogham and M ushajj ar- like lines appear must be included the tattoo of the New Guinea savages . Mr . Park Harrison has given the characters tattooed on

- a Motu woman from the south eastern coast , whose arms , especially the right, and both whose breasts bare such types as A Y and A Philologists will bear in mind the curious resemblance which has been traced between Phoenician characters and the

Ph oen i Rejang alphabet of Sumatra, which is mostly cian inverted . In fact, it would not surprise me if future students established the fact that the whole l world knows only one alphabet (properly so cal ed) , and that that is Phoenician . I here conclude for the present my notices of the

- connection between the Ogham Runes , whose ” n i origi is st ll hidden in darkness, and the equally ” Mush a ar mysterious jj , or Arabic branched

‘ alphabet . Prof. J . Rhys , let me repeat , believes “ that the former is derived in some way from the but he holds his theory to be highly hypothetical and he would be onl y too to substitute facts for suppositions . It is my conviction that Ogham descends from an older and 46 T - EL - M USH A A R HE OGHAM RUNES AND JJ .

t o even nobler stock . I hope some day restore

o E l it to the East , and to pr ve that, in the former

M usha ar o i ab at h aeo - jj , it rig nated among the N Chal e deans . It would , inde d, be curious if the Ogham

K Fe n ius alphabet of the old schoolmaster, ing (the Phoenician concerning whom Irish tradition speaks with such a confident and catholic voice , should once more be traced back to the Plains of Sh inar. D U . RICHAR F . B RTON

’ in t s in O d ina t o H er M a es t St M a tin s L a n e H a is on ( S n s P e . . rr y o , r r r ry j y, r