Discover the Irish Ogham, the Medieval Tree Alphabet
Ogham, sometimes referred to as Ogam, was the earliest form of Irish writing. Otherwise known as the tree alphabet because of its distinctive branch shapes, connections have often been drawn between the Ogham alphabet and the ancient Druids, an Iron Age class of Celtic religious elites who practiced magic in tree groves. Despite theories that Ogham was invented in Cisalpine Gaul as early as 600 BCE by Gaulish Druids, who created it as an oral language, most scholars agree that Ogham, at least in its written form, developed in Ireland around the 4th century CE. This article will explore the development of the Ogham script and how it was used in early medieval Ireland.Celtic Prehistory and the Introduction of OghamDetail from In Lebor Ogaim (Book of Ogam), in the Book of Ballymote, from RIA MS 23 P 12, fol. 170r, c. 1390. Source: University of GlasgowOgham likely developed as a written form of a Celtic language. The Iron Age Celts did not utilize a written language and instead prioritized oral tradition. As such, much of what we know about them comes from Greek and Roman observations. Ogham probably emerged as an imitation of Latin writing habits, though it takes an entirely different form. Typically carved into standing stones, it consists of a series of strokes and notches cut along a vertical line, known as the edge or arris, and read from the bottom up. It is believed to have been developed to reflect the sound system of Primitive Irish, a language that predated Old Irish and was an ancestor language of modern Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic.Emlagh East Ogham Stone, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland, c. 400-470 CE. Source: Breac: A Digital Journal of Irish StudiesThe earliest evidence of Oghams useand the bulk of surviving inscriptionsdates to the 5th and 6th centuries CE. A few hundred inscriptions in stone have been found in various parts of Ireland, as well as Wales, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. Most of the Irish inscriptions have been found in Munster. Most of the inscriptions consist of the names of people and tribes, as well as some place names. Those inscriptions indicating personal names are almost always male. Most Ogham inscriptions found outside of Ireland can be found in Wales. The Welsh inscriptions are particularly interesting, as they often appear juxtaposed with British Latin inscriptions in the Roman alphabet (Carey 60).Oweynagat with Ogham stone repurposed, County Roscommon, Ireland, c. 5th/6th century CE. Source: Robert Mulraney, Caves of IrelandThough most Ogham inscriptions are generally thought to refer to real, historical people, some do refer to mythological figures. One such inscription was discovered at Uaimnh na gCat, or Oweynagat (Cave of the Cats), which reads VRAICCI MAQI MEDVVI ([the stone] of Frech, son of Medb). The cave is held to be the legendary birthplace of the goddess and queen Medb (Maeve), and both Frech and Medb are characters associated with the mythology of Rathcroghan, a complex of archaeological sites in County Roscommon, Ireland. Because of its mythological significance, the site may have had a prominent place in a culture of storytelling, rendering an inscription necessary (Bhreathnach 37-38).Different Forms of OghamAn example of written Ogham in Codex Bernensis 207, fol. 257, c. 8th/9th century CE. Source: Ogham AcademyThe oldest known form of Ogham exists as twenty sounds, or letters, with the aid of dots and marks on a straight horizontal line. This original alphabet was later expanded to include five additional letters. Most Ogham inscriptions, however, survive in the form of vertical lines running down the sides of stones. In these instances, Ogham is read from bottom to top. As mentioned above, the sound values themselves likely predate its written form. The script was designed as a vehicle for the sound system of the Irish language, in contrast to the Latin spoken by the Romans and the increasingly Romanized peoples of Roman Britain.While the alphabet does possess sound values, it is predominantly understood to be a written rather than spoken language. Consequently, some scholars have argued that it should not be referred to as a language at all and instead that the terms alphabet and script are more appropriate.The origins of the name Ogham are uncertain, though it has been suggested that it may be named after the Irish god Ogmathe god of speech and languageor after the Irish phrase og-aim (point-seam), which refers to the seam made by the point of a sharp weapon. The Old Irish spelling is Ogam, but Ogham is the Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic spelling. Linguist David Stifter has helpfully articulated that the Irish pronunciation of the word rhymes with the English home, whereas the Scottish Gaelic pronunciation is similar but has two syllables. Nevertheless, Stifter clearly states that every letter of the word should not be pronounced.Ogham Stone Whitefield 3 in souterrain, County Kerry, Ireland, c. 400 CE. Source: National Museum of IrelandSurviving Ogham inscriptions most often appear on stone, but there are some cases of it appearing in manuscripts. These manuscript examples tend to date slightly later, from the 6th to 9th century, compared to the earlier 5th to 6th century carved examples. Extant examples of Ogham as it was written in manuscripts, however, are few and far between. Medieval manuscripts were produced in scriptoria, rooms in medieval monasteries designed for writing and the production of books. Most writing completed in scriptoria was done in the Latin alphabet and in Irish or insular minuscule (Carey 61).One particularly famous instance of Oghams appearance in a manuscript is in the 14th-century Book of Ballymote. According to the Royal Irish Academys summary of the manuscript, it contains genealogical, topographical, biblical and hagiographical material, including Lebor Gabla (Book of the Invasions), Lebor na gCeart (Book of Rights), Dindshenchas (Lore of Places), and a key to the Ogham alphabet, as well as versions from Latin of the Destruction of Troy and the History of Philip and Alexander of Macedonia. The Book of Ballymote is invaluable for modern understandings of the Ogham alphabet.Detail of Ogham alphabet written in the Book of Ballymote, RIA MS 23 P 12, fol.169r, c. 1390. Source: Royal Irish AcademyIt should be noted that some medieval Irish tales report that Ogham was used to inscribe written communications on wood. Some scholars support this suggestion by attesting that the alphabet contains archaic phonemes, or speech sounds, that were no longer spoken by the 5th century and never appear in inscriptions, which means that there could be a body of Ogham writing on wood that has perished to time. However, scholar Bernhard Maier has proposed that the reports of these medieval writers were no more than contemporary perceptions projected back into the remote past (Maier 151). Or, in other words, writers of these tales were projecting their medieval environment, in which perhaps there were inscriptions in wood, into the past. Unfortunately, wooden objects and their inscriptions rarely survive, so this question is difficult to determine.Decoding OghamSandstone rock with Ogham markings, c. 400 CE. Source: Herbert Art Gallery and MuseumSources like the Book of Ballymote have been critical for developing an understanding of the Ogham alphabet, though unfortunately, most inscriptions are believed to represent some abbreviated version of their full meaning and are therefore treated as incomplete. Thus, modern scholars may never have full knowledge of the original, complete range of the Ogham alphabet. Nevertheless, as described in the above section detailing the origins of Ogham, the existing corpus of Ogham inscriptions largely appears to refer to the names of people, tribes, and places, be they historical or mythological. Medieval writers, who may have had a better understanding of Ogham than modern scholars, reference these inscriptions as boundary or funerary markers (Carey 60).Book of Ballymote, RIA MS 23 P 12 (Cat. No. 536), c. 1390. Source: Royal Irish AcademySome have posed the question of whether Ogham may have been used for magical purposes. This interpretation is certainly aligned with a romanticization of Ogham as the language of the Druids, as well as early theories by scholars like James Carney and Eoin MacNeill that Ogham was created as a cryptic alphabet designed to hide its meaning from readers of the Latin alphabet. In this latter line of thought, early medieval Irish people would have used Ogham in direct opposition to encroaching Roman influence, and to hide continued pagan or otherwise non-Christian ritual practices. Nevertheless, this interpretation is not consistent with the fact that most of the surviving examples of Ogham seem to have been intended for entirely practical purposes, so its use in a magical context is doubtful (Maier 151).The Longevity of OghamOgham Stone at Ardmore Cathedral in County Waterford. Source: School of Celtic StudiesThough some scholars have suggested that the coming of Christianity in Ireland in the 5th century (Maier 151), often associated with the arrival of Saint Patrick, led to the end of the use of Ogham, usage survived for a few centuries after. So, what does that mean for understanding how it gradually ceased to be used?Certainly, the broader implementation of the Latin alphabet through the establishment of monasteries in Ireland and the standardization of book production was a key cause. Therefore, Christianity did have something to do with it, even if Ogham did not immediately disappear once Ireland was Christianized. Some stone inscriptions have been dated to as late as the 7th century, though it has been argued that later carvings represent an antiquarian curiosity more than they do a persisting use of the alphabet (Carey 61).A few curious instances of Ogham survive in County Waterford, Ireland. Writing of one church, historian Edel Bhreathnach states that, the fusion of myth and probably pre-Christian ritual, early literacy, and Christianity is visible in the landscape around the late medieval parish church of Seskinan in Knockboy, County Waterford. All window lintels and the south door lintel, six stones in total, have Ogham inscriptions, and a seventh Ogham stone stands in the church (Bhreathnach 42).As late as the 15th century, there was a clear interest not only in the continued use of Ogham but also in how it could be integrated into a decidedly Christian space. One of the inscriptions at Seskinan commemorates a descendant of Nia Segemon (NETA-SEGAMONAS), a mythical king of Munster (Bhreathnach 42). Other inscriptions like this appear at Ardmore Cathedral and an early church site on a small island, both in County Waterford. These examples, alongside the previously mentioned Book of Ballymote, display a resilientalbeit smallinterest in Ogham throughout the medieval period.BibliographyBhreathnach, E. (2018) Communities and Their Landscapes, B. Smith (ed.) The Cambridge History of Ireland: Volume 1, 600-1550 (pp. 15-46). Cambridge University Press.Carey, J. (2018) Learning, Imagination, and Belief, B. Smith (ed.) The Cambridge History of Ireland: Volume 1, 600-1550 (pp. 47-75). Cambridge University Press.Maier, B. (2018) The Celts: A History from Earliest Times to the Present. Edinburgh University Press.
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